WASHINGTON, DC (December 28, 2020 - The organizers of the Creating Change Conference today announced the full slate of workshop and other sessions organized for the 33rd annual conference. From activism to faith to fundraising, with some timely twists on popular workshops like "Sex in the Times of COVID," the conference will have programs of interest to diverse activists and cover a lot of ground in this unique time for LGBTQ+ communities.

Every year the Creating Change team has curated a diverse, timely, and provocative set of workshops - and this year is no exception, despite the challenges of having the conference convert to online.

Held virtually from January 28 through January 31, 2021, the conference will include four plenary sessions, 16 daylong institutes, and 48 workshop and caucus sessions. The four-day event, run by the National LGBTQ Task Force, is a space for learning, connecting, and growing, as LGBTQ activists, leaders, allies, and changemakers from across the nation join together.

For the first time in its 33-year history, the Creating Change Conference will hold all daylong institutes, workshops, keynotes, and caucus sessions online.

"Creating Change has a diverse and powerful lineup of workshops at this year's conference," said conference director Andy Garcia, "We will offer an opportunity to discuss all those things you are told to never bring up at the holiday table: politics, religion, and sex! But seriously, from the hard conversations about the issues we face to organizing strategies in these challenging times to the chance to enjoy each other in community, we are doing our best to create an amazing experience for all who join us."

Some of the workshops include the following:

Politics:
o Hopes and Dreams: Reaching High on Policy Advocacy in 2021

o Vice President Auntie? Organizing Friendly Administrations for Systemic Change

o Let's Break The Binary and the Carceral State: Queers Abolishing Prisons and Policing

o Queering the Census Today and Tomorrow

Religion:
o An Exploration of Queer and Trans Ministry, where members of the Trans Seminarian Leadership Cohort will share their own calling and experience in religious formation, and share how the state of the world, including continued anti-Black racism and COVID-19, has disproportionately impacted BIPOC, transgender, and nonbinary communities.

o Turning Your Sermon into a Soundbite, a training for all interested parties to build and sharpen your communication skills in engaging with elected officials on advocating for such nondiscrimination protections.

o Liberating Your Divine Identity: A Spiritual Conversation, a workshop that will help you gain a better understanding of your sacred worth and divine identity while exploring tools that support liberating your divine spirit.

o "Wonderfully Made," Yuval David Film Preview and Discussion on our Understanding of Jesus, a documentary film exploring the challenges and aspirations of LGBTQ+ persons of faith in how they powerfully embrace their beliefs despite institutionalized religion's historic and ongoing rejection and persecution of LGBTQ+ people.

Sex:
In addition to Mapping Your Desire: The Sexual Liberation Institute, Creating Change will also feature these four sexy workshops:

o These Are a Few of My Favorite Things, featuring a continually shifting group of sexy storytellers to excite and inspire everyone to explore their own favorite things!

o Sex in the Time of COVID, an interactive discussion with four long-time activists on our struggles and successes in navigating life in quarantine in terms of both masturbation and negotiated safety.

o Decolonizing Desire, a workshop examining what's required to decolonize and reclaim our bodies, desires, and sexualities as an act of resistance that allows us to re-energize our activism and holistically heal our systems.

o Sexy Survivors, a creative, interactive, and empowering dialogue on surviving sexual abuse and how we have navigated safe and fulfilling sexual lives.

There will of course also be opportunities to have fun and celebrate our community and each other. Our iconic Agents of Change House Ball - organized by WC Father Angel Revlon (CA), Lady Penelope (NYC), and Legendary Oso Milan (Miami) with national judges and benefitting the House Lives Matter Mutual Aid Fund - will be a highlight of the conference.

There will also be a game night, an open mic night, and the always popular opening "cruise" - all virtual but bringing you Creating Change's spirit of connection and tradition of gathering in community in a new way.

Accessibility
The Creating Change Conference is committed to radical accessibility. Everyone benefits when everyone participates fully and equitably in every aspect of the conference. ASL and Spanish interpretation of individual workshop and caucus sessions will be provided if requested in advance. Furthermore, no one will be turned away for financial reasons. Anyone may contact creatingchange@thetaskforce.org for additional information.

For more information go to www.thetaskforce.org.

courtesy of the National LGBTQ Task Force