Recent social movements and protests reveal an increasing level of popular concern about building a more just society. There is little societal agreement about how to accomplish this goal. However, there is growing recognition that economic concerns must be included in any full-bodied conception of justice. It is our task to ensure that economic institutions continue to provide for human flourishing, and to work for their reform when they result in harm to social relationships or the ecological health of our planetary home.

Building a more just society requires the combined efforts of all parts of society working together. This conference hopes to facilitate this task by bringing together people working in many different fields that deal with economic issues—business leaders, bankers, academic theorists, justice advocates, policy makers, legal professionals, politicians, and those working in the not-for-profit sector—to discuss the problems we face as well as possible solutions and hopeful alternatives.

For this purpose, we are calling for panel and presentation proposals from all these people on topics related to economic justice. Topics may include, but are not limited to, such issues as keeping faith with the poor, justice on the worksite, ecological stewardship and sustainable development, justice and corporations, principles of land use, business and social responsibility, food and agriculture, taxation and the common good, as well as justice and public policy.

We envisage panel presentations that consist of 2-4 people, speaking from a variety of viewpoints on a common topic. Presentation styles may vary, and alternative presentation formats are encouraged. We invite proposals for both full panels and individual presentations (which will be placed into panels by the conference organizers). Topic sessions will last 90 minutes, the last half hour of which will be reserved for public discussion.

Please send an expression of interest in .doc or .pdf format to Allyson Carr, Associate Director, Centre for Philosophy, Religion and Social Ethics at The Institute for Christian Studies (cprse@icscanada.edu).

• Individual presentations: Provide 1-2 paragraphs describing the topic that you hope to speak on and the type of contribution you will make. (For example, will you tell the story of how your own business or organization contributes to economic justice? make a scholarly argument? report on recent research? present a policy proposal?) Please also provide a brief description of your background and experience or expertise.
• Panels: Provide 1-2 paragraphs describing the topic you intend the panel to address. Identify the contribution that will be made by each participant in the panel; this could consist of individual presentations on a common topic as described above, or a debate or other interactive type of presentation. Please also provide a brief description of each participant’s background and experience or expertise.
  

The deadline for submission is December 11, 2013. Presenters will be notified of their selection by mid-January. If you have any questions about the conference, please do not hesitate to contact us.