Generation ADA: Rise Up!
July 27-30, 2015; Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC
NCIL’s Annual Conference draws individuals of all ages and disabilities from all 50 states. In recent years, the NCIL conference has hosted nearly 1,000 individuals, including grassroots advocates, CIL and SILC leadership, and representatives from other major organizations that work for justice and equity for people with disabilities. In 2015, we expect over 1,000 community members, leaders, and advocates to unite in our nation’s capital to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the ADA. We will honor our past and catalyze our future as we rise up to learn from young advocates that have grown up in the 25 years since that momentous legislative victory.
Since the passage of the ADA, this entire generation of young advocates with disabilities has grown up: the ADA Generation. These advocates are here; ready to be included and supported to lead. NCIL is the longest-running national disability organization working across lines of age and disability. If our success is to continue, we must build authentic and lasting participation and leadership of young advocates in NCIL and throughout the Independent Living and Disability Rights Movements.
This Call for Workshop Proposals is also a call to action for advocates of all ages. We ask current leaders and Executive Directors of CILs and SILCs to support young people with disabilities in their efforts to travel to and present at the conference. We are specifically seeking young leaders and adult allies to apply for workshop sessions that will orient fellow young advocates and new conference attendees with NCIL, the Independent Living Movement, and advocacy and legislative work. We ask young people with disabilities to attend the conference, apply for workshop sessions, and mobilize other young advocates to do the same. For our part, NCIL will provide the space for these workshops and discussions, and work tirelessly to identify ways to reduce and/or support costs for young advocates to attend.
We need your ideas, workshops, and participation for Generation ADA: Rise Up! Let’s come together in Washington next summer to learn from each other, foster new leadership, cultivate cross-generational connections, crush tokenism, and secure our Movement’s growth!
As always, NCIL’s Annual Conference Committee also encourages conference workshops that seek to improve the skills and resources of staff to carry out the core services of CILs and operate strong SILCs.
It is with these goals in mind that the National Council on Independent Living seeks workshops for our 2015 Annual Conference in the following tracks:
- SILC Track: Workshops covering best practices and innovation in operations and programs of Statewide Independent Living Councils;
- ILA Track: Workshops for CILs or SILCs related to the IL Program’s transition to the Independent Living Administration at the US Department of HHS;
- Youth Track: Workshops related to youth leadership, outreach, and movement building;
- Orientation Track: Workshops aimed at orienting young advocates and new attendees to NCIL, disability rights advocacy, and federal legislation;
- General Track: Workshops for staff, consumers, and other advocates in the Independent Living Movement that do not fit the other four categories.
Important Information for Presenters:
- Presenters and facilitators are not exempt from registration fees. Presenters must register and pay for all days they plan to attend; presenters that attend only their session and no other events do not need to pay.
- NCIL is unable to pay travel expenses or honoraria to any presenter or facilitator.
- Our attendees expect, and learn best when provided with print outs of presentation slides and relevant handout materials. To increase education and the application of concepts, we strongly encourage presenters to provide handouts. All handouts must be available in accessible formats. Information on preparing accessible formats is available from NCIL staff. Accessible formats include: Braille, large print (18 point bold), audio (read aloud on CD), and electronic (plain text on CD or USB drive). Additionally, we are happy to answer questions regarding accessible handouts, please contact [email protected].
- Due to the growing number of participants at the NCIL conference, we can no longer offer a maximum attendee cut-off. Nor can we offer to have rooms set any other way than theatre style. We regret any inconvenience that this may cause to your presentation should it be accepted and ask that you keep this information in mind when submitting your proposal.
- Workshop sessions run for one hour and fifteen minutes. If your presentation will take longer, you must apply for a series of workshops.
Deadlines
- Deadline for Submission is Wednesday, January 7th, 2015. No proposals will be accepted after 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
- Deadline for Audio / Visual requests or modifications is Friday, June 12, 2015.
This Call for Proposals the only request that will be issued for speakers, group facilitators, or poster presentations for the 2015 Conference. NCIL’s Annual Conference Subcommittee carefully reviews each proposal and selects those that are, as a whole, relevant to this year’s Conference theme (Generation ADA: Rise Up!) and are valuable to a cross-section of CIL, SILC, and IL Association staff, board members, consumers, and other IL advocates. No preference will be given to NCIL committees or affiliates.
The Conference Committee will review all proposals received by the deadline. The decisions of the Committee are final. Proposal presenters and facilitators will be notified by Monday, February 23, 2015 about whether or not they have been selected to make a presentation or facilitate a group at the Conference in July 2015.
If you have any questions about this form or the work of the Committee, please contact Angela Ellman at [email protected].
