Local Organizing for Collaborative Action and Leadership (L.O.C.A.L) Summit #4

 The L.O.C.A.L. Summit Series started in Harrisonburg/Rockingham in response to the dramatic and unprecedented disruption created by Trump’s election. These dynamic events are designed to foster resilience, information sharing, and collaboration. Over 150 people attended the first summit and over 250 attended the second. 

    This event is a great way for organizations to identify people who have a common interest in what their organization is doing. Most of the time is spent in breakout sessions where people organize around a particular issue. There are no predetermined breakouts. It’s up to who shows up and what they want to organize around. So, if a leader of one of the groups you work with (or you) wanted to have a breakout around food scarcity, protecting immigrants or LGBTQ individuals, they could gather people together in a breakout where they talk about what their organization is doing and find out how people wanted to help.

Here are some breakouts from the recent LOCAL Summit in Harrisonburg:

• Promoting Participatory Democracy
• Protecting LGBTQ+
• House Delegate Candidate Listening Session
• Bridge Action (protesting on I-81)
• Social Justice
• Sharing and gathering personal impact stories
• Letter writing
• Listening and leadership skills
• Ranked Choice Voting
• Non-violent civil disobedience

The L.O.C.A.L. Summit provides a space where: 

 • People and groups already in action can share efforts, recruit support, and collaborate. 

 • People ready to engage can find clarity, hope, and tangible ways to contribute. 

 • Leaders can train, organize, and connect— strengthening our collective impact.