The University of Georgia's School of Social Work is hosting a day-long Social Justice Symposium this weekend. The event will feature local speakers, free workshops and opportunities to network. Septima Riley is one of the organizers. geeorgia
“Our entire purpose of bringing everyone together is to create a safe, collaborative environment to have these conversations about how do we push the needle forward; how do we support one another,” Riley said.
But she believes the symposium also provides an opportunity to hear from the community.
“And then it’s also a really good time to find out what’s really going on. With all the nonprofits and organizations in Athens, it’s a good time for us to get together as a collective and see everything that Athens has to offer.”
Haley Miranda is also an organizer. She says it’s a team effort to produce the symposium.
“We definitely are a collaborative effort among the four of us chairs as well as our committee that helps us plan the event,” according to Miranda. “There are definitely a lot of moving parts. We have a keynote speaker and we have over 20 presentations throughout the day from various organizations within Athens.”
Representatives from several area nonprofits are attending. Topics to be covered include access to health and financial services, food, housing, transportation and more.
“It’s Saturday from 8 am until 5 pm and we’re offering breakfast and lunch and the event is entirely free. We’re at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens on Timothy Road.
More than two dozen UGA students are taking part.
