The Summer is quickly whizzing by, which can only mean one thing: Equity Summit 2011 in Detroit is right around the corner! The timing couldn’t be better.

We’ve been hearing from so many of you interested in registering and finding out more on workshops, panelists, special events, and all other great things you can expect to see at the Summit, taking place Nov. 8-11.

Now this week, we’re happy to finally share with you the very FIRST confirmed speakers – and boy are they good!

Visionary Speakers for Equity Summit 2011 include:

• Geoff Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone
• Van Jones, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Senior Policy Advisor, Green For All
• Alejandro Echeverri Restrepo, Architect; Former Director of Urban Projects, Medellin, Colombia

You can now also visit us on the Summit website to view and download the Agenda-at-a-glance. But don’t forget – early bird registration ends this coming Monday, August 15th, so be sure to tell friends and colleagues in your network so they can register for as low as $175!

We look forward to seeing you there!

PS: Get the inside scoop on new speakers and workshops at Twitter.com/EquitySummit; share Equity Summit 2011 on Facebook; and add the Summit to your Outlook calendar.

This November 8-11, PolicyLink is bringing equity to Detroit by the thousands for “Equity Summit 2011: Healthy Communities, Strong Regions, A Prosperous America.”

The summit promises to be a dynamic and energizing event for the national Equity Movement, bringing together community advocates, policymakers, private sector leaders, and foundation officials to advance a truly inclusive policy agenda.

Here are some helpful tips for how you can be a part:

• Register now through July 15 to receive the early bird registration;
• Visit the Equity Summit website for updates on confirmed speakers, site visits, and workshops; and
• Follow us on Twitter for the latest summit related news.

We look forward to seeing you in Detroit!

Visualizations are great to help put onto paper what’s often hard to even put into words. As the Equity Summit 2011 approaches in November in Detroit, it’s worth looking back at our last Summit — which drew more than 2,000 advocates and activists to New Orleans.

What did we talk about? Well, a word cloud of the 2008 Summit framing paper — “Regional Equity and the Quest for Full Inclusion” — is a good place to start:

So, if you like “strategies” for “equitable” “community” “change,” you’ll love the Equity Summit 2011. And if word clouds don’t do it for you, check out this terrific slideshow of the 2008 Summit in New Orleans:

The PolicyLink Summit is back! Please join us – and thousands of your fellow advocates, activists, policymakers, foundation officials, and other equity leaders – in Detroit this November for Equity Summit 2011:

Equity Summit 2011:

Healthy Communities, Strong Regions, A Prosperous America

November 8 to 11, 2011
Detroit Marriott at the
Renaissance Center

More than 2,000 equity leaders attended our Regional Equity ‘08 Summit in New Orleans three years ago. In the time since, the national equity movement has grown even stronger.
At Equity Summit 2011, together we will discuss and develop the agenda for sustainable and equitable development with access to jobs, transportation, education, health, and housing.

On to Detroit,
Angela Glover Blackwell
Founder and CEO, PolicyLink

For up-to-the-minute updates on Equity Summit 2011, please follow our new Twitter feed at @EquitySummit

Photo used under Creative Commons license via Flickr user Andorpro