CU Expo 2011: Bringing Global Perspectives to Local Action

The conference themes will broadly organize presentations and events into a number of important content areas. Inspired by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, these themes are expressed both in the local and global context. We encourage those presenting and attending to think about how these themes play out in your projects and local realities, and how they are related to broader regional, national or international issues:

• Environmental Sustainability
• Income Security and Affordable Housing
• Community Development
• Education
• Gender Equality
• Child Development
• Health Equity
• Diversity and Migration

Conference Streams:
Within the context of those broad themes, we invite proposals to consider the following three streams around which the conference will be organized.

1. Community Voice and Relevance
   Community needs and concerns drive the CU partnership agenda, with research activities beginning with a topic of relevance to the community, carried out in a participatory fashion, in community settings. Presentations and workshops in this stream will explore how collaborations and partnerships can be designed and carried out to include community voices and perspectives.
2. Partnership and Collaboration
   CU partnerships bring diverse people together to form collaborations around common goals. Participatory processes and reciprocal relationships are valued. In some collaborations community members and academics equitably share control of the research and partnership agenda. Developing and sustaining these partnerships is often challenging. Presentations and workshops in this stream will explore these issues and reveal strategies and techniques for collaboration.
3. Action and Change
   CU partnerships envision a better future, through ongoing learning, reflection and action. The process and results of the partnerships are useful to community members and university partners in promoting social equity and making positive social and institutional change. This stream will reveal the impacts and social transformations of partnership, and will include specific techniques in developing policy and implementation strategies as well as broader knowledge mobilization and translation efforts.
   
   For more information and to submit your proposal, go to http://www.cuexpo2011.ca/