Workshops

Each workshop is designed to offer participants an opportunity to delve deeper into an issue area that intersects directly with the root causes of poverty. The workshops will be led by experts who can speak to the policy dimensions of the issue, the biblical and theological dimensions, and the practical activist dimensions. The format is for each expert to present for 10 to 15 minutes. After their presentations a moderator will take 10 to 15 minutes of questions from the audience, and then pose a question for participants to discuss at their small tables.

Peace and Poverty

Glen Stassen and Rose Marie Berger

This workshop will focus on the impact of war and military expenditures on the federal budget. What are ways in which excess military spending cripples the fight against poverty? Past and present military expenditures consume more than 40 percent of federal funds each year. In this workshop, Fuller Theological Seminary Professor of Christian Ethics Glen Stassen and Sojourners magazine Associate Editor Rose Marie Berger will examine the impact of military expenditures on anti-poverty efforts.

Environment and Poverty

Alexie Torres Fleming and Sharon Hanshaw

This workshop will focus on the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on the poor. How does the poor stewardship of our environment affect impoverished communities around the world? Alexie Torres Fleming, founder of Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice in Bronx, NY, and Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Coastal Women for Change, will share how their organizations are part of movement to raise awareness about the need for environmental stewardship as part of the fight against poverty.

Health Care and Poverty

TBA

This workshop will focus on what leaders need to know about health care reform in the United States. More than 46 million people in the U.S. are uninsured, and many of them are poor. This workshop will ask, what are the basic principles that must shape health care reform? What are the pros and cons of the various options being proposed? And finally, what is the unique voice of the faith community in this high-stakes debate?

Women and Poverty

Ivy George and Susan Pace Hamill

While this is a broad topic, this workshop will focus on the disproportionate impact of poverty on women specifically in the global South, and will examine some programs that successfully empower them to overcome the odds. Women throughout the world are disproportionately affected by poverty. Ivy George, professor of the sociology and social work at Gordon College, and Susan Pace Hamill, a tax law analyst and professor at the University of Alabama, School of Law, will share their observations on the impact of poverty on women and ways in which women can become key proponents of overcoming poverty in their communities.

Poverty and the Economy

Chuck Collins and Shaun Casey

What impact does the collapse of Wall Street, the mortgage crisis, bailouts, and stimulus packages have on the fight against poverty? While the economic crisis has been frequently discussed in the media, and has personally affected many of us, the effect of these events on the poor has rarely been mentioned. Shaun Casey, associate professor of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary, and Chuck Collins, author and senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, will explore the structural changes needed in our economy to ensure greater transparency and accountability for advancing the common good.

Immigration and Poverty

Ian Danley, Gabe Salguero, and Jenny Hwang

What is the intersection of immigration and poverty? Poverty in sending countries often forces migrants to endure harsh conditions to seek opportunities in the U.S. When they arrive, they often remain poor -- 25 percent of the U.S.-poor are first-generation immigrants. This dialogue on the intersection of immigration and poverty, specifically focused on the plight of undocumented immigrants, will be led by Dr. Gabriel Salguero, director of the Hispanic Leadership Program at Princeton Theological Seminary; Jenny Hwang, director of advocacy for World Relief’s refugee and immigration program; and Ian Danley, immigration organizer and youth pastor with Neighborhood Ministries in Phoenix.

Race and Poverty

World Vision

World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization that works domestically and internationally to tackle the causes and effects of poverty, will lead this workshop examining the relationship between race and poverty, with a special emphasis on juvenile justice.

Global Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals

ONE

More than one year ago, Obama pledged to “make the Millennium Development Goals American policy.” This workshop will be led by ONE, an advocacy organization that seeks to raise awareness about global poverty. During the workshop, leaders from ONE will examine the Millennium Development Goals, and will strategize how we can push the new administration to uphold these goals, and what individuals can do to combat global poverty.

HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria

World Vision

World Vision’s Acting on AIDS campaign, a campus-based grassroots movement, will lead a workshop about the global crisis of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The organization focuses on advocacy, creative activism, and discipleship as channels to “turn the tide of global AIDS.”