Lithium Valley: Opportunities for Batteries, Jobs, and Equitable Development
Professors Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor, along with Politico reporter Blanca Begert, discussed the issues of a “just transition” in the Salton Sea region. What are the possibilities for economic and environmental transformation, how will the transformation affect local communities, and what can and should California and national leaders do to maximize the opportunity the region provides to the state and country? This event was hosted by the UC Student and Policy Center
Charging Forward – Lithium Valley, Electric Vehicles and a Just Future
Professors Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor discussed the discovery of lithium in California’s Salton Sea region and the role of the mineral in the electric vehicle industry. The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco hosted this event in October 2024. View the recording on CSPAN Book TV.
A Just Transition for Whom?
On December 5, 2024, the Center for Labor and Community hosted a conversation with Dr. J. Mijin Cha (author of A Just Transition for All: Workers and Communities for a Carbon-Free Future, MIT Press) and Labor Notes’ Labor-Climate Organizer, Keith Brower-Brown. This event brought together academics, labor organizers, and workers from across the region to think together about how to move beyond a fuel-based economy
Decoding the Headlines: Top News Stories, Misinformation, and the 2024 Presidential Campaign
This virtual panel brings together critical media literacy experts who will analyze the top news stories of the campaign, examining how they are reported and how misinformation spreads.
Engaging Digital Democracy: Tools to recognize political dis- and mis-information
Learn to decipher credible online information with Sylvanna Falcón from the UCSC Human Rights Investigations Lab for the Americas who will be in conversation with Sally Lehrman from the Trust Project. Their research helps to address concerns about online information integrity, including fake news, voter suppression, and how to effectively determine useful standards for lawyers, journalists, and the public to participate in judicious and healthy democratic discourse.
Moving Money and Moving Power: Philanthropy Isn’t Neutral
Carmen Rojas, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, in conversation with Chris Benner explore the role of philanthropy to impact economic and social power. The central vision of the Marguerite Casey Foundation is to work towards a country where our government prioritizes the needs of excluded and underrepresented people, families, and communities.
U.S. Elections and Democracy in Deeply Polarized Times: What are the Stakes and Opportunities?
An interactive discussion with UCSC professors on the conditions and debates surrounding voters and institutions and what concerns are being raised about our constitutional democracy. This discussion will dive into representative politics and ballot initiatives and how toxic polarization, political distrust, and negative views affect progress from the presidency to Congress and the Supreme Court.
Identity in Focus: Media Representations and the 2024 Presidential Election
The media plays a crucial role in shaping public perceptions of identity, including race, gender, class, and ethnicity. This virtual panel features critical media literacy scholars and practitioners who will discuss how media representations of identity influence political narratives and voter behavior. The panel will provide a deeper understanding of the intersection between media, identity, and politics in the context of a high-stakes election year.
Navigating the Media Landscape: Critical Media Literacy in the 2024 Elections
As the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election approaches, the media landscape is more complex and influential than ever. This virtual panel brings together leading scholars and practitioners in critical media literacy to engage students and the public on the importance of analyzing, evaluating, and understanding the media’s role in shaping public perception and political discourse.
Building Belonging Student Showcase 2024
The Institute for Social Transformation hosted an end-of-year celebration and student showcase event to honor the work that has been accomplished in the Building Belonging program. The Building Belonging program at UC Santa Cruz is designed to foster student success, increase engagement, and build a greater sense of belonging for under-represented undergraduate students through faculty mentored service-learning and research projects. Students who have been involved in the program in 2023-2024 presented their contributions to research projects.
Silicon Valley & the Just Transition to a Green Economy: A Conversation w Right Livelihood Laureates
The transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles promises a more sustainable economy, but it comes with challenges. These include ensuring that the demand for resources like lithium, copper, cobalt, and aluminum doesn’t lead to environmental degradation or human rights violations. Additionally, there’s a need to support those whose livelihoods rely on fossil fuels in finding new opportunities. Silicon Valley has already been influential in driving this transition, particularly in developing electric vehicle technologies. It can further contribute to a just transition by innovating technologies for battery reuse and recycling, conflict-free batteries, and environmentally friendly mineral extraction processes like direct lithium extraction
Resource Extraction & the Future of a Green Economy
Large investment projects conceived to deliver “progress” and “development” often underdeliver on social progress, destroy vital ecosystems, and create vast “sacrifice zones.” Phyllis Omido (Kenya) and Juan Pablo Orrego (Chile), two Right Livelihood Award recipients, led iconic struggles against the devastating effects of extractivist projects. Displaying courage, wisdom, and initiative, they embody visions of the future and collaborative perspectives we urgently need more of to confront the challenges of the present.
Solidarity Economics Series: Power Building and Our Economy
Power is a critical piece of the equation when it comes to making the kind of economic systems change our communities need. Without the powerful voice of social movements demanding change, systems tend to continue benefiting those they always have. Listen in as CEMI organizational leaders and their partners Silvia Paz (Alianza Coachella Valley), Esmeralda Vazquez (Inland Empire Labor Institute), Michael Segura (Just San Bernardino), Daniela Flores, Dylan Castillo, Fernanda Vega (Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition), Dr. Nosakhere Thomas (Inland Empire Black Worker Center), Lyzzeth Mendoza (Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice), Ben Reynoso (San Bernardino City Council), and Jorge Osvaldo Heredia (Garcia Center for the Arts) talk about building and using community power towards changes in our economy.
Solidarity Economics Series: Inclusive Business
How can we work to build business standards that promote an inclusive economy? Hear from Lisa Fu (California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative), Lyzzeth Mendoza (Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice) and Jocelyn Cuesta (Small Business Majority) as they talk us through the ways they have considered inclusive approaches to business which uplift the people-centered industries in their communities.
Solidarity Economics Series: Place Based Development
Place-Based Development includes a number of different equity-focused strategies that center the needs, visions, and cultures of those living in a particular neighborhood, city, or region. Aligned with the tenets of Solidarity Economics, place-based economic development done well creates pathways for local people to envision, advocate for, and realize the changes they want to see for their communities.
Solidarity Economic Series: Public Investment
The Community Economic Mobilization Initiative (CEMI) by The Center at Sierra Health Foundation works to equip and uplift community organizations through inclusive economic development. The Institute for Social Transformation is supporting the Technical Assistance Needs of these community organizations and helping to frame their work in the context of Solidarity Economics. The series continues with a look at the kind of economic development we envision in our communities and the role public investments play.
Building a Domestic Lithium Supply Chain
The degree to which the U.S. lithium battery supply chain relies on foreign imports poses a threat to U.S. national and economic security. Chris Benner and other members of the panel discuss the current structure of the global supply chain and its vulnerabilities, what it would take to bring the lithium supply chain to the US and California more specifically, and what steps could be taken to ensure that this new supply chain is environmentally sustainable and produces real economic opportunities for marginalized communities.
Workforce Systems Development
Explore how a solidarity economics perspective takes an asset-based approach, challenging the deficit model we’re accustomed to. Discover how this approach fosters collaboration with community and labor organizations, steering away from the paternalistic stance. Learn how adopting a workforce systems development approach can lead to a more prosperous economy while empowering the workforce.
Solidarity Economics 101
Join authors Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor as they advocate for a new economic paradigm founded on mutual cooperation and community bonds, addressing the inequalities and fragmentation in our current economy. Learn about the theoretical framework, policy agenda, and social movements proposed to cultivate solidarity and pave the way for a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous economic future.
The Deep Read: Community Salon 2023
On June 7, we’ll be hosting a salon—co-sponsored by The Humanities Institute and Lookout Santa Cruz—focused on actions we can all take in the face of climate change. Ecology Action, Elkhorn Slough Foundation, and Regeneración Pajaro Valley will lead the discussion moderated by UCSC Professor of Humanities and Journalism Jody Biehl.
Building Belonging Student Showcase 2023
The Institute for Social Transformation hosted an end-of-year celebration and student showcase event to honor the work that has been accomplished in the Building Belonging program. Students involved in the program in 2022-2023 presented their contributions to research projects.
The Deep Read: Elizabeth Kolbert in Conversation with Ezra Klein
Culminating event of the 2023 Deep Read—a live discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Elizabeth Kolbert and NY Times columnist and podcast host Ezra Klein, discuss this year’s Deep Read book, Under a White Sky, which depicts the stark changes and emerging technologies affecting our climate and world.
Deep Read Faculty Salon 2023
On May 4, UCSC professors lead a discussion of this year’s Deep Read book, Under a White Sky, with UCSC students and the broader Deep Read community. Faculty Speakers: Jorge Menna Barreto (Environmental Art), Mike Beck (Marine Sciences, Director of the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience), Jody Biehl (Literature and Science Communication Program), and Sikina Jinnah (Environmental Studies).
Confronting Climate Change
Confronting Climate Change is an annual public lecture series that brings together scientists, artists, policy experts, and community members to discuss our planet’s wellbeing and share solutions for our future.
Speakers include:
- Julie Livingston, New York University
- Matthew Huber, Purdue University
- Bharat Venkat, UC Los Angeles
- Moderator: Andrew Mathews, UC Santa Cruz
What’s Happening in Peru? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on a Structural Crisis
The current situation in Peru is the latest expression of a deep structural crisis, rooted in historical relations of dominance since colonial times in the highly centralized country. This is reflected in the long-standing conflictive relationship between the capital, Lima, and the other regions, which has polarized the public debate even more. The role of media and emerging technologies have played a crucial role in how these protests have been represented, adding fire to this polarization. To understand this multidimensional crisis from multidisciplinary perspectives, this round table features scholars from both the humanities and social sciences who will reflect on the historical, social, cultural, economic, and political implications of the ongoing crisis for the future of Peru.
Slugs and Steins: An Economist’s Perspective on Climate Change and Global Inequality
Climate change is a global problem and solving it requires a global effort. Some possible climate solutions are consistent with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the UN, while other solutions may be at odds with these goals. The lecture will discuss ways of thinking about different climate solutions in the context of global inequality and SDGs. The lecture will also discuss climate-related risks faced by the financial sector and how private investors may be incentivized to invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Night at the Museum – Resettlement: Chicago Story
What is it like to be forced to leave your home, deny your heritage, and start over? Join us for the California premiere of Resettlement: Chicago Story, a new short fictional film and educational website, which explores how people of Japanese ancestry remade their lives in the Midwest after their wrongful incarceration during World War II.
Architects of Abundance: Indigenous Regenerative Food Systems and the Excavation of Hidden History
Colonization is an issue of climate justice. Contrary to popular belief, Indigenous Peoples leveraged immense influence on their surrounding lands, fires, and waters in ways that could heal our planet today.
Conversations on Climate Justice featuring:
- Dr. Lyla June Johnston (www.lylajune.com)
- Chairman Valentin Lopez (www.amahmutsun.org)
- Brook M Thompson (www.brookmthompson.com)
- Dr. Chris Benner (www.transform.ucsc.edu)
Solidarity and Spirituality: Soul, Scale, and Strategy in a Time of Crisis
Together we are forging new futures so that our communities are sustained and thriving. Join us as nationally renowned Valarie Kaur (Revolutionary Love Project) leads us through a conversation that weaves her own work as well as new works by our other speakers: The Activist Spirit: Toward a Radical Solidarity (Victor Narro, UCLA Labor Center) and Solidarity Economics: Why Mutuality and Movements Matter (Chris Benner, UCSC and Manuel Pastor, USC).
All-In Conference: Co-creating Knowledge for Justice
More than 400 university scholars, students, community organizers, foundation representatives, artists, and activists came together in late October for a one-of-a-kind event to build collaborative partnerships for community-engaged research and meaningful social change at the UC Santa Cruz conference, All-In: Co-creating Knowledge for Justice. The event was co-presented by UCSC’s Institute for Social Transformation (IST) and Urban Research Network and co-sponsored by a broad range of foundations, community organizations, and partners on and off campus.
