Join a venue. Food Geography forms an important part of the DATS theme. We can work together and promote your interests. Below is a list of venues I'm working on now.
1. World Food in the Triad
Description First-time ever (!) Piedmont get-together about the experiences and impact of world food in the Triad. We'll talk about urban gardens, alternate food sources, new ethnic foods, health literacy, food as culture and other amazing, innovative stuff designed to bring different and unique perspectives to the table. Leave your ideas about haute cusine at home!
How you can participate
• Got a great organization, project, research, idea you want to promote and share? Contact me.
• Is this venue something your organization would like to support? Underwriting us is a great way to let everyone know about your values and commitment to the development, sharing, and promotion of great ideas in the Triad.
How you can participate
• Got a great organization, project, research, idea you want to promote and share? Contact me.
• Is this venue something your organization would like to support? Underwriting us is a great way to let everyone know about your values and commitment to the development, sharing, and promotion of great ideas in the Triad.
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Description Collaborative cooking teams professional chefs and refugee-immigrants leading up to a big-bash presentation at DATS 2010. They'll create unique dishes using the Piedmont's own locally developed product, the Stokes Purple sweet potato. (more)
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Don’t know how cool Pech Kucha is? Visit Raleigh's site.
How you can participate!
• Present a great topic that connects food with an aspect of tech, design or the arts. Talk about your organization's mission, your project, your research, your dream. (Betsy and I presented together at DATS 2009 and talked about our projects.) Check back at this Website or the official DATS site for more info about how to submit your entry.
• Give technical, writing or language help You can also participate by helping someone technically prepare their digital slides, language translation or their writing, especially if English is their second language. The digital divide is a significant obstacle to refugee populations and other groups in the Triad. To make sure their views are represented, you can help guide a participant through the process.
• Sponsor a minority, refugee or immigrant presentation A significant barrier to refugee, immigrant and minority populations is cultural isolation. For newcomers, learning English prevents many from fully sharing their talents, skills and knowledge to the Piedmont economy. Sponsorship money can help underwrite costs for transportation, technical help, and language translation.
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Description This is a special venue opportunity for a limited number of refugee, immigrant and minority population vendors to sell food during DATS 2010, October 9-11. We want to make sure vendors will reflect the great diversity of food traditions and cultures that have come to the Piedmont. More details will be coming.
How you can participate!
• Do you, your organization, church or business have experience selling quality multicultural food at events? Would you like more information? Contact me.
• Sponsor a vendor. In many instances, minority, refugee, and immigrants lack capital and cultural advice. A small amount of money and time can go a long way to launching an entrepreneur.
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Suggestions about activities and event organization
1. Make the local connection. Frame trends in local terms with local illustrations. Use the opportunity to dig deep, discover local talent and pull in area experts.
2. Get out of the circle. Say design, art, and technology and most Piedmonters are stuck in narrow definitions and a short list of specialized professionals practicing in silos.
3. Leverage the event. Use DATS 2010 to pull doubters, fence-sitters, future partners, collaborators and possible champions into listening range.
4. Everything you can do to move away from a lecture format will be appreciated by participants. Lecture with pictures is slightly better, panel discussion better, hands-on workshop or interactive, kinesthetic learning experience best.
5. Think messy and after effects. So the event didn’t work the way you wanted, but it generated dozens of conversations amongst attendees who never knew one another weeks after the event, three collaborative projects, and a job or two. Was your event successful or not? (PS: Document the event so it can live on. Make sure the info is online.)
6. Dollars and support. Consider financial supporters as part of the enlarged circle you’re trying to reach. Talk to the usual funders and do-gooder organizations that are called upon again and again to be generous, but invite those to help who’ve never participated. Many have not participated because they have never been invited.
