Alaska Pride Conference 2011 and the first-ever Alaska statewide GLBT Youth Summit (Alaska youth 14-18) focusing on youth issues in Alaska will be held October 14-16 in Anchorage.

The Alaska Pride Conference is an annual day-long event held in Anchorage filled with workshops, speakers, vendors, and great food. The Alaska Pride Conference was founded in 1994 by Rebecca Rogers, former executive director of the Alaska AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s), and community leaders Doug Frank and F. Ken Freedman, with the first conference designed to help heal the community after a bruising political debate in 1992/93 over whether to provide equal rights based on sexual orientation for Anchorage municipal employees. The first Pride Conference was described in a biography of Doug Frank for this year’s Alaska Pride Fest, of which Doug was Grand Marshal:

The initial question in the program was “ What would life be like, as an individual and as a community, if we lived in a land free of shame and full of pride? What if it gave us a strong and enduring sense of hope, inspiration and purpose? What if we felt totally connected to each other and the world around us?”

— questions which are just as timely today.

The event will feature keynote speaker Nathan Belyeu, Senior Education Manager of The Trevor Project.  The Trevor Project is aimed at ending suicide among LGBTQ youth by providing life-saving and life-affirming resources including a nationwide, 24/7 crisis intervention lifeline, digital community, and advocacy/educational programs.  Belyeu will provide an overview of the work The Trevor Project is doing and will discuss the vision of a future where the possibilities, opportunities and dreams are the same for all youth, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Pride Conference will also feature  four streams of workshops — Stepping Up, Stepping Out, Youth, and Fun/History — including two workshops presented by The Trevor Foundation, as well other workshops focusing on LGBT youth; a presentation on Alaska LGBT history led by Doug Frank; an update on the One Anchorage ballot initiative campaign; and a whole lot more — even a workshop presented by Bent Alaska!

The Alaska Pride Conference and Youth Summit is organized and sponsored by Identity, with other sponsors including Alaska’s Tobacco Quit Line, the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s), Mad Myrna’s, the Raven, Art Services North, the Imperial Court of All Alaska (ICOAA), Great Land Infusion Pharmacy, the Crazy Horse, ACLU of Alaska, Castle Megastor, Equality Works, the Pride Foundation, and Credit Union 1.  Media sponsors include the Anchorage Daily News, the Anchorage Press, and Bent Alaska.

Forms and schedules

All forms are in Acrobat PDF format.

• Pride Conference Youth Summit Scholarship: Information and application. Scholarships are awarded to help participants with travel, accommodations, registration, and meals.
• Youth Summit Parental Permission & Liability form — must be filled out by parents/guardians for youth under age 18. Email it ASAP to felix@alaskapride.org
• Conference Registration Form.  Register early! — $5 extra at the door.
• Conference agenda (draft)
• Conference workshop schedule (draft)

A more complete description of workshops, as well as other information, is available at the Alaska Pride Conference page on the Identity website.

Schedule of events

Friday, October 14

Start off Alaska Pride Conference 2011 with the Kick-Off Dinner and Social. This is an all ages event and we will have live music. Wine and beer will be available for purchase for those over 21. Please RSVP to johnathan@alaskapride.org.

• Date/time: Friday, October 14, 6 PM
• Location: Organic Oasis, 2610 Spenard Rd., Ste. B, Anchorage, AK (see map)
• Cost of admission: Normal menu prices.

Saturday, October 15

Traditional Pride Conference. Keynote speech by Nathan Belyeu of The Trevor Project, and a wide slection of workshops. Continental breakfast and lunch included. Full agenda and schedule available on Identity website (see below).

• Date/time: Saturday, October 15, 8:00 AM to 5:40 PM
• Location: Carr-Gottstein Academic Center, University Drive, Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, AK (see map)
• Cost of admission: $20 regular, $10 student with preregistration; $5 additional at the door. Youth scholarships available: see application forms at Identity website or on Bent Alaska.

Sunday, October 16

A roundtable brunch and discussion on youth issues facilitated by Nathan Belyeu of The Trevor Project will be held at the YWCA in downtown Anchorage.

• Date/time: Sunday, October 16, 10:30 AM
• Location: YWCA Alaska, 324 East 5th Avenue, Anchorage (see map)
• Cost of admission: $10 regular; $7.50 student/senior. Registration form at Identity website and on Bent Alaska.

Pride Conference workshops & presenters

[updated 10/13/11]

Here is a listing of workshops to be presented at the Pride Conference on Saturday, October 15. A more complete description of each workshop can be found at the Alaska Pride Conference page on the Identity website.

Session 1 workshops (9:30 to 10:40 AM)

• Understanding the Common Elements of Oppression: The First Step Towards Social Justice — Tiffany McClain of the Pride Foundation
• Taking Care: Alaskans Connecting to Prevent Suicide — Kate Burkhart of the Alaska Suicide Prevention Council
• Bent Alaska: Blogging for LGBTQA Alaska — Mel Green of Bent Alaska
• “Shadows of Ignorance:  The Love That’s Feared” — Gale Smoke, retired UAA Professor of Sociology

Session 2 workshops (10:50 AM to 12:00 noon)

• The Tobacco Industry’s Targeting of the GLBT Community —  State of Alaska Tobacco Prevention and Control Program and the American Lung Association
• Coming Out: What to Expect and How to Cope — Annie and Xio, doctoral students in Clinical-Community Psychology
• Gay-Straight Alliance Discussion & Networking Group — Jeff Walters and Amy Gallaway, co-sponsors of West Valley High School GSA in Fairbanks
• How are we here? Brave stories from our GLBT history — Doug Frank, Jackie Buckley, Fred Hillman, and Mel Green

Keynote speech with Nathan Belyeu of The Trevor Project (12:40 to 1:00 PM)

Session 3 workshops (1:50 to 3:00 PM)

• Social Disability and Gay Identity — Mya Dale, Political Science major at UAA
• Get it On, Get it In — Anchorage Mpowerment Project (AMP)
• Connect. Accept. Respond. Empower — How to Support LGBTQ Youth — The Trevor Project
• University Gay-Straight Alliance: Planning for the Future — The Family, LGBTQA club at UAA, and Spectrum LGBTQA club at APU
• Zumba Fitness — Latin/International inspired fitness

Session 4 workshops (3:20 to 4:30 PM)

• Update on the Equal Rights Initiative — One Anchorage
• Living Mahu (the third gender in Polynesia) — Tim Flynn, student affairs professional
• The Trevor Project Lifeguard Workshop for LGBTQ Youth and their Allies — Nathan Belyeu of The Trevor Project
• From Scott Koeller to Daphne DoAll LaChores — Daphne