Welcome to Netroots Nation 2017 and the Peach State! Each year, thousands of activists and organizers from around the country come together for a few sleep-deprived, action-packed days.
If this is your first Netroots Nation (and there are lots of you first-timers!), we want you to know that this is a place for sharing ideas and connecting. It’s a place to learn from each other and to uplift and affirm one another. In this chaotic political climate, we could all use a little more of that.
Take a peek at our agenda and you’ll quickly see that resistance organizing is front and center. You’ll find lots of great sessions on how progressives are pushing back on this administration’s policies and fighting for our families, our communities and our democracy.
Playing defense is vital right now, but so is talking about what we as progressives stand for and value most. So our lineup includes content that challenges us to think long-term about our progressive vision and how to build lasting grassroots power and solve systemic problems that exist well beyond the next four years. There are sessions on movement health and sustainability, panels highlighting organizing in the South, even some lighthearted sessions on topics like cultural organizing.
On the training front, there’s something for everyone, from basic online organizing to more advanced tactics, plus sessions on grassroots activism, communications and more. Whether you’re a brand new activist looking to learn the basics or you’ve been organizing for years and want to up your game, you can choose from 70(!) training sessions—our most offerings ever.
We feel it’s just as important to consider which voices are elevated as what’s being said. Our agenda features activists from across the country, elected officials and candidates, top practitioners, and those at the forefront of the latest Resistance efforts. And the people you’ll hear from this weekend make up our most diverse group ever: 69 percent of our speakers and moderators are people of color.
You’ll find lots of other unique things on the agenda too: keynotes featuring progressive champions like Sen. Elizabeth Warren; fun nightly social events; a chance to network with candidates up and down the ballot; film screenings (including Q&A sessions with Dolores Huerta and former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman); and a tech tools showcase.
If you happen to have any free time, we hope you’ll get a chance to see the city and experience some Southern hospitality (and a little tasty Southern food, too).
Whether this is your first Netroots Nation or you’ve been to every one, we hope you experience things this weekend that challenge you, teach you, and inspire you to fight a little harder.
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