Lightning Talks

Browse the talks below to learn more about Boston Civic Media, local case studies, and lessons on topics ranging from impact assessment to engagement approaches.

Featured Lightning Talk

No lightning talks match that category!

Talk Categories

Use the filter buttons below to sort talks by category or event.

Design for the Margins by Ceasar McDowell (Interaction Institute for Social Change)

In the second annual Boston Civic Media conference on Technology, Design, and Social Impact, Participatory Design Scholar and Leader Ceasar McDowell presents on Designing for the Margins. See the slide deck here: bit.ly/28NHvMG.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Higher Ed Networks for Climate Action

Tim Carter of Second Nature speaks about the "We Are Still In" initiative and Second Nature's work building networks for climate action around higher education.

Chelsea Roots Collaborative: Climate Justice Advocacy

The environmental justice history and needs of Chelsea, MA are presented.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Climate & Social Justice

Alice Brown of Boston Harbor Now presents about how the organization applies the lens of social justice and climate change to the work that they do on behalf of residents across the region.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Red Team

Jason Pramas of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism speaks about creating a climate Red Team, which is a group of people that explicitly challenges an organization's strategies and norms.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Net Zero Carbon/Gas Pipeline

Jacqueline Royce of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay speaks about how the organization is seeking individuals and organizations to collaborate on two ongoing climate outreach and action campaigns.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Search for Sustainability in Somerville

Wig Zamore of Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership talks about the search for sustainability in Somerville and the Boston region.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Lessons for Youth at Eastie Farm

Kannan Thiruvengadam of Eastie Farm shares some of the 'lessons from the youth' from the organization's ongoing work with youth around climate change.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Emerald Network

Tony Lechuga of LiveableStreets Alliance speaks about the Emerald Network, a bold vision for a 200-mile network of seamless greenways throughout Boston's Inner Core.

Grassroots Organizing for Public Education Equity

Carlos Rojas (youth organizer) shares his story and lessons from educational advocacy campaigns.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Addressing Climate Change in Boston

Matt O'Malley of the Boston City Council, District 6 speaks about his work as an advocate and champion for environmental causes.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Puerto Rico and East Boston: Sharing Stories of Resilience

Marsha Parrilla of Danza Organica speaks about making connections and building solidarity between communities in East Boston and Puerto Rico around climate change and natural disasters.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Boston Coastline - Future Past

Andi Sutton of MIT speaks about her Boston Coastline: Future Past project, in collaboration with Emerson's Catherine D'Ignazio, in which members of the public were invited to walk the future coastline of Boston based on projections of sea level rise.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: High Tide

Carolina Aragon of UMass Amherst describes the public art installation “High Tide” (2016) exhibited on the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Unless

Stephanie Cardon of MassART speaks about her public art piece, Unless, a large-scale installation, commissioned by Boston Properties and curated by Now + There, that will hang in the iconic space of Center Court at the Prudential Center, June through October 2018.

Youth Sexual Health Media Campaign Creation: A Case Study

Nicole is the Start Strong Program Director where she works with youth on campaigns related to teen dating violence prevention, healthy break-ups, media literacy and more.

The Civic Mission of Schools: Measuring Civic Learning by Justin Reich (MIT)

Justin Reich speaks on education research evaluation at Boston Civic Media's (bostoncivic.media) April 2016 event on Civic Media Impact and Assessment at the MIT Media Lab.

Research in the Community Lightning Talk: Boston Data Library

Dan O’brien, the Research Director with Boston Area Research Initiative shared two data-driven resources related to BARI’s central question of how to leverage the flood of big data to make the most use of it.

Boston Civic Media, Catherine D’ignazio (The Engagement Lab at Emerson College)

Catherine introduces the mission, goals, and structure of Boston Civic Media.

Transformative Media Impact

Media scholar Sasha Costanza-Chock (MIT) speaks on transformative media impact at Boston Civic Media's (bostoncivic.media) April 2016 event at the MIT Media Lab.

#Hashtag Activism: The Rise and Influence of Networked Counterpublics

Sarah Jackson discuss the affordances of hashtags for grassroots advocacy.

An Art-Based Approach to Climate Justice

An overview of art-based pedagogy on sustainability topics at the Mass College of Art and Design

Generative Mappings: Beauty and Fun Are Not Outside the Dataset

A lightning talk by media scholar Beth Coleman at an April 2016 Boston Civic Media (bostoncivic.media) event on Impact Assessment and Evaluation at the MIT Media Lab. See slides here: bit.ly/1WFHuL6

Case Study Lightning Talk: Margarita Barrios Ponce (Northeastern University)

Margarita Barrios Ponce is the Director of Plural, a communications firm for mission-driven organizations as well as a part-time faculty for Northeastern’s Art + Design department.

Bringing Women to the Table by Ryanne Olsen (Emerge MA)

In the second annual Boston Civic Media conference on Technology, Design, and Social Impact, Ryanne Olsen, Director of Emerge MA discusses the gender gap in political office and how to support women running for public office. View the slides here: bit.ly/28NXUhu.

“Inclusion is about shared power”- Keynote Speaker Ayanna Pressley (City of Boston)

In the second annual Boston Civic Media conference on Technology, Design, and Social Impact, City Councillor Ayanna Pressley shares her perspectives on pressing social justices issues for designers, researchers, and technologists to work on.

Boston Civic Media: Reflections, Structure, and Goals

In the second annual Boston Civic Media conference on Technology, Design, and Social Impact, the program leadership presents the background, goals, and structure of Boston Civic Media.

Boston's Resilience Strategy and Racial Equity

Boston's Chief Resiliency Officer Atiya Martin discusses the role of implicit bias in climate justice.

The Civic Mission of Schools: Measuring Civic Learning by Justin Reich (MIT)

Dan O’brien, the Research Director with Boston Area Research Initiative shared two data-driven resources related to BARI’s central question of how to leverage the flood of big data to make the most use of it.

Civic Art by Karin Goodfellow (City of Boston Art Commission)

In the second annual Boston Civic Media conference on Technology, Design, and Social Impact, Karin Goodfellow, Director of the City of Boston's Art Commission explains how the city bridges social practice and civic design through public art. View the slides here: bit.ly/28Ut7ib.

Evaluating Impact: A Human-Computer Interaction Perspective

Andrea Parker, Assistant Professor at Northeastern University in the College of Computer & Information Science shares approaches to evaluation at a Boston Civic Media event in April 2016 at the MIT Media Lab. See slides here: bit.ly/1SbcPUi

Catherine D’Ignazio (Emerson College) Introduces Boston Civic Media

Catherine D'Ignazio explains the goals and structure of Boston Civic Media for a quarterly meeting focused on Civic Media Impact Assessment and Evaluation.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: ClimateX

Curt Newton of MIT speaks about the ClimateX platform built for education, community building, and action around climate change.

Civic Media Impact: Opening Statement

An introduction to Boston Civic Media's April 2016 event on Civic Media Impact and Assessment by PhD Researcher Erhardt Graeff (MIT). Slides available here: http://bit.ly/29HwPzC

Case Study Lightning Talk: Nigel Jacob (Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics)

Nigel Jacob is a co-founder of the New Urban Mechanics where he guides projects that invent the future of city services. His team works across departments to connect the city with community needs to experiment collaboratively.

Susan Owusu Welcomes Attendees to the Academic-Community Collaboration Workshop (Jan 2016)

Susan Owusu (Wheelock College) welcomes the Boston Civic Media Community to the convening on Academic-Community Collaboration.

Research in the Community Lightning Talk: Data Therapy with Communities Rahul Bhargava (MIT)

Data Therapy is an approach to building capacity among community organizations to creatively tell their stories with data. Rahul Bhargava, a Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Civic Media, shared his experiences using artistic approaches to engage people with data-driven storytelling.

Research in the Community: The Community IRB Project, Liat Racin (Engagement Lab at Emerson College)

Liat introduces the need for understanding and formalizing the mutual benefits for community-academic partnerships in Greater Boston, alongside the historical context of the IRB process where researchers apply for approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Erhardt Graeff (MIT) - What is Civic Media?

Erhardt introduces the discipline of civic media in the first Boston Civic Media kick-off meeting.

The Civic Media Project and Beyond (Paul Mihailidis)

Paul Mihailidis, Media Literacy Scholar, showcases case studies from civicmediaproject.org.

Catherine D’ignazio - Introduction to the Boston Civic Media Network

BCM Director Catherine introduces Boston Civic Media.

Media Literacy: A Civic Imperative by Paul Mihailidis (Emerson College)

In the second annual Boston Civic Media conference on Technology, Design, and Social Impact, Media Literacy scholar Paul Mihailidis presents the core concepts of media literacy and their value in civic life as they relate to voice, agency, and power. View the slides here: bit.ly/28QvTav.

Co-op DiscoTech May 2016: Khalida Smalls

In her talk, Khalida Smalls (District Coordinator for Strategic Partnerships, SEIU Local 32BJ New England District 615) introduces SEIU at a DiscoTech sponsored by MIT and the Engagement Lab.

Co-op DiscoTech May 2016: Speaker Micky Metts

In her talk, Micky unpacks concepts of decolonization of the self, and of self care in collaborative space at a DiscoTech sponsored by MIT and the Engagement Lab.

Co-op DiscoTech May 2016: Speaker Joel Wool

Joel Wool an environmental organizer and media professional at Clean Water Action. In his talk Joel calls us to ask, “What if we lived in a more fair, just, and democratic economy?" at a DiscoTech put on by MIT and the Engagement Lab.

Co-op DiscoTech May 2016: Featured Speaker Yochai Benkler

Yochai Benkler is an author and the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School. In his talk, Yochai illustrates why he is enthusiastic, but cautious about Co-Ops at space at a DiscoTech sponsored by MIT and the Engagement Lab.

Policy and Climate Justice in Boston

Updates on policy research and action at the Union of Concerned Scientists

Collaboration in the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement

Cross-campus divestment efforts are summarized by student leader, James DeCunzo (Organizer, All Campus Divestment Collaborative). Filmed on 3/24/17 at the Teaching Climate, Inspiring Action event hosted by Boston Civic Media at Northeastern University.

Films and Journalism on Climate Justice

Journalist rhetoric and media production on climate justice are reviewed by David Abel through the lens of two of his recent films.

Models From The Margins: Re-Imagining Family And Community

Family activist Mia Birdsong's evocations for imaginative narratives of family narratives.

Poetry and Justice

Eroc Arroyo-Montano shares stories and poems about the power of a civic imagination fueled by equity.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: 100% Renewable Campuses and Communities

Ben Hellerstein and Theresa Sullivan of Environment Massachusetts share their vision for Massachusetts to go 100 percent renewable.

Climate Change Across the City Lightning Talk: Climate Ready Boston Leaders Program

Alisha Pegan of Greenovate speaks about the Climate Ready Boston Leader's Program, in which the city can grow the conversations about climate change impacts.