By Sabia Prescott
In January 2017, the National LGBTQ Task Force will host the 29th annual Creating Change Conference in Philadelphia. Over five days, more than 4,600 activists, organizers, elected officials, and community leaders will convene with the goal of building the LGBTQ movement’s political power. Fostering grassroots power is a recurring theme for the conference, which takes place each year in a different U.S. city and has drawn more than 50,000 people since its inception.
According to the Task Force, “Creating Change has created opportunities for many thousands of committed people to develop and hone their skills, celebrate victories, build community, and to be inspired by visionaries of [the] LGBTQ movement and allied movements for justice and equality.” They meet these goals with a series of day-long institutes, workshops, and caucus sessions focusing on the unique positions of intersectional queer identities in the current political landscape. The first day of the conference will kick off with a racial justice institute, followed by institutes focused on various religious and social identities.
Last year’s conference took place in Chicago and drew 4,300 individuals from around the country. Changes to this year’s conference include a focus on legal equality beyond marriage rights and additional sectors in which to explore LGBTQ rights and identities, such as early childhood education and senior citizen health care.
The Creating Change conference will take place January 18-22, 2017 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. Online registration, which will open in August, can be found on the conference website here.