How You Can Support the 2024 Generational Leadership Summit
In the Fall of 2023, a groundbreaking collaboration between the Boston Center for Independent Living, Disability Policy Consortium, and the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council led to the creation of the Generational Leadership Summit. This initiative aims to empower emerging activists and community leaders from across the Commonwealth to take up the mantle of the disability rights movement by championing access, inclusion, and independence for all.
Following the success of our inaugural Summit, where 20 aspiring leaders were equipped with invaluable skills and insights from pioneering voices in the disability rights and disability justice spaces, we are thrilled to announce the second annual iteration of this vital initiative. This year’s Summit, scheduled for September 23-25, 2024, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts, aims to fuel even greater impact.
This year's Summit format is designed to maximize learning and collaboration. The first day will feature a one-day intensive advocacy and leadership training for our 2023 alumni, fostering continued growth and an enhanced sense of connection. On the second day, these alumni will then serve as peer mentors and co-presenters to a new cohort of 20 emerging leaders. With a total of 40 individuals from the Massachusetts disability community equipped by this initiative to make change in their communities through the skilled application of various advocacy and leadership tools by the end of 2024, and the aim to multiply their impact by enabling them to serve as trainers of future cohorts in 2025 and beyond, the Summit’s potential to generate transformative systems change is immense.
To achieve our goals and ensure the sustained success of the Summit, we need your support. There are two primary ways you or your organization can contribute:
Direct Financial Support: Your generous financial contributions will directly fund the Summit's expenses, including venue-related costs, accessibility accommodations, instructional materials, program development, participant scholarships, and transportation stipends. To learn more about becoming a sponsor for this event, contact us.
Indirect Financial Support: In addition to monetary contributions, we welcome your in-kind assistance in support of various aspects of the Summit, such as the evaluation of applications, curricular design, and on-site staffing support. To contribute in-kind, contact us for more information.
We will convene a virtual organizing meeting in the Summer of 2024 that we hope you can join. The purpose of the meeting is to answer questions, discuss our concept for the 2024 Summit, and seek commitments from key disability rights stakeholders across Massachusetts. (Details for this meeting are coming soon.)
Your support will play a pivotal role in cultivating the next generation of social justice advocate-leaders and building the future the disability rights movement in Massachusetts and beyond. Together, we can create a more inclusive and equitable world. Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a meaningful difference toward advancing justice and progress with and for countless disabled lives.
