December 7, 2023
ReImagine Appalachia is preparing for our 4th annual virtual strategy summit (can you believe it?!)! We are so excited to explore the priorities of our partners and shape our 2024 work plan. We have learned and grown over the past year and hope that we can keep this momentum going. We have also gained a lot over the past few years – and – believe in the power of reflection!
So, join us for a blast from the past as we take a look at ReImagine Appalachia’s strategy summits over the years which included over 1,000 collective registrants. That is a lot of awesomeness in a Zoom room!
The 2020 strategy summit was the first one for ReImagine Appalachia. The summit was going to be in-person and then the COVID-19 pandemic started. We were super sad to miss out on meeting in-person but still had great success virtually! The focus was “What Would A Green New Deal that Works for Appalachia Look like?” The summit helped ReImagine Appalachia form the blueprint that would move us forward in the work of the coalition. The blueprint focuses on building a progressive future that works for communities, workers, and the environment.
2021 was a year filled with ups and downs and the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – yay! The 2021 strategy summit focused on “Securing a New Deal that works for us”. The panels and breakout sessions had a lot of focus on amplifying the work of our local government leaders and shaping ReImagine Appalachia’s policy priorities for the upcoming year. The anticipation for the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was just beginning in January when the summit happened. The law passed in November and if you’d like to learn more about what is in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, you can look here.
2022 included the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and a look into tracking funding related to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The summit included over 300 attendees over the two days with 10 workshops and 2 panels. Our panel discussions were “Building Appalachia’s Bright Future: What’s next with new opportunities from federal funding?” and “Starting Local: What are lessons from local leaders that can build towards regional excellence?” featuring local government officials, labor leaders, federal agency partners, and more. You can learn more about the panel discussions and the breakout sessions at the link above!
The 2023 strategy summit had over 400 attendees and lots of eager participants! The summit focused on how to maximize the benefits of federal infrastructure funding. The summit had 2 panels and 17 breakout sessions over the course of 2 days – so much energy! The panel topics were: “Making our vision a reality: How can we take advantage of new federal funding opportunities to ReImagine Appalachia” and “How can Community Benefits Plans help us win the win.” If we listed all of the breakout sessions here, it would take up a lot of room – BUT they are very informative and exciting – check them out in the link above.
2024 Strategy Summit – register here!
The 2024 Strategy Summit is going to be a great one – you don’t want to miss it!
Day One of the summit will focus on how to build sustainable manufacturing in the region and how we can reuse former coal plants and other former industrial sites. Our goal is to learn from cutting edge case studies in worker centered manufacturing rooted in community vision.
On Day Two, we will hear from a wide variety of stakeholders on work they have done to build a brighter future for communities and workers in the region. We hope to explore how we can use success stories to communicate the new opportunities we want to see in the region, as well as dig into what our communities need, and a strong community vision is an essential basis for building a better future.
Looking forward to seeing y’all there!