Goal: Provide platforms for different Pennsylvania Environmental Justice stakeholders to learn about and effectively engage in the practice and regulation of EJ in a manner that leads to lasting state EJ collaborations helping each other find EJ challenges and strategies that can further EJ across PA.
Objectives:
Identify key EJ issues and barriers facing communities and organization communities in Pennsylvania
Identify organizations, advocates, institutions, and businesses in Pennsylvania actively working on EJ issues and build capacity in and between organizations
Strengthen, create, and connect regionally active EJ groups
Build an EJ network across Pennsylvania
Determine how community residents can participate in shaping EJ policy
Connect industries with communities to address EJ issues
Structure of Event: The City of Harrisburg and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology are hosting the main virtual event which is being shared with participants around Pennsylvania. In order to create regional coalitions, EJ Community Hubs will host virtual events that allow local partners to get together for networking and afternoon activities. EJ Community Hubs will create locally specific ramp-up and follow-up activities that bring folks in regions together in advance and after the main event.
EJ Community Hubs: EJ in PA Community Hubs serve as the convener of local organizations interested in environmental justice, community health, and community connection. The EJ Community Hubs will provide a space for local dialogues that will lead to a lasting connection within the community, kicked off at EJ in PA. The EJ Community Hubs will be given access to materials, pre-conference materials to encourage interest, and materials to assist in maintaining communication after the one-day conference. We plan to continue the EJ Community Hubs in autumn 2021 to report on local activities that have happened since the event, to share best practices between hubs, and to help plan for future events.
