Bias Intervention: Strategies for Responding to Biased Language

Presented by
CSU Center for Public Deliberation

This session will focus on responding to bias through three primary strategies: calling out, calling in, and walking away. Participants will have an opportunity to develop their own language for intervening in moments of bias and learn how contextual factors might influence choices in the moment. By the end of the session, participants will have the opportunity to practice different strategies for intervention. This session will be highly interactive, and we will invite you to work together to develop the strategies that make the most sense for your own life.

Book Bans in Colorado: Stay Aware, Stay Prepared

Presented by
Colorado Association of Libraries’ Intellectual Freedom Committee

Book bans in schools have long been a controversial issue, with debates centered on issues of censorship and the role of literature in shaping young minds. In this session, members of the Colorado Association of Libraries’ Intellectual Freedom Committee will discuss the escalation of these debates over the past few years and provide information about recent book ban challenges in Colorado. We will also offer strategies for handling these challenges in schools while working through common book ban scenarios as a group. This workshop is for educators and adults only.

Building a Strong Inclusion and Justice Club at Your School

Presented by
YCD

Are you interested in creating a diversity/inclusion/social justice club at your own school? Do you already have a club and are looking for ways to recruit students and host events? This workshop will allow you to engage in an open dialogue, provide you with tools, tricks, and ideas to grow and nurture your own inclusion and justice club, and create space for future collaboration with educators and students from many schools.

Confronting Male Privilege

This workshop will approach the complex and messy topic of confronting male privilege and its role in the interconnected systems of oppression. In doing so, we will discuss toxic masculinity and how it affects people of all genders. This will include the effect of toxic masculinity on men’s mental health and men’s suicide prevention. Additionally, we will explore how toxic masculinity plays a role in sexism and misogyny, including issues such as mansplaining and reproductive justice. Lastly, we will touch upon the ways in which toxic masculinity interacts with other harmful “isms” such as racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, mental illness, and more. By the end of the workshop, all participants will have the knowledge needed to begin dismantling the ways in which toxic masculinity has affected their lives.

Empowering You to Prevent Suicide

Presented by
The Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Larimer County

In this session, participants will gain insight and information into the risk factors students face when it comes to suicide. We’ll debunk some myths and face some hard truths. The goal? To feel empowered to support ourselves and one another, working toward prevention of suicide in our community.

Experience Dyslexia®: A Learning Disabilities Simulation

Presented by
Rocky Mountain Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA-RMB)

This interactive and highly engaging simulation lets participants experience some of the challenges and frustrations faced by people with language-based learning differences. Participants are guided through six learning tasks commonly encountered in the classroom or workplace. These activities are followed by a group discussion focusing on experiences shared and lessons learned, as well as practical tips, accommodations, and interventions for the classroom.

Faith, Belief, Religion, and Worldview

Presented by
Ryan Wooley, Chaplain, UC Health

Participants will reflect on the intersections of students’ faith and belief identities with their other social identities. We will explore the differences between faith, belief, religion and worldview; current religious/spiritual trends; consider why interfaith dialogue is so important; and discuss challenges that students might face regarding their worldviews. We will invite participants to engage in learning with us through sharing their own knowledge and experiences in this dynamic workshop.

How LGBTQIA+ Identities Show up at School

Presented by
Shayna Seitchik, Poudre School District

Learn about, discuss, and collaborate on ways in which LGBTQIA+ identities show up at school, how gender identity is protected by law, and how school policies can support LGBTQIA+ students.

Immigrant Youth Share Their Stories

Presented by
Fort Morgan High School

A panel of 3-4 teens who have immigrated to the United States from different countries around the world will share their immigrant stories, as well as what we all can do to make immigrants feel more welcome in northern Colorado and Wyoming.

Islam and Islamophobia

Presented by
Shehab Elhaddad

This workshop will provide background to students about different aspects of Islam and discuss common misconceptions and how these misconceptions have personally impacted the speaker and Muslims in our community.

Journey to Self-Discovery

Presented by
CSU Black/African-American Cultural Center

Getting to know yourself is an eternal journey that evolves with your evolution as a human being. Join us as we take a unique and engaging approach to self-discovery and how it relates to your experiences with others in your world. In a world of isolation and distractions we will focus on connecting with ourselves and others. This journey is interactive and will include some meditation and small group interactions.

One Person, More than One Identity

Presented by
Delhia Mahaney, Poudre School District

Biracial and multi-racial students navigate school and home life in very different ways. In this session students who hold the two or more racial and/or ethnic identities can participate in an Affinity Circle circle to discuss their beautiful and amazing selves and also find community with others who share the same lived experiences.

Ouch! Understanding Microaggressions, Slurs and Bias

Presented by
Elaine Holmes, Fort Collins High School

Start to recognize and have a better understanding of casual oppression, microaggressions, slurs, and unconscious bias. Learn strategies and develop tools to help others to be aware of how their words and behaviors affect others. We will train ourselves in offering productive responses to those around us.

Peer Support is About Social Change

Presented by
Melissa Lozano, Yarrow Collective

We will discuss the history of peer support, who started it and why, as well as how peer support shows up in our community right now. Using an interactive activity, we will also discuss how the lived experiences that sometimes feel limiting (such as mental health struggles or substance use struggles) can become medicine and wisdom to offer support back to our communities.

Restorative Community Building in Schools

Presented by
Leah Hager, Poudre School District

Participants will experience the power of restorative community building in talking circles and learn about the potential of the collective space to build relationships, define community norms, and attend to community needs. In this tradition, the circle invites, honors, and empowers everyone. This workshop is for educators and adults only.

Speak Up, Speak Out!

Presented by
Delhia Mahaney, Poudre School District

Ever wonder what to say when someone makes a racist, homophobic, abelsit, sexist, or any other type of harmful remark toward you or someone else? In this interactive session we will talk through facilitator provided examples and examples from participants and develop ways to safely interrupt and disrupt language and actions that only serve to hurt others.

Teaching Teachers: Engaging Staff in Diversity

Presented by
Students from Laramie High School

In this workshop we plan to start by giving a brief overview of the four workshops we taught to teachers at a staff development day (inspired by past YCD workshops). Then we’ll go into how we got the ball rolling in our clubs to develop the courses, tactics we used to make them more meaningful to teachers, and how we got in touch with the administrators to make the workshops happen. We’ll wrap up with how teachers reacted to the workshops and different ways students can interact with their teachers to make their school more inclusive and accepting.

Time to Talk: Creating Healthy Dating Relationships

Presented by
Crossroads Safehouse

Students will learn more about healthy dating relationships and how to recognize the warning signs of dating violence. We will discuss all aspects of the cycle of abuse, participate in a “red-flag” activity, and learn what to do to create safe and healthy boundaries around power and control in dating relationships.

Understanding and Combatting Ableism in Our Daily Lives

Presented by
Jo Carroll

This workshop is a crash course on ableism, or the oppression of people with disabilities, led by an activist within the disability community. We will explore how ableist language and ideas exist in our everyday society, and then discuss how we can take steps to unlearn and combat ableism in our schools and communities.

We are on Native Land

Presented by
Sierra Bitsie

Have you considered the history, identity, and cultural significance of the land you live, work, and recreate on? In this session, we will explore the cultural and spiritual significance of land to indigenous nations with a specific focus on the land in northern Colorado and Wyoming. We will understand the importance and role of Land Acknowledgements and Land Back movements. Finally, we will collaboratively generate actions we can take to support local indigenous communities in relation to land.

Who’s Got the Power? Exploring Sexual Violence as a Tool of Oppression and How to Protect Vulnerable Populations

Presented by
Sexual Assault Victim Advocate (SAVA) Center

This workshop will explore how sexual violence is shaped by the systems of power that exist in U.S. society. After providing a brief overview of sexual violence terms and definitions, presenters will invite participants to help create the Power Flower, a graphic representation of the harmful systems that keep specific groups of people in power and other groups of people oppressed.

A Young Activist’s Manifesto

Presented by
The Envision Project

The word manifesto can have a negative connotation, but in this case, we’ll learn how to articulate a vision for a better world and develop a framework for action to help us get there. More than a mission statement, we’ll create roadmaps for our individual journeys that lead us to change our worlds, together. We’ll walk through five steps: find your why; find your cause; find your voice; find your people; find your action. Whether you’re a student or an adult looking to empower the next generation of leaders, this workshop will ignite the activist inside you and give you the tools you need to make a real, lasting impact in our classrooms, communities, and beyond.