Rooted Innovation

17 Aug

Summer Summit on Cultural Change

Wednesday, August 7 saw the first-ever Innovation Summit on Cultural Change at Cal State LA’s Downtown Campus, focused on the question of how to create cultural change on topics from immigration to higher education inclusion. Each team advanced a series of strategies for change engaging individual needs, achieving institutional reform, and going viral to create broader cultural movements.

This is sociology in action: these ideas were created to be shared, and many students are now working on implementing their proposals. Please read below their original presentations, strategy proposals, and pictures from the event and reach out if you want to help them take their ideas forward.

Summit Presentations: Cultural Emotions

22 May

Social Change & Community Data:
GIS Tech, Research, Advocacy

This spring, 14 community organizations partnered with students at Cal State LA in a course called Social Change. These partners put in heroic efforts, grappling with theory and history to understand the factors driving change, using GIS tech to map problems and resources to fuel meaningful interventions, co-designing an initiative, and even writing funding proposals to help bring their ideas to life.

Their work was deep and broad, so there are many ways to explore it:

See the Story Maps they created using maps, pictures, and narratives to make a rigorous, targeted case for change
Read the 1-page summary of the Partnership
See a presentation featuring their work in the context of the broader partnership between the National Science Foundation, Cal State LA, and the City of Los Angeles.

This is a milestone moment for students in the Civic and Social Innovation Group (CaSIG), part of the work of building a bridge between the passion and talents of Cal State LA students and the organizations working to address the root causes of problems facing Los Angeles communities.

Several of the students in this course will continue as SEED Scholar interns over the summer – check back soon for updates on the community-driven research and advocacy of the amazing graduates of this course. Click through the Story Maps below:

17 May

CaSIS Summit on Cultural Change

Friday marked the Innovation Summit on Cultural Change at Cal State LA, focused on the question of how to create cultural change on topics from immigration to higher education inclusion. Each team advanced a strategy for change based on qualitative and quantitative research and deep engagement with their own communities; many engaged local leaders in their neighborhoods to design and refine their proposals.

This is sociology in action: these ideas were created to be shared, and many students are now working on implementing their proposals. Please read below their original presentations, strategy proposals, and pictures from the event and reach out if you want to help them take their ideas forward.

Summit Presentations: Cultural Emotions

15 May

CaSIS Summit on Intersectional Inequality

On Wednesday, May 15, a group of Cal State LA students gathered to advocate strategies to address inequalities of race, class, and gender rooted in months of research. Their plans analyzed gentrification, education equity, prisons, and immigration at the local level in the context of national and global forces. In front of an audience of campus and community leaders, these students charted paths from local, practical interventions to macro change.

Their proposals drew on months of study including original qualitative and quantitative research on top of scholarly readings. These scholars completed midterms, final exams, and then wove the insights and concepts from their research into practical proposals for change, showing that scholarly learning and applied advocacy are not zero sum.

Thanks to all the community and campus partners who showed up to support these proposals for change – and most of all to the students who worked so hard to bring their ideas to light. All their work is below:

Summit Presentations: Race, Class, and Gender

13 Mar

LA Equity Organizations @ the Career Connector

Los Angeles is home to hundreds of organizations working for equity and opportunity. Cal State LA is home to thousands of local students committed to building equity and opportunity in their communities. The Cal State LA Social Impact Career Connector builds bridges between the two.

This is a public event – if you plan to be there, click the link above to RSVP – and click the links below to explore some of the amazing organizations aiming to attend:

After School All StarsCARECEN LA – Central American Resource Center

Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA)

Home Field Advantage

Journey House

LA’s BESTLA Conservation Corps

National Hispanic Media Coalition

SoCal CAN

Southern California Resource Services for Independent Living (SCRS)