Sustainability Summit

Speaker: Courtney Macavinta, Co-Founder and CEO of The Respect Institute (RI)

Speaker: Diane Tasian, president; Barbara Larkin, voter services vice president

The League of Women Voters of Dallas is part of a nonpartisan national political organization operating at the local, state, and national level. They neither support nor oppose candidates or parties. Instead, they:

1. Encourage voter education and registration for informed and engaged voices in the political decision-making process of governing
2. Increase awareness of major public policy issues and decisions made on our behalf through votes by elected officials in Dallas County; and
3. Influence public policy through education and advocacy
This session will give you a refresher about why voting matters and examples of national climate legislation currently under consideration.

Moderator: Dr. Maria Boccalandro, Dallas College Dean of Special Academic Programs
Panelists: Americorps, UT Austin Service Learning, University of Hawaii

Speaker: Lara Schwartz, Director, director of American University’s Project on Civil Discourse

From political campaigns to Thanksgiving tables, Americans are fighting about culture, language, policy, and often even facts. Lara Schwartz, founding director of American University's Project on Civil Discourse, is often asked to offer advice about how to foster "civil" debates. Her answer: no. In this talk, she will suggest that we don't need to fight more gently - we need to face tough questions together.

Speakers: Christine Wamsler, Professor of Sustainability Science, Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, Sweden Professor of Sustainability Science; Jamie Bristow, director of the Mindfulness Initiative’s Activate Change project

What is the inner dimension of the climate crisis, and is there a link between sustainability and certain capacities of heart and mind? In this presentation, leading experts on the role of contemplative practices in public life, Jamie Bristow and Christine Wamsler, will report on their current research into these neglected questions.

Jamie runs the Mindfulness Initiative, a world-leading policy institute that clerks the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mindfulness, whilst Christine is a professor at the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies in Sweden. Together they are conducting in-depth interviews and consultation amongst national and transnational politicians, policymakers and other experts in the field and will soon be reporting on how the inner life of citizens is currently understood by sustainability decision-makers and the potential of mindfulness and compassion training to increase responsiveness and resilience in the face of the climate crisis.

Join us to see what they've learned and what they recommend.

Speaker: Alex Mahadevan, Program Manager of MediaWise at the Poynter Institute

The MediaWise project empowers people of all ages to become more critical consumers of content online. They believe that when facts prevail, democracy wins. They teach people digital media literacy and fact-checking skills to spot misinformation and disinformation, with initiatives specifically designed to engage Gen Z, college students and older Americans. Our innovative, digital-first program works constantly to address the ever-changing landscape of misinformation across the internet.

Participants will learn how to use tools and techniques employed by professional fact-checkers to separate fact from fiction on their social media feeds. Topics include everything from using a simple ctrl+F for vetting sources to reverse image searches and algorithms.