The Anne Boykin Institute was founded in 2012 to be a global catalyst for promoting the universal visibility and significance of caring in nursing. The mission of the ABI is to provide leadership for nursing education, practice and research grounded in caring science and to promote the valuing of caring across disciplines. Each year the Institute holds a Summer Academy focused on a theme that calls for theory-guided caring actions. The theme of the June 20-21,2024 Summer Academy is “Earth Caring: Tending our Common Home” to be held both on site at Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and virtually. Our hope is that this year’s theme will lead us to a deeper shared appreciation of the moral imperative of caring for earth and the relationships among health, justice and the environment grounded in caring. Participants will have the opportunity for dialogue and the generation of concrete actions that can make a difference.
The two-day Summer Academy has a unique format based on improvisational learning guided by a structured improvisional plan. There are no “presentations”. Instead, participants reflect and respond to questions posed by evocateurs who facilitate the sessions. On site participants and virtual participants engage in dialogue synchronously in a room with two large screens; those online have the same opportunity as those in the room to dialogue. At the end of the Academy participants generate an action plan to contribute meaningfully to the changes they wish to see in the world.
Each year an artist-in-residence is invited to aesthetically re-present the themes emerging in the dialogue. This year the Artist-in-Residence is Kathy Sherman, CSF, singer, composer, and social justice activist, who will share her music throughout the Academy to create space for reflective thought and deeper understanding of myriad connections in caring for planet earth.
We invite you to join us in Boca Raton, Florida or virtually for this important and exciting dialogue. Visit the website for more information and to register.. If you have any questions feel free to contact Dr. Marlaine Smith, Director of the Anne Boykin Institute, at msmit230@health.fau.edu.