Waikīkī, Hawaiʻi | March 14 - 17, 2023
Western Region Continuums of Service Conference
Turning the Tides, Renewing our Energy
The Western Region Consortia will host its Continuums of Service Conference in a hybrid 4-day format with in-person and virtual engagement options for attendees.Honoring the work that has been done and recognizing that these long-term grand challenges persist at home and abroad, we now think and act within a broader and perilous context of COVID-19, the increased likelihood of new and varying infectious diseases, and new threats to democracy and equity in an even more uncertain world. How do we turn the tide on these tremendous challenges we face and renew our energy to ameliorate them – urgently and for the long-term?
A Little Back Story
Active participants in the Continuums of Service conference will explore the following themes: How have our higher education programs worked with community organizations, government and K-12, and private sector partners to address new practical and forms grand challenges? What struggles did we face and overcome? What new opportunities and collaborations arose and how did we fulfill them, such as through the use of technology? How did we (re-)engage our students and their learning? How did we revitalize our overall approach, expand our knowledge and understanding, build capacity, garner resources, and adapt operations in the face of these practical and grand challenges? How do we revitalize ourselves in the face of higher education’s challenges to explore power, privilege and positionality, and inspire and mobilize action and advocacy to tackle grand challenges -- social, ecological, and economic - that we are all facing?
A big focus for the conference this year will be on cultivating sustainability and resilience, keeping ourselves grounded in place, and bridging across multiple social, biophysical, energy and capital dimensions for whole systems thinking and relationship building. From the campus to the community, from the mountains to the sea, turning the tides requires embracing complex systems and nurturing the ability to bounce forward, not back, after crises. At our conference, this year participants will have a chance to put this into practice both virtually and remotely.
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Each morning participants, virtually and in-person, will have a chance to connect to nature, culture and place through a live-streamed sunrise movement practice on the beach supporting personal resilience and renewal. Attendees will then hear from keynote speakers and storytellers to build their energy to turn the tide on current and future challenges.
Each early afternoon, in-person visits to long-term community partners will provide participants with opportunities to serve, learn and reflect on our urgent and shared work ahead. Each late afternoon, thematic poster sessions, two blocks of 75 minutes each, virtual and in-person, will accommodate a rich variety of higher education adaptations and innovations. Poster presentations will enable more campus program to share their successes.
Our Goals
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Accentuate and expand knowledge and understanding that turns the tide on our greater challenges
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Identify campus and community collaborations and partnerships to address these greater challenges
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Share tactics and strategies for building intra-and inter-campus relationships and practices for individual and community resilience and renewal
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Share strategies, approaches, states of mind that renew ourselves and our partners in the face of the practical and greater challenges
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Build working relationships and networks for future collective action and durable partnerships