Texas A&M University’s Department of Health and Kinesiology’s Climate & Diversity Committee is excited to announce its inaugural diversity and inclusion conference. This year’s conference theme is Able, Active, and Adaptive: Healthy Living Across the Lifespan. This conference seeks to promote the inclusion of and support for individuals with disabilities and movement disorders in enhancing their physical capabilities.
HLKN Diversity Committee utilizes an established set of criteria during its review of proposals. This includes, but is not limited to, the overall quality of the proposal and relevance to the committee’s mission; stature of the speakers within the industry; appeal to general audience.
Event Details
- Keynote addresses Friday April 20th and Saturday April 21st
- Workshops, symposia, demonstrations, and experiences Friday April 20th.
- Community Activity Festival with vendors, demonstrations, and experiences Saturday April 21st.
Theme: This year’s focus “Able, Active, and Adaptive: Healthy Living Across the Lifespan” is dedicated to educating the community about adaptive processes, activities, products, services and organizations for a healthy lifestyle and optimal quality of life. This conference seeks academic and practical presentations and exhibits that meet the current interests and needs of individuals and groups with physical disabilities.
Goals: Conference goals are as follows:
- Promote physical activity for people of all ages and abilities
- Engage the community in demonstrations and experiences
- Launch community involvement by introducing participants to program coaches
- Discuss how to create and adapt programs for people with disabilities
- Connect academics, practitioners, organizations, and students for research and service opportunities.
Ways to Participate: All activities should highlight quality and innovative practices relevant to health, physical education, sport management, and kinesiology, while having a well-defined focus on individuals with disabilities. Participates may request to participate in more than one activity. Select one or more:
- Keynote Address (45 minutes) – Friday or Saturday
- Presentation (30 minutes)- Lecture style presentations can range from in-depth scientific research to academic scholarly practices. Presentation and Q&A.
- Demonstration (45 minutes) – presentation preferably with some live action or interactive parts.
- Workshop– sessions focused on skill building or formal professional workforce training (45 or 90 minutes)
- Experience – session will emphasize hands on experience (45 or 90 minutes)
- Trade Show Vendor or Exhibitor Booth –for products, services and volunteer organizations. Sunday 8-4pm
- Other- if the above sessions don’t fit but you still want to participate, please tell us how!
Potential Topics: The basic requirements for all presentations, exhibitors, demonstrations, and vendors are simple:
- The topic should be interesting, specific, and unique.
- A new or creative approach to an age-old topic is also appreciated!
- The topic must be well thought out and fully developed.
- Presentations must be topic-driven rather than product-driven.
- Presentations must be educational in nature; not serve as an endorsement or advertisement for any product or service.
Examples might include (but are not limited to):
- Increasing quality of life, providing learning opportunities, and awareness for people living with disabilities.
- Providing relevant curriculum and training through active and adaptive design and programs.
- Exposing participants to new technologies, new possibilities, new solutions and new opportunities to promote healthy living.
- Demonstrating the benefits of designing with disability in mind.
- Assisting individuals and groups in having the opportunity to realize a disability is not an inability.
Application Process: If you are interested in sharing your expertise please submit the Application and Registration Form (https://goo.gl/forms/nj7gerTCYz5BEh1u2) and return it with the requested materials to HLKN Diversity Conference Committee for review. Selection will be made on the basis of proposed quality, relevance, uniqueness, and the topic fits into the overall program theme. Quality of presentations are major considerations in the selection process. Proposals received on previously submitted topics will be rejected.so please send your request to participate as soon as possible.
Proposal to Participate, Acceptance and Notification
- Application and Proposal Process – open now and will close February 1, 2018. Please note below if you need to be notified for early acceptance
- Selection: The conference selections will commence in late January
- Notifications will be sent February 15, 2018
- Event Schedule: tentative conference schedule will be released in April
Information Contact
HLKN Climate & Diversity Conference Chair Dr. Sloane Milstein <sloane@tamu.edu>
