Since convention is virtual this year, use this landing page to access all convention related information and join sessions once it starts!
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General Information
Welcome!
We are excited to see you at About Face annual convention! We are mindful that in-person conventions are much better; and the virtual setting is not optimal but we’ve created an agenda we hope will make the best out of gathering until it’s safe to do so in person. Throughout the agenda; there are spaces where you can take healthy screen breaks while actively listening and times where active engagement will be necessary.
Help Support Desk
If you need help at any time throughout the convention, you can reach out to anyone with the word “tech support” in their name. You can also call or text (312) 767-7436.
Community Care Team
The About Face Community Care Team stands ready to support members who want to speak to someone in relative confidence. This line is intentionally set up to hold each other up and where possible offer resources for professional support. Our peer support line is 24/7/365.
Peer-to-peer support: Call/Text: (505) 333-8325 or Email: [email protected]
Community Agreements
- Treat everyone with dignity and respect, stay away from offensive, oppressive and/or dehumanizing language even when talking about our opponents
- One person…one mic
- Be open to collaboration and compromise
- Bring your full participation and help others to do the same
- Speak from your first voice experience…acknowledge differing points of view
- Listen for understanding, active listening, ask questions
- Speak to share your ideas and thoughts, not to argue against others. this is not a competition we are here to share our thoughts, ideas, not win a debate
- Trust the best intentions of the group and center on values, vision, and mission as points of reference. Particularly when conflict emerges
- Be aware of the relationship between your input and your participation (current and future)
- Hold yourself and others accountable to our agreements…lovingly and consistently
About Face Video Project
Help us tell About Face Story! Are you willing to be interviewed? This is a great way to help About Face get our message out on the work we’re doing to live up to our values. We’re also hoping to collect stories about who our members are, how you’re engaged in your communities and/or organize against the military industrial complex. Interviews will take place on Zoom.
Board Election Information
Find general information about Board of Directors roles and responsibilities in the 2021 Board Elections Packet.
Candidate Statements
Read the submitted responses from candidates about their experience and motivations for running here. During the business meeting portion of convention, there will be a candidate forum during where members can hear directly from candidates and ask questions.
Who can vote
All About Face members in good standing are eligible to vote in Board of Director elections, even if they have not been recently active or just joined recently. Being in “good standing” means your membership is NOT currently resigned, suspended, or terminated and you have paid your membership dues for 2021. All membership dues go to reparations projects to support impacted communities to rebuild. You can pay your dues here.
*If you need a waiver for your dues, contact us at [email protected]
How to vote
Voting will be open starting November 2nd and close at 10pm ET on November 6th. As the convention is completely online this year, you can fill out your ballot by clicking here.
*Ballots will be verified by the email address we have in our database for you. To update/verify your email address, contact us at [email protected]
Convention Agenda
All times listed are in Eastern Timezone (ET). Jump to:
Friday, November 5th
11:00am – 12:00pm
Opening & Welcome
Overview, member introductions, wellness grounding, community building activity
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Community Agreements
Members will receive an abbreviated member orientation, get acquainted with AF community agreements and organizing principles.
1:00pm – 1:30pm
* BREAK *
Personal time *or* join break room hang out
1:30pm – 2:30pm
About Face *THEN*
Learn about the history of About Face, lessons learned, past campaigns and projects, etc.
2:30pm – 3:00pm
About Face *NOW*
Learn about how those past lessons have informed our current structure, theory of change, organizing principles and pillars of work.
3:00pm – 4:30pm
Pillar 1: Community Care
– Report Out: Community Care Team ongoing organizing work, lessons and offerings.
– Mapping exercise: Veteran care services and resources
– Discussion: next steps for better connecting our membership with those services.
4:30pm – 4:45pm
* BREAK *
Personal time *or* break room hang out
4:45pm – 6:00pm
Pillar 2: Harm Reduction
– Report out: harm reduction work, lessons, offerings
– Mini-training: counter-recruitment training and tools
– Discussion: true allyship in movement spaces looks like; particularly amid the current unprecedented times.
6:00pm – 6:20pm
* BREAK *
Personal time *or* break room hang out
6:20pm – 7:00pm
Pillar 3: Power Building
Overview: power building; teamwork, lessons, skills share and offerings.
7:00pm – 7:20pm
*BREAK *
Screen break
7:20pm – 8:00pm
New Member Panel
An important tradition: About Face members attending convention for the first time have 5-10min each to share their personal story and About Face seasoned members listen.
8:00pm – 9:30pm
Community Building: Open MIC
Co-hosted by Olie and Shiloh, About Face members hang out, reflect and share poems, music, and other compositions.
To sign up; complete this quick Google Form here.
Saturday, November 6th
11:00am – 11:30am
Day 2 Opening
Reflections and Intentions, Wellness & Grounding practice, community building exercise, overview
11:30am – 1:00pm
Decolonization 101
1:00pm – 2:00pm
Demilitarization 101
2:00pm – 2:30pm
* BREAK *
Personal time *or* break room hang out
3:30pm – 5:00pm
Panel: Discussion on Line 3 Mobilization
Join members Olie, Amber, Daniel, Danny as they reflect on their mobilization and support at Line 3 and delegation.
5:00pm – 6:00pm
Workshop: Warrior Writers
This creative workshop offers writing prompts that cover military issues and experiences. This encourages sharing stories, opinions, and ideas for engaging in writing/reflecting/story-telling and art-making as a healing practice.
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Business Meeting
Join Board of Directors for the annual business meeting. Members are welcome to attend regardless of registration.
- Board Opening Remarks
- Board Member Candidate Forum
- State of the Membership
- State of About Face Finances
- Discussion: Bylaw Draft Proposal on exceptional membership (No Voting)
- Public Comments
- Adjournment
8:00pm – 9:30pm
Community Building: Karaoke Night
About Face members hang out, reflect and sing karaoke.
Sunday, November 7th
11:00am – 12:00pm
Day 3 Opening
Reflections and Intentions, Wellness & Grounding practice, community building exercise, overview
12:00pm – 1:30pm
Training: Media and Public Narrative
Storytelling is action speech – how we directly translate our values into the motivation to act. Members will engage and discuss how to share our stories and experiences as part of a strategy to inspire others to action and change.
1:30pm – 2:00pm
Training: Slack as a field office
This session will focus on how we can collectively use About Face Slack to organize and communicate between meetings and build a virtual community space since we are so spread out. .
2:00pm – 2:30pm
* BREAK *
Personal time *or* break room hang out
2:30pm – 4:00pm
Training: Organizing 101
Skill building and sharing around basic theories, history, ideas and practices around the power of organized people with common interests within communities and anti-war movements.
4:00pm – 4:30pm
* BREAK *
Personal time *or* break room hang out
4:30pm – 6:00pm
Training: Non-violent Direct Action 101
Every successful social movement has strategically mobilized tactics of nonviolent direct action. In this workshop, we’ll look at the functions, logics, potentials, and power of direct action, and explore how creative action can escalate a campaign and build community. Participants will practice planning their own direct action, identifying their action’s point of intervention, goal, message, target, tone, and audience.
6:00pm – 6:05pm
* BREAK *
Personal time *or* break room hang out
6:05pm – 8:00pm
Planning Session: Goals, Campaigns and Next Steps
– Discuss About Face central strategic Objective
– Develop concrete goals for year ahead
– Plan next steps for #DropTheMIC Campaign and specifically Veteran’s Day actions
8:00pm – 8:30pm
Appreciations and Gratitude Circle
Members reflect on convention, share appreciations to specific individuals and express elements of the community and our time together they are grateful for.