Arcus Requests Proposals for Forums to Promote Dialogue on Ape Conservation

NEW YORK, NY (October 24, 2013) — The Arcus Foundation, a leading global foundation advancing pressing social justice and conservation issues, announced today the formal launch of Arcus Forum, a series of public conversations to encourage dialogue on a range of issues related to the Foundation’s work on LGBT rights and ape conservation. The forums will feature speakers and content intended to serve as a vehicle for informing and nurturing advocates, and increasing visibility for leading actors and thinkers working to advance justice in society and in nature.

While Arcus will determine some topics, speakers and content, the Foundation will also invite proposals from organizations and advocates to either be featured in the series or to collaborate or co-create a forum. The Foundation is currently welcoming proposals from advocates and organizations for events to take place in New York City during the first half of 2014. The first of next year’s forums is expected to take place in March.

The forums will take place in New York City and will be filmed, edited and distributed to extend their reach and impact throughout global movements and communities of interest. All forum costs, including venues and honoraria, will be funded fully by the Foundation.

Proposals will be considered independent of an applicant’s past, present or prospective affiliation with the Foundation and will be evaluated based on the extent to which the proposed forum can be expected to deliver to the public the following:

1. Increased visibility of issues and organizations that align with or complement Arcus’ program goals;
2. The exchange of ideas and perspectives, potentially resulting in new, actionable solutions; and
3. Access to movement leaders and experts on issues of emerging significance to the LGBT and ape conservation movements.

Arcus piloted a number of events in 2013, including:

• A screening of the Arcus-supported documentary Born This Way chronicling LGBT life in Cameroon for other international human rights funders and organizational leaders, followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker and Cameroonian activists.
• A public discussion with David Livingstone Smith, author of Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others and a contributor to The Politics of Species (co-edited by Arcus Vice President, Annette Lanjouw) on how the process of dehumanization leads us to treat fellow humans and other animals in inhumane ways.

Most events will comprise a presentation, screening or discussion followed by a reception in a venue provided by Arcus. In 2014, Arcus expects to produce between four and six forums. Accordingly, there are two event application cycles.  Proposals should be submitted below by April 1, 2014, for the second half of 2014.  Submissions are no longer being accepted for the first half of 2014. Decisions will be made within about four weeks following each deadline by the Foundation’s Communications Department with input from Arcus’ Program and Organizational Learning teams.

Arcus Forum proposals are no longer being accepted for 2014.

About the Arcus Foundation 

Founded in 2000 by Jon Stryker, the Arcus Foundation is a private grantmaking institution. Arcus’ mission is to achieve social justice that is inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity and race, and to ensure conservation and respect of the great apes. The Foundation works globally and has offices in New York City and Cambridge, UK.