GPUS 2017 Annual Meeting - Tentative Schedule

Updated July 9, 2017

Thursday July 13
Registration begins at noon (Ballroom B)

Workshops (Rooms TBD)*
1:30-2:30 pm

• Campaign School Train-the-trainers working session (Part I)
• Media Workshop

2:45-3:45 pm

• Eco-Socialism
• Modern Monetary Theory (Economics 101) - The Future is Already Here
• Campaign School Train-the-trainers working session (Part II)

4:00-5:00 pm

• Campaign School Train-the-trainers working session (Part III)
• Science: The Problem or The Solution?

5:30-6:30
Dinner on your own (Continuous Dining Hall)

7:00 (Ballroom A)
Opening Reception with Panels sponsored by GPNJ Black Caucus (Ballroom A)

 

Friday July 14
Registration (Ballroom B)

Breakfast on your own (Continuous Dining Hall) 8:00 – 9:00

Workshops (Rooms TBD) *
9:15-10:15 am

• Criminalization of Homelessness
• Running for Office 101 (Campaign School)
• Building Green Party Power
• Building a Labor Committee

10:30-11:45 am

• The F Word: Imperative Feminism in Green Politics 
• Voter Targeting (Campaign School)
• Revitalizing your Green Party Chapter 
• Organizing for a Green Future

12:00
Lunch on your own (Continuous Dining Hall)

Workshops (Rooms TBD) *
1:00-2:15 pm

• Green Alternatives to Militarism and War 
• How to Look Pro When Money Is Low (Campaign School)
• Fighting Neo-Fascism: A Primer and Imperative for Green Organizing
• Local Economy

2:30-3:45 pm

• Running for Office in Frontline Communities (aka Corrupt Democratic Cities) 
• Toward Greater National Organizing and Party-Building Capacity
• GreenEnter Open Mic Discussion Forum
• Rules of Engagement: How GPUS can win friends, change the paradigm, and influence elections

4:00-5:15 pm

• Local organizing for the environment 
• Social Media (Campaign School)
• Fix Our Broken System: Ranked Choice Voting 
• Strategic Organizing: Progressive Alliance

5:30 pm
Dinner on your own (Continuous Dining Hall)

Saturday July 15

All sessions and registration in the Atrium until afternoon breakouts

8:00-9:00 am                  Breakfast (Continuous Dining Hall)

9:00 am                          Morning Plenary Program (Atrium)

• Welcome & Opening
• Bill Kreml
• Steering Committee Report
• GPUS Staff Introductions
• National Party Resource and Collaboration Initiative
• Financial Report
• Steering Committee candidate panel
• Remarks from current candidates:
  • Seth Kaper-Dale
  • Akeem Browder

 

12:00-1:00 Breakout Discussions

• Dues-paying membership model
• Reimagining GP structure
• Media strategies
• Diversity outreach
• Puerto Rican Independence

 

1:15-2:00 pm Lunch (Atrium)

 

2:00-4:00 pm Committee & Caucus Fair

Taking place concurrently in various rooms
Opportunity for Caucuses and Committees to pull in new members and members to explore new options

4:00-5:00 pm Diversity Committee/Joint Caucus Meeting

7:00-10:00 pm GPUS Fundraiser & Dinner Party (Kilkenny’s)

 

Sunday, July 16

8:00-8:30 am Breakfast (Location)

8:30-10:30 pm Debrief of 2016 Presidential Campaign led by PCSC (Central King Building Room 303)

10:30-10:45 am Break

10:45 am-12:00 pm Debrief of Post-election Recount by Stein campaign (Central King Building Room 303)

 

 

Workshop Descriptions

 

Thursday, July 13

1:30-2:30 pm   Workshop session #1

• Campaign School Train-the-Trainers Part I by CCC members (Room 230)

A three-part working session for party leaders who wish to lead campaign schools back in their local/states.  In Part I, we will create sample agendas for half-day, full-day, and two-day trainings and review basic best practices around structures and logistics.

• Media Workshop by Scott McLarty (Room 220)

The Media Workshop is designed for Greens who are running for office or considering a run in the near future and for those who work on their campaigns, but it's also useful for local and state Green Party organizers. The workshop will cover various aspects of outreach to news media. Topics to be covered include: (1) Building a Green media presence in your city or state (2) Press releases and advisories (3) Press conferences

 

Thursday, July 13

2:45-3:45 pm Workshop session #2

• Eco-Socialism by Chris Blankenhorn & others TBA (Room 235)

Last year the Green Party adopted an EcoSocialist platform plank that advocated for "economic democracy." This work- shop will explore what socialism is, debunking myths and

addressing concerns, through group discussion and exploration of theory and practice. 

• Modern Monetary Theory (Economics 101) - The Future is Already Here by Steven Grumbine (Room 220)

Modern Monetary Theory is the empirically based explanation of how a monetarily sovereign economic system works. As the United States has a sovereign currency system this means that MMT explains how our economy actually works right now. The problem is that the major parties either do not understand this or choose to ignore it, and this means that we are not even close to reaching our economic potential. By learning MMT and integrating it into the policies we propose we can improve people's lives right now.

• Campaign School Train-the-Trainers Part II by CCC members (Room 230)

Part two of a three-part working session for party leaders who wish to lead campaign schools back in their local/states.  In Part II, we will workshop ideas for campaign school content based on the sample agendas developed in Part I.  Partici- pants will practice delivering portions of specific trainings and get feedback from the group.  All materials developed will go in a shared repository accessible to other trainers.

 

Thursday, July 13

4:00-5:00 pm Workshop session #3

• Science: The Problem or The Solution? by B. Sidney Smith (Room 235)

The status of science in the Green movement is controversial. We will explore the nature of science, its uses and misuses, and its proper role in Green politics. We will dialogue about what "science" really is, how to evaluate scientific and other claims of fact critically and correctly, and to understand both the value and the limits of science as it relates to the Four Pillars and Ten Key values.

• Campaign School Train-the-Trainers Part III by CCC members (Room 230)

Part three of a three-part working session for party leaders who wish to lead campaign schools back in their local/states.  In Part III, we will explore online training platforms, digital badging, micro-credentialing, and other tools to help deliver content in new ways and to “certify” individuals who have successfully completed various aspects of campaign training, whether in-person or online. 

• The Classical Dialectic 2.0 by William Kreml, PhD (Room 220)

Has the Classical Dialectic returned? There are signs of a wholesale revision of the principal ideological paradigm. Will we soon be talking of different cognitive maps battling for dominance in the ideological struggle? The new pieces are starting to fall into place. 

 

 

 

Friday, July 14

9:15-10:15 am   Workshop session #4

• Criminalization of Homelessness by Robin Harris (Room 220)

We will discuss efforts to end the criminalization of the Home less. We will speak about Housing Rights, the Homeless Bill of Rights and building solidarity from the bottom up vs top down models

• Running for Office 101 by CCC members (Room 230)

A broad overview of the various aspects of running for politi cal office, particularly as a Green Party candidate.  We will cover topics such as building a campaign committee, fund raising, media, volunteer management, ballot access, and Get Out The Vote.

• Building Green Party Power by Kevin Zeese, Chris Blankenhorn, Andrea Mérida Cuéllar, Ajamu Baraka, Margaret Flowers, LuAnne Kozma (Room 235)

Being committed to building a Green Party in the United States that is independent of and challenges the plutocratic Democratic and Republican parties requires discipline and solidarity. At the foundation of creating a more effective Green Party is recognizing that we are an opposition party that challenges the political establishment. This requires the party to be independent of the two establishment parties, the Democrats and Republicans, which are funded by Wall Street, militarism and other big business interests. Like the popular social movements of our times we believe the United States needs radical transformation, not reform. Hear from party leaders committed to this ideal and about specific ways we can be transformative, independent, and constantly challenging the two-party duopoly. Recommended reading before the session: "The Democrats" by Lance Selfa.

• Building a Labor Committee by David Doonan (Room 225)

A meeting to begin organizing campaign for the creation of a Labor Committee in the Green Party

 

Friday, July 14

10:30-11:45 am  Workshop session #5

• The F Word: Imperative Feminism in Green Politics by the National Women’s Caucus (Room 225)

This workshop falls into three general parts: 1) Basic overview of the influence of feminism as basis of green politics with a bibliography of some basic feminist resources and list of eco-feminist writers 2) Identifying issues we commonly face and 3) Identifying strategies to address issues through education, connection, etc.

• Voter Targeting by Erin Fox (Room 230)

This workshop will cover various aspects targeting voters to maximize resources. This will be an interactive dialogue with participants about how to target voters for your campaign. Targeted political campaigning is about maximizing your re sources (time, money, volunteers) as you get closer and closer to Election Day. 

• Revitalizing your Green Party Chapter by Melodi Brown (Room 220)

In this workshop, we will share a three month plan to build a scalable infrastructure to support rapid Green Party growth. The plan includes: logos, banners, SWAG, websites, social media presence, electing of activist officers that meet regularly, regular membership meetings that are dynamic, interesting and with guest speakers, maintaining a Green presence in resistance activities, reaching out to communities of color,  FUNDRAISING and developing sustainers, 1:1 meetings with key activists, tabling at events, etc.  We will share what works and what doesn't and talk about how to select winning races and excellent candidates.

• Organizing for a Green Future by Mary Jane Oviatt, Chris Blankenhorn, and Jacob Falzone (Room 235)

With an anti-capitalist, anti-oppression focus, increasing numbers of campus chapters and state caucuses, and an organizing oriented mentality, the Green Party Youth Caucus has positioned itself as a leader in forging a new path to grow the Green Party. Come discuss the difference between past tactics of advocacy rather than organizing, which has led many marginalized communities to accuse the GPUS of giving lip service to the Ten Key Values. Too often we have failed to organize directly alongside social movements and a wide array of intersectional fights for social justice that are central to the Ten Key Values and uplift marginalized communities.

 

Friday, July 14

1:00-2:15 pm Workshop session #6

• Green Alternatives to Militarism and War by Bahram Zandi, PhD (Room 230)

Nonviolence is one of the principles of the Global Greens Charter where it states that security should not rest mainly on military strength but on cooperation, sound economic and social development, environmental safety, and respect for human rights. This requires removing the causes of war by understanding and respecting other cultures, eradicating racism and extremist ideologies, promoting freedom and democracy, ending global poverty and injustice, as well as pursuing disarmament and detente in accordance with threat estimations. This workshop will discuss the global devastations of structural poverty, climate change, refugees, and the carnage caused by wars and armed conflicts. The role of the international community and principles for intervention will be examined as well as alternative measures to avoid militarization and wars, mitigate the consequences and build sustainable peace.

• How to Look Pro When Money Is Low by Julie Varughese (Room 235)

Don't have a graphic designer or a team of tweeters? No wor ries. In this social media workshop for people new to social media, I'll share tools and tricks for how to create a robust social media presence when you're low on dough. By using free or low-cost tools on political campaigns, I was able create memes, social media headers, videos, and many, many tweets with grab the attention of the media, while building a grass roots audience online.

• Fighting Neo-Fascism: A Primer and Imperative for Green Organizing by Meleiza Figueroa (Room 220)

Presentation on the origins and growth of neo-fascism in the Trump era through the 'alt-right' movement, and its centrality to understanding the political moment; and ways to integrate anti-fascism into Green organizing, especially on college campuses. 

• Local economies by Tony Affigne and John Rensenbrink (Room 225)

Local new economy ventures include alternative energy, food, education, restorative justice, reconciliation, municipal government. Green campaigns include solidarity with new economy groups, pushing for policies that aid their endeavors, and fostering communication among them. Support includes running grass roots campaigns and active lobbying and governing for new economy ventures.

 

Friday, July 14

2:30-3:45 pm

• Running for Office in Frontline Communities (aka Corrupt Democratic Cities) by Cheri Honkala, Galen Tyler, Christian Banchs and Gary Frazier, Jr. (Room 235)

Panel discussion about the challenges of breaking through the Democratic Party machine stranglehold on most major US cities.  Corruption in Cheri Honkala’s special election race in Philadelphia will be highlighted.

• Toward Greater National Organizing and Party-Building Capacity by Adriàn Boutureira (Room 220)

A facilitated open discussion about how to best and collectively address our states' organizing and party building emerging needs and ongoing efforts.

• GreenEnter Open Mic Discussion Forum by Sean Declet (Room 235)

This will be an open mic opportunity for new Greens. The purpose is to help new Greens around the country network and share our goals, dreams, and objectives for the Green Party. It is also an opportunity for the leadership of the National and State Parties to hear what is motivating people to join the Green Party and to help provide insight that they can use in developing the next steps for the Green Party and it's State Parties.

• Rules of Engagement: How GPUS can win friends, change the paradigm, and influence elections by the GPUS Black Caucus (Room 225)

An open discussion covering the different forms of racial

inequality, how they manifest in different aspects of politics, and how GPUS can address these issues.  All are welcome and encouraged to attend this interactive, forum-style workshop which presents an opportunity to hear what is needed for GPUS to grow in both power and numbers with racially

diverse communities.  Hear from the Black Caucus as we

identify challenges, share real lived experiences, and offer best practices in engagement and inclusion within the party and beyond.

 

Friday, July 14

4:00-5:15 pm

• Local organizing for the environment by Matt Smith (Room 230)

We are at a critical moment. As the fossil fuel industry poisons the planet, the Trump administration is emboldening climate deniers attacking our environment, our communities, and our democracy. We need to embrace solutions - now, not tomorrow. We will move OFF fossil fuels by building political power, beginning at the local level. Together, we'll cultivate climate champions in government, ban fracking, keep fossil fuels in the ground, stop dangerous pipelines and infrastructure projects, and initiate an immediate and just transition to 100% clean, renewable energy. Learn how we can build a strong, diverse movement and acquire the tools and resources to organize and WIN in your community.

• Fix Our Broken System: Ranked Choice Voting by Linda Templin (Room 220)

Find out how Ranked Choice Voting (also known as Instant Runoff Voting) works. Learn how it improves democracy and how to run a successful ballot initiative.

• Strategic Organizing: Progressive Alliance by David Cobb and Holly Hart (Room 235)

Help take a leadership role in organizing a progressive alliance with community organizations. This strategy not only helps build a community, but can be a major factor in establishing or enhancing local and state green presence, increase viability and, ultimately, votes.