General Schedule

(The schedule was last updated on October 1, 2009.)

==> Download the full schedule as a PDF (with more in depth information about the workshops)

==> Download individual schedules for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Noon – 1:00 p.m. Rally for a REAL Recovery and to Support City of Portland Employees – Sponsored by AFSCME & Jobs with Justice. For more info: www.afscmelocal189.com or www.jwjpdx.org.
Location: City Hall, 4th Ave. SW and Jefferson

Thursday, October 1, 2009

5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. A Special Art Exhibit for Econvergence
Location: SEA Change Gallery, 625 NW Everett Street Gallery #110

Off-Site Art Opening: Present/Future
Present/Future contrasts dystopian oil addicted suburbia with a utopian vision of a futuristic, high-density city that aims to seamlessly integrate the human and natural worlds. Imagery was harvested by asking Portland’s leading environmentalists, “What’s your vision for an extremely environmentally conscious and socially inclusive world? How will clean energy, local food, and plant/animal/human diversity be a part of this future?” Architectural and animal imagery pervades these highly detailed drawings and paintings by artists Alec Neal and Katherine Ball.

7:00 p.m Movie Premiere of PLUNDER, hosted by the director, Danny Schechter.
Location: First Unitarian Church of Portland SW 12th Ave & SW Salmon St.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Location: First Unitarian Church of Portland, SW 12th Ave & SW Salmon St

8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Registration/Tabling (Location: Fuller Hall)

9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Friday Session #1

• “Reimagining the Columbia River Crossing: Focusing on Health and Climate Instead of Mega-Bridge Freeway Expansion” – Mara Gross, Mel Rader, Brian Sloan
• “Tenants Rights Project” – Mindy Stone
• “Coltan, Cell Phones, and Crisis in the Congo” – Casey Bush, Dan Raphael, Tom Web, Ann Shannon, Josh Seeds, Katherine Bell and Ryan Burns
• “Transition Towns: Portland, the US, and the World” – Jim Newcomer, David Johnson, Reuben Deumling
• “Present for the Future: Grounded Activism for Turbulent Times” – Barbara Ford

10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Friday Session #2

• PLENARY: “The Crisis of Capital: Economy, Ecology, and Empire” – John Bellamy Foster
• “Corporate Constitutional Rights and The Rights of Nature and People”– Paul Cienfuegos and Mari Margil
• “Barnraising Art in Portland” – Melissa Sillitoe, Luke Lefler, Garret Potter, Heather Mattie, Katherine Ball
• “The Coke-Odwalla Boycott & Local/Global Mobilizing to the Left of Obama” – Lew Church
• “The Creation of Capitalism: A Historical Perspective” – Forest Student, Olga Rocheeva

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Friday Session #3

• “Water: Private Commodity or Common Good” – Glenn Montgomery, Frank Fromherz, Jason Wallach (film)
• “Ganging Up on the Bosses: A New Model of Direct Action Organizing” – Matthew Adams, Emily Lynch, John Jacobsen, Lee Campbell
• “Building Economic Literacy: Breaking Down Economic Language for a Liberatory Movement” – Matt Lester, Erik Oien, Jenine Adam, Ryan Worswick
• “Cooling a Fevered Planet: The Economic and Political Solutions to the Climate Crisis” – Gar Lipow
• “Cooperatives Distilled: Ecological Economics as a Step Toward a More Perfect Economy” – Rick Riehle

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Break

3:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Friday Session #4

• PLENARY: “Immigrants Rights & Labor” – Juan Bocanegra, Francisco Lopez, Eliana Machuca, Ben Nelson
• “Port Militarization Resistance: Community Direct Action Toward Stopping the Occupations” – Brendan Funtek & Patty Imani
• “Socialism & the Environment: How to Stop Capitalism From Killing Our Planet” – Meredith Reese
• “Campus First Amendment Support Project” – Mindy Stone
• “Cooperatives, Consensus, and Currency in Tomorrow’s Economy” – Luna Lacey
• “Green Technologies Panel: Reversing Catastrophic Climate Change Through Biochar / Building and Empowering Local Economies with Community Owned Renewable Energy Power Production” – R. Jerry Adams and Mary Geddry

5:00 p.m – 6:00 p.m. Rally and March: “The Invasion of Afghanistan, 8 Years Later”
Location: Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill and Broadway

Portlanders will call for an end to the occupation of Afghanistan, along with other geopolitical concerns, at an expanded Friday Rally and March for Peace and Justice. The event is an sponsored by Portland Peaceful Response Coalition (PPRC) in cooperation with Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group, the First Unitarian Church, and other groups.

5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Dinner Break

6:30 p.m. Doors Open for Noam Chomsky Event “When Elites Fail” with Music by The Waxwings and Raging Grannies. Lecture at 7:00 p.m. (Location: Main Chapel) (Tickets Required)

9:30 p.m. – Midnight Poetry Reading by Poet/Activists gathering for Econvergence
Location: SEA Change Gallery, 625 NW Everett Street Gallery #110

Poets engaging the concerns of the Econvergence will read. Poets who traveled from Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and Vancouver BC, will be joined by local Portland poets.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Location: First Unitarian Church of Portland, SW 12th Ave & SW Salmon St

8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Registration/Tabling (Location: Fuller Hall)

9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Saturday Session #1

• PLENARY “The Role of the Media: A Critical Assessment”– David Barsamian, Danny Schechter, Jo Ann Bowman, Jules Boykoff
• “Climate Policy for an Equitable Future”–Peter Dorman, Helen Scharber, Kristen Sheeran
• “Changing the Economic System: Staring NOW!” – Marty Hart-Landsberg, Barbara Garson, Veronica Dujon, Joel Magnuson
• “The End of US Domination: Better for the World, Better for US Working People” – Dan Shea, Laura Carlsen, Robin Hahnel, Pam Allee
• “Revolutionizing Hope: Strategies and Visions from an Anarchist Perspective” – Cindy Milstein, Harjit Singh Gill, Paul Messermith-Glavin, Andrej Grubacic
• “What Environmental Activists Need to Know about the Green Scare” – Lauren Regan, Craig Rosebraugh, Kenneth Kreuscher
• “How to Start a Radical Cooperative” – Eton Harris, Charley Justice
• “Moving from Protest to Resistance” – Clarence Thomas, Gabriel Prawl
• “Antiwar Campus Organizing Project: Effectively Attacking Obama’s Neoliberal War Agenda” – Xander Dunlap, Courtney Frantz
• “Art in Action: Helping People See” (plus Free Market) – Katherine Ball, Matthew Stadler, Anselm Hook

10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Saturday Session #2

• PLENARY “Creating a New Economy in which People and Nature Matter” – David Korten
• “The Coup in Honduras: What It Means for Latin America” – Shizuko Hashimoto, Maribel Gomez, Jorge Madrid, Lisa Sullivan, Martin Sanchez
• “The Crisis of Care: Creating Real Sustainability” – Mary King, Diane Rosenbaum, Savvina Chowdhury, Andrea Paluso and Sharon Bernstein
• “Changing the Economic System: Why We Must and How We Can” – Peter Bohmer, Robin Hahnel, Adam Sanchez, Cindy Milstein
• “Progressive Political Unity and Long-Term Political Strategy: Achieving Progressive Policies In Spite of the Corporate, Two-Party System” – Kelly Gerling, Laura Bonham, Judith Shattuck, Michael Meo
• “We Know It’s About Race: Covert Racism by Anti-Healthcare Advocates, Tea Baggers, Birthers, and Conservative Media” – Opio Lumumba Sokoni
• “Political Repression, Counter Insurgency, and Domestic Policing: Lessons for Social Movements” – Kristian Williams
• “Three Trillion Dollar War, Millions of Lives on Dying Planet” – Dan Shea, Seth Manzel
• “Connecting the Dots: Veganism Can Solve Our Economic and Ecological Crises” – David Agranoff
• “The Business of Water” – Nancy Matela
• “The Art of Empowerment: Street Theatre as a Tool for Change” – Nina Triffleman & Hilary Hacker

11:00 a.m – 1:30 p.m. Guided Tour of Worker Owned Cooperatives in Portland

Visit and learn about three of Portland’s democratically managed workplaces. People’s Food Co-op (consumer owned collectively managed), Red & Black Café (worker owned), and Citybikes (worker owned). Departs from in front of the church no later than 11:00 a.m. (Bring your bike!)

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Saturday Session #3

• PLENARY “The Four Fold Crises, Food Movements and Regime Change” – Eric Holt Gimenez
• “Housing: Anatomy of a Disaster, Program for Recovery” – Aimee Olin, Mary King, Peter Dorman
• “The Financial Crisis: Causes, Lessons, and Solutions” – Barbara Dudley, Eric Tymoigne, Robin Hahnel
• “Fiscal Stimulus: Why Necessary? How Big? How Long? What Form?” – Tom Palley, Helen Sharber, Alan Hipolito
• “Which Way Forward for the Environmental Movement: From Mass Movements to the Earth Liberation Front” – Craig Rosebraugh, Andrea Hecktor
• “Treaty Rights, Anti-Indian Movements, and Building Native/Non-Native Environmental Alliances” – Leah Henry-Tanner, Debi McNutt, Chuck Tanner
• “On the Sustainability of Prisons: Economic and Philosophical Considerations” – Tara Herivel, Caylor Roling, Ruth Kovacs, Therese Saliba
• “Coffee Strong and GI Resistance: Organizing Against Wars for Oil” – Barbara Garson, Seth Manzel, Molly Gibbs, Joseph Carter
• “Venezuela: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines” – Megan Hise, Rio Colliers, Jaclyn Brown, Andrew Needham, Sasha Burchuck, Mike Taber & Mark Vorpahl
• “Transit Riders Union” – Jason Barbour
• “Socialism: What It Is and Why We Need It” – Camille White-Avian

1:30 p.m. Stroll the Portland Farmers Market and Help Prepare for the Free Market

Meet in Room A105 at 1:30p.m. – Take a stroll to the Portland Farmers Market for a crash course in gleaning and distributing bountiful resources. Help carry the bounty of unwanted food back to the Unitarian Church to set up the Free Market: a free, local produce market devoted to unconditional giving. Led by social, environmental artist Katherine Ball.

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Break

3:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Saturday Session #4

• PLENARY “The Economic Crisis: What Got Us Into This Mess and What We Must Do to Get Out of It” – Tom Palley
• “Genocide as Ecocide: The Impact of Occupation on the People and Land of Gaza” – Lawrence Mosqueda, Cindy Corrie, Serena Becker, Ron Smith, Frank Sherlock
• “What Cooperatives Can & Cannot Do” – Lori Burge, Eton Harris, Eric Bowman
• “Mobilizing Against the 2009 WTO Ministerial: D5 – The Spirit of Seattle Lives!” – Arthur Stamoulis, Heather Day, Andrea Townsend, Tim Rice
• “Everybody In, Nobody Out: Fighting for REAL Healthcare Reform” – Margaret Butler (Jobs With Justice), Tom Leedham, Herman Frankel, Dana Welty
• “Wisdom in Common” – Andej Grubacic, Iain Boal, Anne-Lise Francois, Sandra Meucci
• “Perspectives from the Frontlines: Women Fighting Poverty in Venezuela & the U.S.” – Lindsay Day, Tovah Rudawski, Courtney Frantz
• “2010 Olympic Games: Land Struggles and Resistance Versus Greenwashing and Bailouts” – Harjap Grewal
• “Finding the REAL Wealth in Your Community and Creating More” – Judy Bennett, Marcia Meyers, Hafida Acuay, Jared Gardner, Kim Ford, Sarah Bennett, Linda Smoldt
• “Collateral Damage: The Impact of the Military on Both the Economy and Ecology – What Can We Do About It in Oregon?” – Carol Urner, Georgia Pinkel, Barbara Drageaux, Raging Grannies
• “Art & Poetry in Action: Interventions (BARGE & PACE)” – David Buuck, Frank Sherlock & CA Conrad

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Wine and Cheese Reception hosted by Oregon Fair Trade Campaign in honor of release of the Tenth Anniversary report: The Spirit of Seattle Lives (Location: Channing Room)

6:30 p.m. Doors Open for Derrick Jensen Event, Lecture at 7:00 p.m. (Location: Main Chapel – Tickets Required)

9:30 p.m. – Midnight Econvergence Band Concert
Location: Portland State University, Parkway North Room, Smith Memorial Union

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Location: Portland State University, Smith Memorial Union, SW Broadway between SW Montgomery and SW Harrison

8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Registration/Tabling (Location: Ballroom, Room 355)

9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Sunday Session #1

• PLENARY “Alternatives to Neoliberalism: Real, Sustainable Economic Development” – Leopoldo Rodriguez, Martin Sanchez, Marty Hart-Landsberg, Laura Carlsen
• “Transformative Justice and the Prison-Industrial Complex: Intersections of Economic and Environmental Destruction and PIC” – Amory Ballantine, Molly Paine-Donovan, Tony Zaragoza
• “Environmental Policies that Support Local Economies” – Sonya Hetrick, Craig Jacobson
• “How Would Recognizing the Human Right to Health Contribute to a Sustainable Economy? Reform Through Single Payer-Health Care for All” – Martha Schmidt, Paul Hochfeld, Peter Mahr
• “Genetically Engineered Food: The Hope, The Hype, and the Risks – What You Can Do To Protect Yourself” – Rick North, Lisa Weasel, Ken Roseboro, David Gould
• “Poetry Encouraging Activism” – Jonathan Skinner, Alicia Cohen, Dan Raphael, Allison Cobb, Jim Grabill
• “What is Anarchism: From a Simple Philosophy to a Strategy of Resistance” – Charley Justice, Eton Harris
• “Shifting the Frame: The Marriage of Socially Engaged Art & Social Ecology” – Marguerite Tingkhye, Annie Brule, Bob Spivey
• “Intentional Communities: Potentials and Pitfalls” – Dawn Done, Scott Holzknecht, and J. Brush

10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Sunday Session #2

• PLENARY; “Petrol & Palestine: the Israel-Palestine Conflict Through the Lens of Energy Politics and US Militarism” – Tasha Triplett, Peter Miller, MaryAlecia K. Briggs, Wael Elasady and Cindy Corrie
• “HOW Should We Respond to the Economic and Ecological Crises?” – Barbara Garson, Robin Hahnel, Peter Bohmer
• “Before Hitting the Ground: Climate Change – Nuclear Power – the Way We Live!” – Lloyd Marbet, Cathryn Chudy
• “Food Sovereignty Talks Back to Neoliberalism: Reports from Around the Globe” – Brenda Biddle, Basil Weiner, Laura Carlsen, Eric Holt-Gimenez
• “Art & Poetry in Action: Crises of Housing” – Andrea Murray, Kristen Sheeran, Friends of Woodwards Squats, Kaia Sand, Marcia Klotz
• “El Agua es Nuestra: What Makes Social Movements Succeed?” – Katheryn Brooks
• “Effective Campaigns” – David Agranoff & Matt Rossell
• “Connecting the Dots: Climate, Capital & Community” – Lara Messersmith-Glavin, Paul Messersmith-Glavin, Ian Wallace, Adrian Thalasinos Haley, Emily Jane Dawson and Paul Sklar

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:00 p.m. “Schools: A Thousand Wrongs Makes Nobody Right” (Play, THE STAND)

Location: At the Brody Theatre, 16 NW Broadway. All Econvergence Guests are FREE.

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Sunday Session #3

• “Venezuela: Building Socialism for the 21st Century?” – Martin Sanchez, Lisa Sullivan, Peter Bohmer, Brenda Biddle
• “The Looting of America: How Wall Street’s Game of Fantasy Finance Destroyed our Jobs, Pensions and Prosperity and What We Can Do About It” – Les Leopold
• “Corporate/Colonial False Solutions vs. Community-Based Solutions to the Climate Crisis” – Brian Frank, Zoltan Grossman
• “Oceans at Risk: New Synergies to Solve Unseen Threats” – Mark Hixon
• “Building Popular Power From Below: Poor People’s Self Organization in Times of Crisis” – Shyam Khanna & Brenden Dunn
• “Food & the Environmental Crisis: How What We Eat and What We Subsidize Affects Us All” – Peter Spendelow and Ramona Ilea
• “Another Economy is Possible: Northwest Communities in Solidarity” – Marianne Mork, Jen Rogue, Lambert Rochfort, Brooke Stepp
• “Grand Theft Automated: Understanding the Impacts of Technology on Capitalism as More Than a Cyclical Crisis” – Tony Zaragoza
• “Radical Sustainability: Permaculture to Primativism and Indigenous Thoughts” – John Zerzan, Judy BlueHorse Skelton, Frodo Okulam, A. C. Keefer

3:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Final Strategy Session and Closing (Location: Room 338)

Conference participants are invited to join our final strategy session and closing. Participants will discuss the many economic, social and environmental problems raised at Econvergence, and plan for short-term meaningful change and long-term revolutionary change. At this session, participants will create and join break-out groups of their choosing – to network and to make action plans. We will deal with issues such as: healthcare; climate change; immigration; full employment; and how to continue the work, relationships and connections from this conference. The whole group will then reconvene to hear from each break-out group. We will connect problems and solutions, issues and actions, and take concrete steps towards economic and environmental justice and creating the world we envision. This session will be facilitated by Peter Bohmer and Kelly Gerling.