Dallas College Student Blog: Two Conferences In Nov. Offer Hope For The Future

September 28, 2021

Dallas College is committed to providing free or affordable sustainability education to its students, staff, and the community. There are no fees for either of the virtual conferences listed below. Register for these two summits today.

11th Annual Sustainability Summit

Dallas College will host its 11th annual Sustainability Summit on Friday, November 5th, bringing together students, staff and community members to learn about social responsibility and civic engagement – the focus of this year’s summit. The main topics include:

  • How respect for oneself and others improves civic engagement and civil discourse
  • Civil discourse – how we can overcome our seemingly persistent wars of ideas
  • Other topics to be explored are:

  • Why votes are important
  • How service learning benefits both donors and recipients
  • Can mindfulness and compassion training increase responsiveness and resilience to the climate crisis?
  • Media Literacy: How to Spot Misinformation on the Internet
  • Reflective structured dialogues
  • Sustainability for yourself: How to have the time and energy for civic engagement
  • Three questions that can change the world
  • Students, employees and community members who are striving for a more civil discourse in today’s society and a return to civic engagement are particularly interested. The goal of the annual summit, produced by Dallas College’s Sustainability Office, is to also provide community members with free learning opportunities in the three main areas of sustainability: justice (people), environment (planet), and economy (prosperity). Discourse is the ability to listen to all sides of a topic and to find common ground. This ability is the key to developing strategies that not only preserve our environment, but also strengthen the fabric of our society, so that efforts to solve the world’s most pressing problems are successful, ”said Georgeann Moss, senior director of sustainability at Dallas College. The American University’s Project on Civil Discourse has defined civil discourse as “true, productive, audience-based, about listening and speaking, and about personal responsibility, courtesy, an exercise in martyrdom, about telling other people who they are, or purely performative nable society. Find out more about the sustainability summit.

    TRACS summit examines reasons for the future from November 8th to 9th

    Dallas College is also hosting this year’s Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) Summit from November 8th to 9th. The theme of the event is “Hope for the Future”. It will provide education to students, faculty, staff and community members on five specific sustainable development goals that address hunger, health, education, inequality and climate change. As the name suggests, the sessions and speakers focus on solutions and why they have hope for the future.

    The main speaker is Bina Venkataramn, author of “The Optimist’s Telescope”. She teaches in the Science, Technology and Society program at MIT and is a Fellow at New America. The former New York Times and Boston Globe journalist, who also served as senior climate change innovation advisor to the Obama White House, is now director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Venkataraman is an alumna of Brown University and Harvard Kennedy School. She grew up in Ohio and now lives in the greater Boston area.

    These two events were deliberately planned one after the other so we could keep the mojo going. This is the first year the TRACS Summit is virtual and open to people from across the state of Texas. Dallas College can offer free registration thanks to the generous support of our sponsors.

    Find out more about the TRACS Summit.

    Register for these two summits today.

    Other upcoming events

    October 2021 Sustainable U webinars

    Tuesday, October 5th, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

    Frank Cronin, Austin Community College, Professor The abuse and overuse of light causes light pollution that wastes money and energy, harms human health, and ravages wildlife. Unlike other types of pollution, light pollution offers solutions that are easy to implement and provide instant and lasting results. Register for this event on October 5th. Tuesday, October 12th, noon to 1 p.m.

    Justin Barringer, Director of Social Outreach and Executive Director of Diapers, Etc. Owenwood Farm and Neighbor Space is the second campus of the White Rock United Methodist Church. The vacant land in Owenwood was once a baseball and soccer field. But as the neighborhood changed, so did the needs of her friends and neighbors. When neighbors needed a place to play, the land was available. Now their neighbors need access to fresh food, diapers and supplies that are not normally provided by government aid programs. And they are working to provide affordable local organic produce for the community and other necessities. In the middle of a food wasteland, Owenwood Farm actively works against injustice as it provides opportunities for connection and access to food in 75218 and 75228.

    Spotlight on SDG # 10 – Reducing Inequalities

    Dallas College Chancellor Dr. Joe May, explains in this two-minute video how higher education can help reduce poverty, provide access to and opportunities for careers, train people for living wage jobs, and provide security for families.

    Take the promise

    This press release was produced by the Dallas College Student Blog. The views expressed here are your own.

    [ad_1]