Gender Spectrum Conference and Professionals’ Symposium: Request for Proposals

Thank you for your interest in being a workshop presenter at the 2017 Gender Spectrum Conference and/or Professionals’ Symposium. The theme for this year’s event is “Claiming My Gender.” This theme speaks to the way individuals make sense of their personal gender in the context of other aspects of who they are.

Workshops consistent with this theme should recognize how various forms of identity–such as race, religion, socioeconomic status, language–influence everyone’s  experience of gender, and that beyond naming these intersections, people are claiming their gender with a wide diversity of strategies to navigate and find congruence in these aspects of their lives. Workshops should help participants to explore the question: What can adults do to help young people embrace who they are in the context of their families, communities, and shifting social and political climates?”

You can find more background on our Conference and Symposium page — keep this page bookmarked for updates on the schedule, logistics, and more.

Professionals’ Symposium, Friday July 6, 2018

Gender Spectrum Conference Saturday July 7 and Sunday July 8, 2018

The events will be held at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, CA.

We are now accepting proposals for the Gender Spectrum Conference and for the Professionals’ Symposium:

Gender Spectrum Conference

Conference participants are primarily parents, caregivers, and other family members of Gender-expansive youth. Many attendees will be coming to the Conference for the first time. Some individuals are well versed on the issues that impact gender-expansive youth and their family, while others are new to the subject. Submit your proposal for the adult Conference programming here. The deadline is Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 11:45 PM PST.

Professionals’ Symposium

Participants who attend the symposium are primarily professionals who work with youth and their families. Some of the professionals are well versed on the issues that impact gender-expansive youth and their family, while others are just beginning to work with youth and families. Submit your proposal for the Symposium here. The deadline is Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 11:45 PM PST.

Background on past workshops, the 2018 theme and workshop programming

To see the full schedule of workshops from last year:

Click here for the 2017 Conference schedule

Click here for the 2017 Symposium schedule

Consistent with our theme, this year we are prioritizing programming that:

    • Intentionally creates spaces for attendees to identify and examine how intersections between gender and other forms of identity play out in their daily lives
    • Builds the capacity of adults (caregivers, professionals and others working with children and youth) to support young people to recognize and reconcile ways in which gender interacts with other forms of identity
    • Utilizes creative approaches to engage conference attendees beyond traditional presentational approaches
    • Recognizes multiple perspectives and voices

These priorities are a starting point. While gender-expansive children and youth remain the focus of the weekend, any session that examines gender in relation to young people will be considered. At Gender Spectrum, we value a broad array of perspectives and their contributions to an evolving dialogue around the importance of gender. Thank you again for your desire to lead this exciting conversation.