A Parade of Dwarves: Democratizing Wealth for a New Economy | Gar Alperovitz & Ted Howard

How extreme is wealth disparity in the US? Imagine every person in the economy walks by, in order of income from low to high, with heights proportional to what people make. You’d see mostly a parade of dwarves, with some unbelievable giants at the very end. Political economist and historian Gar Alperovitz and social entrepreneur Ted Howard of the Democracy Collaborative depict breakthrough models for breaking this vicious cycle by democratizing wealth, ownership and access to capital.

Flavors of a Whole Community: Recipes for Food Justice – Nikki Henderson-Silvestri

How can a grocery store lift a community out of poverty? The People’s Grocery provides creative solutions to community health problems that stem from a lack of access to and knowledge about healthy, fresh foods. The personal journey of former Executive Director and home-grown food justice leader Nikki Henderson-Silvestri brings heart, soul and love to community health and wealth for the low-income community of West Oakland, California.

john a. powell – Dance Like You Matter in an Intra-Related World

How might we see the environment, social justice and our spirituality differently if we understood a bit better how our minds work and how connected we all are? john a. powell, an internationally recognized authority in civil rights and liberties, structural racialization, ethnicity, housing, poverty and democracy, was recently the Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State. He founded the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota; was National Legal Director of the ACLU; co-founded the Poverty & Race Research Action Council; and has taught at numerous law schools including Harvard, Columbia and Berkeley. Introduction by Paloma Pavel, Co-Founder of Breakthrough Communities.

This speech was given at the 2001 Bioneers National Conference.

Eve Ensler: Coconut

Eve Ensler – Coconut: A New Performance Piece of a Mystical Journey into a Woman’s Body.

Globally renowned playwright and activist Eve Ensler performs one act from her new “Fruit Trilogy”. Coconut is mesmerizing and provocative edge-walking that explores a woman’s mystical journey into her body. Eve is the creator of “The Vagina Monologues”, perhaps the most performed play in history, as well as the founder of the immensely impactful V-Day movement, which seeks to end violence against women and girls globally. As an author-artist-activist, she has fearlessly explored women’s oppression, empowerment and emancipation with unparalleled intensity and influence.

Introduction by Nina Simons, Co-Founder of Bioneers.

This speech was given at the 2016 National Bioneers Conference.

Passing Through: Farming Fields of Dreams

Our food and farming systems may top the list of the most destructive abuses of land in history. What needs to change? What models are there to guide us? Visionary organic farmer, food system entrepreneur and award-winning writer/photographer Michael Ableman reflects on what it will take to restore healthy thriving lands and a functional and equitable food system with access for all. How will we feed the world’s growing population and provide access to healthy food? As locavores know, the answers hit close to home.

Tom B.K. Goldtooth on The Sacredness of Mother Earth

Tom B.K. Goldtooth, a prominent indigenous and social change activist, contrasts common Western beliefs with those of the indigenous peoples. He shares that indigenous people know that it is “our sacred responsibility is to safeguard and protect this world.”