Here are some reflections from two delegates who attended Free Minds Free People in Houston:
The education for liberation conference was great. I participated in many good workshops but the one that caught my eye the most was the End Zero tolerance in school workshop. I learned a lot about the ways that we could educate our youth on how important it is to know your rights and know that the answer to making school environments better is not to kick out our young people from school. Which many times leaves young people with no other option but to be on the streets and many times they go to jail. It was great to be able to relate to so many youth at the conference that had the same views as I did. I met many young people that were dealing with the same issues we are dealing with in our communities which empowered me to come home and share this experience with all of the people back at the organization so that we can find new and innovative ways to educate our young people about social justice issues. Over all the conference was a very liberating experience and it meant so much to me that I was able to be a part of something this big.
Written by Tracy Chacon
We are in the Houston Air Port and I am reflecting on the Education for Liberation Conference. The overall outcome of the conference was positive, energetic and interesting. Our delegation took some time to debrief and think together on the aspects of the experience of attending this conference. There was a strong consensus that our delegation worked well together, was focused and all benefited personally by traveling together. We learned about each other but we also learned from and through each other.
There were several highlights that each member of the delegation expressed including a couple of inspiring workshops, critical thinking around the topic and networking with other people, and oh so many young people. Our analysis included thinking about what we would change if we could bring this conference to NM in 2011 (the next conference date). We would organize the conference with having youth not only lead workshops but also be part of the planning team so that young people’s needs and perspective would be designed into the planning. There might be a “Youth Track” or “Youth Space” similar to the US Social Forum of 2008. Also more info on each workshop would be sent out in advance with workshop descriptions giving more info on the workshop and the presenters, including which workshops are youth-led and which are not. We would also organize the conference that would provide an outcome of having delegates connect and share information. The other outcome we would attempt to plan into the conference would be more opportunities for the “big picture” national connection /movement to be thought about and strategized.
This has been a great experience for me personally and I am grateful to SWOP for this opportunity.
The Belly dancing for revolution was awesome fun too.
Written by Roberta Rael
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