Time Matters: National Conference JOIN US FOR TIME MATTERS: THE NATIONAL TAKE BACK YOUR TIME CONFERENCE When: August 25-27, 2016 Where: Seattle University, Seattle, Washington If you're interested in vacation time, family and sick leave, shorter working hours, flexible work and relief from the rat race, join us for Take Back Your Time's sixth conference, the National Work-Leisure Balance and Vacation Commitment Summit in sunny Seattle. Our themes include: The value of vacations Time for Parks–in celebration of the Centennial of the U.S. National Park Service Changing Education Time and Freedom Time and Happiness Time and Social Connection Time and Health Time and Technology Time and Justice Time and the Environment Positive Changes in Business Progress on Family and Sick Leave Changing Workplaces Changing Policy Changing Culture Time and Democracy The historical fight for leisure Time for Parks and a trip to Mt. Rainier Our conference begins on Thursday evening, August 25th, just two days after the American Sociological Meeting in Seattle ends. August 25th is the actual Centennial date for the National Park Service, and we will be offering attendees who show up early a day excursion ($50 additional charge) to Mt. Rainier National Park, about 2.5 hours from Seattle. Mt. Rainier is an amazing place–a 14,410-foot volcano surrounded by vast gleaming glaciers, beautiful flower-strewn meadows and lovely small lakes. We'll leave by bus from Seattle University at 9:00 a.m., giving us 4 hours in the park before we have to head back. If you're never been there (or even if you have!) you are in for a treat at this spectacular National Park, one of the nation's oldest (created in 1899). If you want to go on this trip you must email John (jog@comcast.net) by June 28th. Mt. Rainier and the beautiful Paradise Valley One of Take Back Your Time's themes this year, in conjunction with the Centennial, is Time for Parks. We are troubled that the average visit to our parks is being shortened dramatically because people are pressed for time. The average visitor to Yosemite spends 4.8 hours there, down from 48 a generation ago. At Grand Canyon, the average visit is less than two hours. People without time to visit our national, state and local parks are less likely to support them and want to protect them. Thursday Happiness Initiative Leadership Training As an alternate to the Mt Rainier field trip, you can enroll in a one-day Happiness Initiative Leadership Training on Thursday, August 25 from 10 am - 6 pm held on the site of the conference and led by Laura Musikanski, executive director of the Happiness Alliance, fiscal sponsor of Take Back Your Time. This highly interactive training will focus on time balance, environmental sustainability and happiness or quality of life metrics and policies. After attending this training, you will have the knowledge, tools and resources for using wider measures of well-being in your community, city, work, and life. Registration is by suggested donation, with scholarships available (info@happycounts.org). REGISTER HERE Thursday reception The official conference will start Thursday evening with a welcoming reception, time to meet other attendees and opening speech by former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. SEE FULL SCHEDULE HERE The main program starts on Friday morning with a plenary session, as well as an extended networking/coffee break. Plenaries will be held only on Friday and Saturday morning to ensure wider engagement and greater choice of topics for attendees. Afternoon workshops. Afternoons will be filled with two sets of 90-minute breakout sessions and another extended coffee break. The first breakouts (eight for each session) each afternoon will be two-four person panels relating to the above conference themes. We will be able to accommodate about 40-50 total workshop panelists, who will have 10-15 minutes to present, followed by small group conversations and large group discussions. If you are interested in being on a panel, please contact John at jodg@comcast.net. The second set of Saturday breakout sessions will be facilitated conversations to allow the entire audience to brainstorm, network and add their ideas. The focus will be on building a larger movement for work-leisure balance and how we all work effectively in the future–possible partnerships, funding opportunities, creating Take Back Your Time Day events, reaching media, needed research, promotion, etc. We will collect all ideas and share them in a document after the conference. This will be an opportunity for each of you to talk about your own work and how it connects to Take Back Your Time. Breakout sessions will be facilitated by Take Back Your Time board members. Evening sessions. After dinner, evening sessions will include a Friday night film. The conference will end on Saturday evening, so participants may return home on Sunday–unless you want to hang around and vacation in sunny Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. This is truly our best time of year, weather wise and the mountain trails are all free of snow! Presenters must register for the conference. Prior to June 30, the conference fee is $125 for the entire conference and $75 for one day. There will be a student and low-come fee reduction of $50 for the entire conference and $25 for one day. The student/low-income rate will apply to accepted speakers. Of course, we would be delighted if you can pay full fare, as this will allow us to provide some limited scholarships. If you are unable to pay even the reduced rate, please contact us and we will try to negotiate a reasonable rate for you. The August 25-27 Time Matters: National Take Back Your Time Conference at Seattle University will host between 50 and 60 speakers and 200 to 250 attendees. You can find a tentative schedule here (final schedule by July 1). Confirmed speakers include: Keynoter John Kitzhaber, former Governor of Oregon Keynoter Nick Licata, former Seattle City Council member Cylvia Hayes, former First Lady of Oregon Barbara Fagan-Smith, CEO of ROI Communications, a San Francisco marketing company Taylor Cole, Public Relations Director, Hotels.com Charles Sylvester, leisure historian Joe Robinson, author of Work to Live Robert Levine, author of A Geography of Time John de Graaf, co-author of Affluenza and What's the Economy for, Anyway? Brian Derdowski, former King County, Washington council member Laura Musikanski, founder and executive director, The Happiness Alliance Al Runte, National Parks historian, featured in Ken Burns' National Park series Stephen Bezrucha, University of Washington School of Public Health David Levy, U of Washington Information School BJ Cummings, executive director of Sustainable Seattle Lonnie Golden, Penn State University Cecile Andrews, author of Circle of Simplicity, Less is More and The Living Room Revolution Vicki Robin, co-author of Your Money or Your Life Dawna Ballard, Professor of Communications, University of Texas New film â€œScreenagersâ€–director Delaney Ruston has been invited to speak â€¦and many othersâ€¦ Click here to see the full schedule of speakers. This is a conference for activists and academics seeking to build a movement for better work-leisure balance in America. We are keeping registration costs low so all can participate. Puget Sound Ferry Cost. Low-cost facilities at Seattle University enable us to offer this conference for a lower conference fee than most. The cost of the conference will be: $125 before June 30, $150 after Register early for a discount. Low income and student rates + speakers will be $50 less than regular rates. Day passes will be available at $25 less than the full conference fee. Registration (Buy Tickets Here) Accommodations and Food. Conference goers are welcome to stay with friends or in hotels, etc. but Seattle University provides low cost accommodations and meals that will range from $60-$80 per day. Seattle University Library The conference is limited to approximately 250-300 attendees, allowing for intimate conversations and easy sociability. Board meeting. The board of Take Back Your Time will meet from 9 am until noon on Sunday, August 28th. Sponsorships! We are looking for partner organizations and financial sponsors for this conference. If you are interested in being a partner or sponsor, please contact John de Graaf at jodg@comcast.net We look forward to seeing you this summer! About Us Mission Goals Board of Directors Supporters How Donations Help Contact Us Why Vacations Matter 10 Reasons to Vacation Articles by John de Graaf Articles by Dr. Leigh Vinocur Nielsen Research Findings Press & Events In The News Press Releases Take Back Your Time Day Vacation Commitment Day Vacation Commitment Summit Time Matters: National Conference TIME MATTERS TENTATIVE SCHEDULE Become A Sponsor Schedule at a Glance Resources Articles & Research Speakers Books Vacation Commitment Toolkit Vacation Commitment Pledge Sign up for our newsletter: --> Follow us: Privacy Policy | Terms of Use ©Copyright 2015 Take Back Your Time. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable state, federal and international laws.