Global Voices for Change: Policing, Communities, & The Common Good

Preceded by a long history of institutionalized racism and violence, the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the international response highlights a crisis; a powerful watershed moment and need for change in the way communities are policed around the globe. Demands for change include the adoption of a humanistic style of policing, focusing on the heart and soul of what it is to be human. This includes support for policing agencies and marginalized communities by joining in common purpose, in which we discuss the need for equity, social justice, dialogue, listening, connection, international collaboration and action.

Our Dream

·      Police services across the world working in harmony with the diverse communities they serve.

·      Police services across the world that are outward looking; sharing and collaborating with others to achieve this harmony and continually improving.

The Challenge

We recognise this is an enormous thing to achieve, very emotive and difficult, and we have no idea how to achieve it. It feels too complex, too big and it’s easy to walk away from it, but as growing tensions and crisis we are in demonstrates, it is needed. We want to draw people together, so together we can look at how we might go about doing this.

Our Approach

We recognise and appreciate that this is a complex, very emotive issue that has been building for many hundreds of years. We want to approach the exploration through respect. By listening and through effective dialogue seeking to understand the others point of view.

What we want to explore at this conference

1.        Why is this a problem?

2.        What is the scope of the problem?

3.        What are the fundamental building blocks required to move forward?

4.        What examples from around the world of good practice can we draw upon?

5.        What can be our next steps?

Art Designed By: Jamie Villanueva

Main Conference Sponsor: The Conference is being hosted by Saybrook University, an online, non-profit, regionally accredited, private university located in Southern California. The University’s mission centers on pursuing a socially just, sustainable world and expansion of humanistic philosophy and ideals meant to help all communities and individuals in actualizing their greatest potential. With respect to policing reform, we see our university’s approach both locally and globally as offering a unique set of perspectives on the conversation and potential actions that will be needed. Our virtual platform coupled with our diverse student population and 50-year history further enhance our efforts.

Co-Sponsors: The conference is being co-sponsored by organizations across the Globe. We are honored to have the following organizations as co-sponsors of this international conference.

Call for Attendees, Co-Sponsors, & Contributors:

Saybrook University seeks a wide variety of collaborative partners to facilitate aspects of this Conference.

We want to bring community activists, politicians, academics, and policing stakeholders from a diverse array of communities around the globe together to engage in dialogue and plan action to improve and advance how marginalized communities are policed both now and in the future.

Attendees:

Conference attendance is free, requiring registration in advance. Please register to attend the conference here.

Co-Sponsors:

We are seeking interested community organizations, institutions, academic departments and police organizations who are willing to be co-sponsors of the event. Sponsorship levels are reasonable in cost, provide visibility for the entity, and only require support in two ways: promoting attendance and support in contributing to sessions and the post-conference online reader that is being produced. This doesn’t have to cost you any money and details of the three options available for co-sponsoring the Conference can be seen below:

Tier 1: Main Conference Sponsor – donation of $130/₤100 – includes logo prominently displayed on site, sessions, reader, and other materials

Tier 2: Conference Session Supporter – donation of $65/₤50 – includes logo on sessions and back pages of conference program & reader

Tier 3: General Supporter – No donation but included on back pages of conference program and reader. Requires promoting attendance and support in contributing to sessions and the post-conference online reader that is being produced. Limited to organizations and institutions only. 

Click here to Co-Sponsor this International Conference.

Panelists/Presenters:

We are also seeking interested panelists and presenters for the conference. Interested individuals or organizations should review the conference program located here. We need inspiring, engaging speakers on these themes for the event and if you would do us the honor of speaking during this conference, please submit your speaker details here.

A Virtual Reader

As part of bringing our community together in dialog and action, we would like to invite members of the community – activists, policing practitioners, and academics to join us in the development of a reader which will collates all the relevant ideas submitted . This compendium of articles and virtual contributions aim to continue conversation around = the issues we will explore in this conference, and most importantly call people to action in taking the issues forward. 

Call for Papers and Interactive Online Media

We are seeking a balance of well-written articles and interactive online media (video presentations, etc.) from community members, policing practitioners, and academics. Articles can be anywhere in length from a couple of hundred words to 6000 words; interactive online media from 3-10 minutes in length (for purposes of closed captioning, if possible, please provide closed captioning text for any videos/audio that is provided). Controversy and challenge are welcome. Both articles and media should provide:

• a personal, practical, theoretical perspective or an analysis of what police leadership, academics or community members need to be doing over the next decade. 

• ways for promoting conversations around what are likely to be the key resistors or difficulties that will need to be overcome if the desired type of leadership needed in the police is to be realized.

Whatever approach, either format must link into our diversity, inclusion, and social justice focus, have a practical element, and take thinking much further than that currently available. If you have an idea you would like to discuss with us, please contact us at [email protected] or submit your idea when registering for the conference here.

Virtual Posters

We are also looking for virtual posters on any topic related to the conference theme. Of particular interest is how police departments and communities envision the nature of policing within their communities and/or home countries over the next five years.

You can submit your poster by completing your conference registration here. Virtual posters can focus on any of the above topics outlined. Visual representations of data, on new ways of policing or community engagement are highly recommended.