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Call for Speakers

We are now accepting proposals from speakers. In an effort to provide our participants with the most useful training and information, we will not consider proposals with a commercial or product-oriented focus.

Conference Theme: Future + Form + Function: Building to Last
This theme encompasses:

• Planning and design strategies to sustain the life of schools, and thereby significantly reduce the impact on the earth's resources.
• No more throwaway schools. A regular school that lasts 100 years saves more energy than two 50-year high-energy performance schools. It also touches on the quality of schools, their relationship with the communities they're located within, and the school's long-term vision.

Schools are built, renovated or abandoned for the following three categorical reasons. After each category is a list of threads, each of which would be the focus for one of the speakers.

1. Demographics:
   Thread 1 – Convertible Schools
   This thread would focus on school designs that work for elementary, middle & high schools, or a high school's conversion to a college. It would also take into account other uses when the school is no longer needed including offices, housing, etc.

   Thread 2 – Community Partnerships (based on location – YMCA, Library, Zoo, Parks)
   This thread would address the significance of understanding the local context of a school in order to integrate the local partners into the learning experience and connect a student's learning to real life.

2. Building Fabric:
   Thread 3 – Retrofit for Energy Efficiency (saving our current buildings)
   This thread would examine the importance of critically evaluating a school's ability to be renovated in order to increase its efficiency, before assuming the building is no longer needed.

   Thread 4 – Quality Construction (long life) vs. Value Engineering (low first cost)
   This thread would discuss the significance of thoroughly examining costs over the life of a building, rather than the temptation to base decisions on low first costs.

3. Learning Strategies: Function Informs Form:
   Thread 5 – Form Accommodates Many Approaches to Learning
   This thread would focus on the need to plan and design spaces that accommodate a variety of learning and delivery styles (not specialized forms which become obsolete).

   Thread 6 – Flexible Studios (Interdisciplinary)
   This thread would address the ability of a learning environment to change and adapt over time in order to accommodate a variety of organizational models.

Time Commitment:
The speaker is asked to speak for 45 minutes on his/her specific thread Thursday morning of the conference. In addition, the speaker is asked to participate in a charrette with a multi-disciplinary team comprised of educators, architects, engineers and planners that will apply the concepts of that thread to a real-life example on Thursday afternoon.

Each charrette will be led by a separate facilitator who will issue the challenge to the team. The speaker is asked to remain for the afternoon session to lend his /her support and expertise to the team as they create their charrette response.

Agenda for Thursday, April 26: (note: speaker commitments are in bold)

Morning Location: The Depot
Opening + Introduction: Mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul
9:30-10:30 am	Keynote Speaker
10:45-12:15 pm	Session 1 – Break into Groups by Thread Reflections (15 min): First order of business in each group will be to discuss and bring home the issues brought up by the keynote. This discussion will be led by the Facilitator. Each session will have a Facilitator and a Speaker. The Speaker will have 45 minutes to inspire the group, and also tie in issues discussed in the keynote that pertain to their charrette. The Facilitator will provide hands-on activities and issue the charrette.
Afternoon Location: Inter-District Downtown School (to be confirmed)
12:45-1:45 pm	Box Lunch and Student Panel
2:00-3:30 pm	Session 2 – Charrette Group work to provide scenarios in response to the charrette challenge.

Please visit http://speakers.cefpi.org/ to submit your proposal. Download the Call for Speakers information as an Adobe pdf file. Session proposals must be submitted by February 16, 2007. Please be prepared to enter the following information:

• Presentation Title
• Specific thread you are addressing
• Presentation of Abstract (approx. 400 words)
• Name(s) of Presenter(s)
• Educational Objectives