Fall Conference will focus on the close to 1,000 responses to the “MANA is Listening” Survey.
MANA Conference 2019 - SUSTAIN! - is going to be a pivotal event in the history of the organization and in midwifery as a profession. Hundreds of hours of care, consideration, research, and discussion have gone into producing a conference to give you everything you have ever loved about attending and some wonderful new opportunities to refresh your spirit, revive your passion, and rekindle your desire to connect with midwives and students alike.
MANA Conference this year will be an opportunity to come together with other birth workers who understand the deep investment, challenges, and personal sacrifices we make as midwives for the families we serve. There will be incredible speakers presenting information that will inform and uplift your practice, give you tools for addressing self-assessment and self-healing, and open a greater understanding of the importance and realities of your calling as a midwife.
We are mindful of the tension and conflict present in many midwifery events over the past few years and have had in-depth discussions with organizational leaders and conference organizers. While we have taken great care to provide a program free from bias and insensitivity, we know that we cannot anticipate every potential situation. Our conference support plan includes both rapid response to situations that may emerge and an ongoing reporting mechanism to address any issues that may arise. This plan ensures that:
All voices are heard, AND the conference will proceed as scheduled without disruption to programming
Issues are addressed, AND impact to attendees minimized
Outcomes and lessons from our conflict response team are shared so all attendees have the benefit of understanding and learning from the issues faced by our diverse community
We invite you all to bring YOUR very best - your love, patience, kindness, and deep service to the conference in support of an experience that will bring joy to all who attend. This conference will be a model for not only self-care, but for moving beyond self-care to community care. Our desire is for everyone in the community to leave the conference feeling heard and loved!
Our goals for the conference have come from the responses to the “MANA is Listening” Survey. With 977 responses, it is clear that midwives and students want to be heard! We invite you to hear the details of what you all had to say by listening to the “MANA is Listening” Webinar Interview with Vicki Hedley (President) and Wendi Cleckner (Director of States’ Advocacy). Stay tuned for login information in your email, on the MANA.org home page and on our Facebook page.
