As you may have already seen on the front page, LWVOR's 2021 Virtual Convention is next week! Starting Monday, May 10th, we have 5 short days of position discussions (caucuses) and workshops to learn more about our positions on healthcare, childcare, and others, as well as a forestry panel addressing climate change impacts. Following the workshops, the Saturday and Sunday LWVOR Business Sessions are necessary for biennial organization work, adopting program studies, bylaws and budget, and electing officers and board directors. (Skip to the end for a summary)
And you're invited!
Information you might need:
Everything you need is on the Convention 2021 page
Caucus and workshop schedule (no registration required)
Caucus reading materials and resources
Zoom Meeting links
Pre-registration links for panels and business sessions
Because this is a virtual event, we're doing things a little differently this year. (I'll bet you haven't heard that one before!) First up, we have a few different Zoom meeting rooms.
For caucuses and workshops, we have one LWVOR Virtual Meeting room link. Think of this as the "main room" during physical events.
A couple of caucuses are being held in Local League meeting rooms. Look out on the schedule for those different Zoom links! These are like little, separate conference rooms you'll move between.
We have two panels during Convention: Forests, Fire, and Sustainability, and a Keynote presentation by Kristin Eberhard. Both of those events have SEPARATE links, and you'll need to PRE-REGISTER each one. You'll also find those registration links on the Convention page or further down in this post.
And finally, we have two more separate meetings for Business Sessions 1 and 2, held on Saturday and Sunday, the 14th and 15th. Your local league leader should have signed delegates already, and you'll receive an email with the Subject line "Business Session 1/2 Invitation for Observers" with a meeting link for each of the two sessions.
Members of the League are welcome and encouraged to register as observers for the business sessions. Observers are allowed to weigh in on discussions and give opinions, but cannot vote. Use this form to register as an observer.
This might sound like a lot, but don't worry! Keep an eye on the Convention page and this blog where we'll keep the links hot, fresh, ready for you.
During caucuses, you will be able to ask questions in the chat and use the "Raise Hand" feature located in the Reactions tab at the bottom if you'd like to speak. Otherwise, your video will be muted and turned off. You can come and go as you please using the Virtual meeting room link on the Convention page.
Caucuses and workshops will be open earlier than the 10 AM start time so you can come in early and get your Zoom set up. Remember, use the Virtual Meeting Room link in this email or on the Convention page.
Let's start off with an intro to next week:
On Monday morning, May 10th at 10 am we have a Pre-Convention tutorial for you to join before caucuses start. We'll be available to help you out with joining Zoom, how to use chat and reactions like raising your hand, or anything else you need. We will try to make this process as easy as we can! Use this link to join!
Next up at 10 am, our first caucus will be Healthcare in America, presented by Bill Walsh, Action Committee Healthcare Coordinator. We have an updated position to share with you. Remember, no registration is required - just open the Zoom link and come on in! If you joined us for the pre-convention tutorial and are already there, just sit tight and we'll come to you.
Following right after that will be a caucus on Forestry by Josie Koehne - no need to switch Zoom rooms! LWV of Washington State has a very relevant position on Forestry that Oregon hopes to concur with. See the new position on our website convention page and come into the caucus to share your thoughts. If you're late, no worries - use this Zoom link to the Virtual Meeting room and join!
In case you happen to run out of time during the meeting, we've set up a WhatsApp group to continue the conversation! A "WhatsApp group" is like a group text message. Everyone will be able to talk via text-based messages to everyone else!
Let's take a peek into the future:
Friday at 12 PM: a panel on Forests, Fire, and Sustainability.
Panelists include:
Professor John Bailey from OSU Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society
Senator Jeff Golden, Oregon Senate District 3
Chandra LeGue, Western Oregon Field Coordinator for Oregon Wild
Dr. Andrew Yost, Forest Ecologist with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF)
Scott Swearingen, Field Support Unit Manager at ODF.
Saturday, May 15th, 10 am: Business Session 1 (join Zoom meeting early)
Saturday, May 15th, 2 pm: Keynote speaker, Kristen Eberhard, presenting "Democracy - How to make it work better" based on her book Becoming a Democracy. Pre-registration is required - register here!
We hope spreading these workshops out over the course of a week keeps the Zoom fatigue to a minimum.
Summary
- The Convention page has everything you need!
- Monday morning, come into the Virtual Meeting room here whenever you like. Pre-convention tutorial at 10 am, Healthcare caucus at 11 am, and Forestry caucus at 12 pm.
- Remember to pre-register for the panels on Forests, Fire, and Sustainability or Democracy, How to make it work better.
- If you'd like to observe the business sessions on Saturday and Sunday, use this form to register.