Actively Building Community Solidarity (ABCS)

The Actively Building Community Solidarity conferences (formerly the Alternative Break Citizenship schools), also known as the ABCS, started as “Break Away Boot Camps” in 1992. Though the name has evolved, the ABCS still pay homage to Citizenship Schools established throughout the South in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement to train activists and support voting rights. The Citizenship Schools were started at the Highlander Center, a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in the South, from the labor movements in the 1930s to more recent multi-racial, inter-generational organizing around immigration justice.

Early in our history, Break Away staff attended trainings at the Highlander Center that helped shape our vision and voice. The Actively Building Community Solidarity conferences are a continuation of that work, dedicated to educating communities for social action.

The ABCS are for everyone, and the majority of attendees come from higher education institutions. Most participants are looking to apply our curriculum through the context of community engagement and/or alternative breaks — they either have or are looking to start a program at their institution. However, the curriculum is broadly applicable to programming within community engagement, community based-learning, and social justice education.

Staff are often curious as to where they fit into the ABCS. This year, our final summer ABCS will feature sessions exclusively for full-time staff and GAs, though you’re welcome to attend any of the other two conferences if you have a scheduling conflict. As a whole, the vast majority of ABCS participants are students (it’s typically a 9:1 ratio of students to staff participants), but the curriculum is applicable to either role and many staff participants have reported appreciating the opportunity to connect directly with students from other programs

First off, make sure you’ve completed the registration process. Have you submitted the registration form, completed payment, and received an email (or emails) confirming both your registration AND your payment? You’d be surprised by the number of new friends we meet the day the conference begins.

Your registration confirmation email, which will be sent 3-5 days after we receive your registration, will include:

confirmation of which ABCS you’ll be attending 

payment status

One week out from the conference you'll receive an email with detailed information, including:

A packing list (in-person ABCS) or Zoom links (virtual ABCS)

information about the conference Facebook group (or Slack channel for Staff Track), where you can start connecting with other participants

a link to your ABCS Resource Page (formerly the Pre-Packet)

If you do not receive a confirmation email within 5 days of registering, please reach out to us.

In-Person:

• Accommodations and dining. All rooms will be singles in order to ensure the safety and comfort of ABCS participants. Food will be provided by the hosting site and/or Break Away staff.

  *Bedding and towels are not included . Participants must provide their own.

• On-site transportation to and from community partner sites.

  • The Break Away Airport Shuttle retired back in 2019, so participants will need to find transportation to and from the airport.

• Conferences materials

Virtual

• Zoom links

• Virtual conference materials + survival guide

• Session recordings (provided 1-2 weeks after the conference ends)

A pack list will be sent out to participants via the Resource Page two weeks before the start of their ABCs. However, expect to see the following on that list:

A sleeping bag, pillow, towel (and any other linens you may want)

Clothing for conference days (casual is just fine!), pajamas, comfortable shoes, and toiletries

Notebook and something to write with

An adventurous spirit ready to navigate this experience

We encourage you to be as distraction-free as possible. This will look different for each of us, but for each session we ask that participants be as fully present as they can be (engaging with facilitators and your fellow participants).

A pack list will be sent out to participants via the Resource Page two weeks before the start of their ABCS. However, expect to see the following on that list:

A reliable internet connection

Zoom downloaded (and updated with the latest version) on your computer or mobile device — having access to a keyboard will be useful, but not required

Notebook (or print out of presentation materials) and something to write with

An adventurous spirit ready to navigate this experience

We encourage you to be as distraction-free as possible. This will look different for each of us, but for each session we ask that participants be as fully present as they can be (engaging with facilitators and your fellow participants, cameras on, mics muted, other browsers closed, etc).

Although there are a lot of benefits to gathering virtually, we also recognize that a virtual learning space can come with its own host of access barriers. If you’re concerned that your internet connection, technology access, or other factors might hinder your participation, we encourage you to reach out as soon as possible so we can work with you to identify accommodations.

AKA your conference Resource Page that you can use before, during, and after your ABCS! On this page you’ll find:

An introduction to the justice topic we’ll cover during the conference. Materials like blog posts, videos, podcasts, and a key terms list

Schedule, workshop outlines, and links to any resources or materials referenced in the workshops, Zoom link and passcode (virtual ABCS)

Break Away staff, Team Leaders, and participants contact information

An ABCS survival guide

This webpage will be a living resource list that you’ll have access to after your ABCS is over. We hope that you’ll come back to it as a means of furthering your learning and reference as you continue strategic planning post-ABCS. 

If you’ve attended the ABCS before, you know that we’ve historically provided participants with paper copies of workshop outlines to help you follow along with the content. This year, we’re making a commitment to reduce paper waste. We will have PDF versions available for you to print out if you choose (we’ve found some folks like to write in their own notebooks versus what we provide — so do your thing!). If you do not have access to a printer, we’re happy to provide a paper version for you. Just email us no later than two weeks before the ABCS.

*you have the option of asking us not to publish your contact information in the registration process.

If you’re anticipating that you may need additional breaks during the ABCS, we’d love to work with you to proactively identify alternate plans. That doesn’t exclude the opportunity to make last minute adjustments, but helps our staff and your team plan ahead.

If you have specific conflicts during the conference that will take you away from programming (e.g. an important phone meeting), Break Away staff can work with you to find a solution that meets your needs while honoring the team aspect of the experience.

We are here to help our participants along their community collaboration journey. Because of this, the ABCS Resource Page (available to participants only) will serve as a living document.

We encourage you to return to the Resource Page post-ABCS as a way to continue your learning and to use as part of reorientation.

Participants who would like to receive any of the workshop recordings should reach out to our staff. The recordings are not intended to be a stand-in for participating in real-time, but we're happy to provide recordings if it would help you return to the material.

Recordings are for personal use only.

We will not be offering full refunds for the ABCS. In the event that you cannot attend the session you've registered for, you may have the opportunity to switch to a different session, pending availability.

If you are unable to attend any of the offered sessions, another individual from your institution or organization may attend in your place at no additional charge (or apply your registration to another session, pending availability).

The BA Staff are committed to creating the safest and best learning environment we can for the conference, including attempts to mitigate the potential negative impacts of COVID-19. Our COVID policies are as follows:

• Two primary does and at least one booster OR a negative test within 48 hours of the conference.

• Single rooms for participants.

• Rapid tests for anyone who may begin to show symptoms or who may have been exposed.

• Participants are welcome to exercise any additional precautions like mask wearing and physical distancing.

Should you get COVID-19 within ten days of the in-person ABCS, we ask that you transfer your registration to the virtual ABCS (June 23-26 or July 24-27 (staff only)). We will be offer you a partial refund.

Should you have any additional questions or concerns, reach out to Zidane, our Assistant Director of Operations!