The initial recommendations on the evolution of the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-of-life plan will be put on full display on Saturday, March 9, 2024 at the annual Community Summit.
The community summit model has been integral to the plan’s success and continuation ever since its inception in 2018. Since the plan was created, ACT has been intentional about updating the community on key actions and how residents can continually be involved in the process. In the five years between the plan’s launch and today, the community summit has also served an important purpose in convening the community to focus on what they created together. It is an opportunity for community leaders and residents to add their voice to the conversation.
Not only has the annual summit been an extremely vital method in updating the community, it has also served as an opportunity for the community to simply gather together and celebrate. The event has allowed for local small businesses to take part as well, some including Schweet Cheesecake, Splyt N Half Kitchen, and Forty Acres Fresh Market.
The first community summit took place in 2018, where the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) plan was unveiled. With hundreds of residents and leaders in attendance, the community had their first glance at the massive plan and what it would come to symbolize for Austin. After an 18-month process of engaging the community over what they felt were the most significant concerns in Austin, the plan came to life. The inaugural summit was a moment in time. A moment when the community knew it could take complete ownership of its future.
“The plan represents a roadmap and a starting point for how we can convert our potential power into action, into real collective power in the neighborhood.” – Darnell Shields, ACT Executive Director at the 2018 Summit.
The plan celebrated one year of implementation at the 2019 Summit. At this point, nearly 30% of plan actions had been initialized in one year alone. Highlights included the launch of the implementation infrastructure for the plan as well as ACT unveiling its new logo and branding.
When the pandemic hit, the mode of the in-person community summit pivoted to something different. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, ACT began to mobilize support and programs to focus on emergency COVID-19 response, but remained intentional about updates through regular and high-level communications. Despite the absence of the in-person summit, ACT persisted with implementation even in the face of rapid programmatic changes.
In 2021, the efforts of the AFT plan and its direct impact in the community were showcased in a short documentary film. Created by Digifé, a black-owned production company, the film not only tells the story of the year’s progress, but also aims to inspire the support needed to achieve all that was left to accomplish.
The community summit returned to its customary in-person format in January 2023. Over 300 attendees gathered to hear from community leaders about community development projects and learned more about the plan in-depth. Additionally, the 2023 summit helped to inspire more residents and stakeholders to become part of the AFT work as it began its fifth year of implementation.
This upcoming community summit will truly be something special. With attendance expected to approximate 300 community residents and partners, the summit will be unique as the AFT plan enters its next phase beyond the original five year scope. Community input will be crucial to the direction of the plan, and ACT is thrilled to use this year’s summit as a launching pad.
See details and register to attend the free Summit at AustinComingTogether.org/2024-aft-summit.
