Category Archives: Skepticon

SWW Schedule for Skepticon 10

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We are just over a week away from Skepticon 10! Check out the workshops we have in store for you.

Friday

Creating a Welcoming Group – 9:00 AM
Mandisa Thomas
You can plan the events, but to get people in the seats, they have to feel they belong.This workshop will walk you through making your group a welcoming one.

Organizing a Lobby Day – 10:00 AM
Monette Richards
We’ve clicked on action alerts, sent faxes, emails and texts. We have even called our elected officials, mostly to end up in voice mail. What’s the next step? Why not go visit them in person? Why not take your friends, too!

Secular Activism Campaigns: What Works, What Hasn’t Worked, and How To Be More Effective -11:00 AM
Debbie Goddard
Building on the activism framework presented at Skepticon 9, Debbie Goddard will guide the workshop through a hands-on analysis of several secular campaigns. We’ll look at how they were designed, who they’re “talking” to and why, how they measured effectiveness, and what, in hindsight, they could have done better. We’ll also brainstorm new activism campaign ideas and messaging. Bring your experience and your creativity!

Making Ourselves Relevant In the Resistance – Noon
Greta Christina & Debbie Goddard
On paper, organized atheism and skepticism should have a major role in the current resistance movements in the US. Do we? If not, why not? In places where we do, what helps make that happen? What do we have to contribute to these movements? And what can we do — on the individual, local, and national levels — to improve our presence in the resistance and make more of a contribution?

Deescalation –  1:00 PM
Rebecca Hensler
With every direct action, there is a chance the situation will get out of control. Explore ways to deescate before things get bad.

Creating a Self Care Plan – 2:00 PM
Hiba Bint Zeinab
We often talk about the importance of self-care. But do we know how to actually put it into practice?

Imposter Syndrome – 3:00 PM
Stephanie Zvan, Monette Richards and Jessica Xiao
Impostor syndrome is that feeling that you’re just faking what you do and are going to be found out any minute. It keeps us from fully appreciating our own work and from tackling new, ambitious projects that need to be done. Come gather tips and exercises to combat this problem and be a more effective, secure activist.

Consent- 4:00 PM
Heina Dadabhoy
Have questions about consent? Fnd answers as you work through this workshop.

Saturday

Start your own podcast – 10:00 AM
Marissa Alexa McCool and Maddy Love
So, you wanna start a podcast…

Lessons from AIDS Activism – 11:00 AM
Ingrid Nelson,  Laura Thomas & Rebecca Hensler
Learn Direct Action from activists who have been there and done it. These members of ActUP will go over the lessons they learned during AIDS Activism.

Sunday

Finding Your Way Around Moose –  2:00 PM
Sam Farooqui
Ex-Muslim issues can be really complicated for never-Muslims to parse. Frequently, never-Muslims fall prey to overcorrection, saviorism, or just plain silence. This workshop has been designed to educate never-Muslims on the intersections that tend to be involved where ex-Muslims are concerned, and how to work with and for those issues, in order to create substantive change.

How to do a Workshop – 3:00 PM
Stephanie Zvan
Do you want to put on a workshop, but aren’t sure how to design an effecctive one? Learn how to use the interactive nature of workshops to build confidence while conveying useful information.

SWW Schedule for Skepticon 9

Skepticon, Skill-Building, , , , , , , , ,

Just four days until Secular Women Work workshops at Skepticon. Come find us starting bright and early (enough) on Friday!

Handling Public Criticism 10 a.m.
It’s going to happen to us all sooner or later. If we don’t get criticized, it’s because we’re not accomplishing anything. How do we keep our reactions productive?
Stephanie Zvan

 
Celebrating Activism 11 a.m.
There’s always more work to be done, but celebrating our wins is one of the keys to avoiding activist burnout. But how do we do that?
Monette Richards

 
Effective Advocacy: A Humanist Approach 12 p.m.
As activists and members and allies of minority populations, advocacy plays a big role in our lives; but how can we ensure that our advocacy is truly effective, and not leading to further harm? This workshop explores power and control dynamics and common missteps as well as provides you with tools and tips to be the best advocate you can be.
Amanda Novotny

 
Craftivism: The Politics of Knitting 1 p.m.
Who would think of knitting as a subversive act? Bring your yarn, y’all! Let’s discuss, and engage in, some craftivism!
Kelley Freeman

 
Student and Non-Student Groups Working Together 2 p.m.
Student and non-student groups share many goals, but they don’t always have the best track record working together on them. How can we change this?
Debbie Goddard

 
Social Justice: From Theory to Practive 3 p.m.
If there is a devil, it’s in the details
Heina Dadabhoy

 
Planning for Direct Action 4 p.m.
Confrontation can be powerful, but make sure your prepared for everything that can happen.
Rebecca Hensler, Ingrid Nelson, Laura Thomas

 

Our Skepticon Schedule

Skepticon

Just two days until Secular Women Work workshops at Skepticon. Come find us starting bright and early (enough) on Friday!

Wiki Editing 10 a.m.
History is only “real” if it’s documented, and Wikipedia has quickly come to be the central repository of that documentation. Bring your favorite wifi enabled device to help us record our history.
Monette Richards

 
Abortion MythBusting 11 a.m.
The push to limit reproductive rights depends on a lot of bad information. Come work through how to counter the most common of these with an accessible blend of understanding medicine and cause and effect.
Niki Massey

 
Combatting Impostor Syndrome 12 p.m.
The push to limit reproductive rights depends on a lot of bad information. Come work through how to counter the most common of these with an accessible blend of understanding medicine and cause and effect.
Stephanie Zvan

 
Succession Planning and Building Leadership Teams 1 p.m.
Organizations live or die on the strength of their teams. Come find out how to build a strong team that won’t fall apart when a key player leaves.
Stef McGraw

 
Finding Great Speakers 2 p.m.
Building a speaker list for an event or lecture series means balancing name recognition, offering something new, diversity, cost, and a host of other factors. Come talk about where we can find the
Chelsea Du Fresne

 
Funding Social Change 3 p.m.
This workshop will cover everything from how to create an effective plan for raising funds, making the ask and what to do when the money comes in.
Steph Montgomery

 
Activism Within Limits 4 p.m.
Not everyone can march at a protest. Not everyone can donate to support their causes. Whatever limitations you live with, however, there are still ways to help change the world. Come brainstorm.
Trinity Aodh

 

Secular Women Work at Skepticon!

Skepticon

Skepticon has just announced that it’s open for workshop proposals for this year.

Workshops are held on the Friday day of Skepticon from 10:00am until 4:00pm.

Click here to fill out our application form to be a workshopper at Skepticon 8!

That’s not all! We’re excited to announce that we will be partnering with the amazing women over at Secular Woman Work to bring you an entire track of workshops presented by even more awesome ladies! Want to be a part of their exclusive workshop track? Drop them a line at: secularwomenwork@gmail.com to get in on what is sure to be our best workshop lineup yet.

Oh, hey. What’s that? Yes, Secular Women Work will be organizing a set of workshops at Skepticon. That means hands-on practical skill-building and group discussions sharing solutions to common activist problems–all brought to you by experienced activists who are women or genderqueer. There’s a lot of experience and skill in this movement, and we want to celebrate it by putting it to work making us all better activists.

Who will you see presenting in the Secular Women Work track at Skepticon? What topics will be covered? Frankly, we don’t know yet. We don’t know who will be there. We don’t know what their strengths are. What we do know is that there is never any shortage of talent at Skepticon, nor any shortage of generosity. We pledge to find you skilled activists who will deliver well-structured workshops for you to learn from.

(If you happen to be one of those activists with an idea for a topic, and you’ll be at Skepticon on Friday, please use the Secular Women Work email above to let us know. Even if you’ve never put together a workshop before, please contact us. We helped more than one presenter at our conference structure their workshop, and they all went well.)

Why should you trust us to find you good workshops? Here’s what people had to say about our conference last month. Continue reading Secular Women Work at Skepticon! →