2026 MNCASA Symposium

This event will bring together about 150 participants, most of whom are MNCASA members at advocacy organizations who provide direct services to victims/survivors of sexual assault. Sessions should be designed with advocates in mind, people who support victims/survivors through crisis intervention, legal and medical advocacy, shelter, support groups, prevention work, and community education. Presenters are encouraged to offer tangible tools, real-world strategies, and examples that reflect the diverse communities advocates serve. 

We are looking for sessions that are interactive, practical, and rooted in compassion and respect. We invite you to share what you know. 

You do not need to be an experienced presenter to apply. If you have an idea that could help others in this movement, we encourage you to take a chance and submit a proposal. We’re especially excited about sessions that get people engaging, creating, and trying something new. 

Focus Area 1: Practical Advocacy Skills  

These sessions should help participants build useful skills attendees can bring back to their day-to-day work. We’re looking for concrete, participatory sessions that show what advocacy looks like in action and help advocates meet survivors where they are. We are particularly interested in sessions that utilize a harm-reduction approach to working with victims/survivors.  

Possible topics include but are not limited to: 

• Supporting victims/survivors who use substances; including recognizing and responding to overdoses 
• Mobile advocacy 
• Creative safety planning with victims/survivors who are unhoused, non-citizens, or facing other substantial barriers 
• Peer-support models; creating spaces where victims/survivors support and learn from each other 
• Making shelter or housing programs more flexible and accessible for victims/survivors of sexual violence 
• Documentation and data-collection that minimize harm 
• De-escalation and emotional first aid 
• Empowerment-based self-defense 
• First aid, CPR, AED  
• Practical community-based violence prevention strategies 
• Auditing organization policies and practices for barriers 
• Supervising and caring for staff who handle crisis situations 
• Sharing tangible tools for healing, like art, mindfulness, or other grounding techniques victims/survivors can use right away — and giving advocates the opportunity to try them out together at the conference 

Focus Area 2: Advocate Well-Being and Sustainability 

These sessions should focus on how we sustain ourselves and this work, both individually and together. We are interested in honest, down-to-earth conversations about burnout, boundaries, resilience, and hope, as well as creative ways to rest, recharge, and stay connected to purpose. 

Possible topics include but are not limited to: 

• Supervising in ways that reflect our values and support advocates 
• Supporting advocates who are also victims/survivors – tending to the experiences of advocates who are currently surviving harm or healing from past harm 
• Creating harm reduction cultures within our teams- building practices and policies that reduce burnout, center compassion in accountability, and make space for imperfection 
• Sustaining ourselves in advocacy- doing the work without self-sacrifice by setting and honoring personal boundaries 
• Caring for each other as a team in small or rural programs  
• Building well-being into planning and budgets 
• Holding grief about our movement’s current challenges while continuing to show up for victims/survivors 
• Facilitating caring and values-driven team meetings and gatherings 
• Creative expression for healing and connection (e.g., art-making, poetry writing, storytelling, singing, or other forms of creativity with teams) 

Breakout sessions are 75 minutes long and should give participants something they can use, whether that’s a new skill, a tool, or a fresh perspective. We welcome sessions that include practice, discussion, reflection, and activities. 

We invite you to submit your proposal online by the end of the day on Friday, January 23, 2026. You will be asked to provide the following information:

1. Session Title 
2. Presenter Name(s) and Organization (if any) 
3. Session Description (150–200 words) – What participants will learn and why it matters 
4. Learning Goals (3–4 things participants will take away) 
5. Intended Audience (e.g., advocates, supervisors, prevention staff, or open to all) 
6. Format (interactive workshop, discussion, creative activity, etc.) 
7. Anything special your session needs (tables, projector, space for engagement, art supplies, etc.)? 

We want this conference to reflect the creativity, courage, and compassion of our movement. We’re looking for people who care deeply about this work and are willing to share what they’ve learned. 

If you’ve been thinking, “Someone should do a session on this,” maybe that someone is you. We’d love to see your ideas. 

Presenters’ registration fee will be waived. The registration fee includes participation in all symposium sessions and two lunches.

Applicants will be notified whether their proposal was accepted or not by mid-February.

If you have questions about submitting a proposal, please contact Ashley at [email protected] or 651.288.7443.