Call For Workshops

If history teaches us anything as organizers and as revolutionaries, it is that we build the strongest movement towards liberation when we share the stories of our struggles with each other. It is with this at heart that the West Rising conference was conceived: a place for the many and diverse liberation movements in the west to come together and share our stories and strengthen the solidarity between us.

Our movements towards liberation are as diverse as the varied landscape that surrounds us, and sometimes defined by the landscape. The struggle against US colonialism carries on as the Lakotah Sioux continue their work to reestablish their self-determination. Communities band together to fight companies that seek to destroy our environment through mining and resource extraction. We face down bulldozers that seek to destroy our communities for a developers profit. The realities of racism, heteropatriarchy, and other oppressions confront us daily. We are surrounded by the history of rebellion, the very ground beneath our feet quaking its resistance to the world today.

With the distance between us, it is easy to forget that we are not alone in this struggle, and that sisters and brothers the world over have our backs. With the many losses we see in our communities, it is easy to forget the victories we share. West Rising brings together people to share these victories and losses, to strategize for tomorrow, and to share the skills necessary for success.

The West Rising Collective is currently calling for workshop proposals for the first annual conference, held at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado. The theme of the conference is A Growing Resistance. We hope that the conference creates a space for not just sharing of our different struggles and causes in the west but also a place where we can foster strategic analysis and relationships between individuals and organizations.

While there is an overall vision for West Rising that vision includes and is shaped by the people who come and participate in the conference on all levels; it is the workshops and your participation that creates and defines the experience of West Rising. We hope that you join us for an exciting and inspiring experience and kick off the the new West Rising tradition with a bang.

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If you are interested in hosting a workshop, or would like more information, please contact us at mail@westrising.org.