Planning for General Assembly 2012 by Suzanne Fast

Autumn is upon us, and my thoughts naturally turn to General Assembly. This is the time to generate programming ideas for GA 2012 in Phoenix.

Because of the economic boycott in Arizona, this will be a very special GA. There will be a greater emphasis than ever on public witness, and a narrower focus of activities. This is reflected in the parameters for programming, as set out in the request for proposals. You can find the full description on the GA blog.

In essence, the call is for programs – workshops or worship services -- that focus on migration and borders, racial or economic justice, and/or prepare people for public witness or service.

Here are a few ideas already in the hopper:

A workshop on how to plan an accessible public witness event;

A workshop on economic justice as it impacts people with disabilities;

A worship service celebrating the call for justice. We would not be talking about access, but modeling best practices (to the extent the space allows).

Please leave a comment below if you are interested in working on one or more of these programs or if you have other ideas for programs.

It is not necessary, though it is helpful, to go to GA in order to help develop the programs.

The Equual Access Board will need to decide on what program proposals to sponsor and submit them by November 1st, so chime in with your ideas and let’s make GA 2012 better than ever.