WILD12 Schedule

Pre- and Post-Congress Events

Trainings or workshops, capacity-building, and peer-group meetings will be held in the several days before and after WILD12.

Pre-Congress Events: WILD12 Intergovernmental Forum; Youth Workshop; The Rosebud Fair, a celebration of the Lakota Oyate, and the Sicangu sub-band in particular (buses will shuttle WILD12 guests to and from the Rosebud Reservation’s Annual Rosebud Festival).

25 August – Official Opening

(Fine Arts Theater, The Monument)

Opening Ceremony begins at 6:00 PM with addresses from Host and Organizer, WILD11 Host, keynote speakers, and cultural performances.

26-27 August – Plenary Sessions

(Fine Arts Theater, The Monument)

Daily sessions begin at 8:00 AM with cultural ceremony and prayer, storytelling, presentations, and panel discussions. Delegates will hear from and interact with some of conservation’s biggest thinkers and Indigenous knowledge keepers, as they present bold visions to strengthen the sovereignty of Indigenous People’s, Local Communities, wildlife, and the wild.

All plenary sessions will take place during the day, with a choice of events in evenings. Plenaries are a combination of keynote addresses, panel presentations, and cultural performances.

28 August – Tour Day

WILD12 host’s invite delegates to visit several Indigenous led tours to sacred sites and protected areas in the Black Hills.

29-30 August – Convention Of Delegates

(The Monument)

On these days, delegates meet in concurrent and working sessions to share information, problem-solve, and build unity across cultural, and political boundaries.

Symposium-Global Gathering Of Knowledge, Wisdom, And Ways Of Knowing (formally referred to as Symposium for Science and Stewardship)

Concurrent Sessions with oral presentation, panel and round-table discussions, poster sessions, and other platforms for storytelling and sharing ideas. Contributions that address terrestrial and marine wilderness topics (for instance, management and stewardship, collaborative governance, biodiversity conservation, human-wildlife interactions, climate change) within the following themes:

• Indigenous perspectives, ways of knowing, and wilderness meanings
• Humanities, arts, creativity, and environmental philosophy
• Justice, accountability, Indigenous sovereignty, and restored rights
• Campaigns, Youth led-coalitions, community conservation, and citizen science
• Connecting, restoring, expanding, and rewilding landscapes
• Opportunities and challenges of green finance, public-private partnerships, and tourism
• Ecological benefits, cultural meanings, physical/mental health, and intrinsic values
• Applications of technology and data science

Submit your ideas for the Symposium here!

Contact sessions over working group products and workshops will run during the concurrent sessions above.

31 August – General Assembly And Closing Ceremony

On the final day, delegates reconvene to vote on/adopt WILD12’s resolutions and set the global wilderness conservation agenda for the next 4-5 years. Morning and afternoon — final outcomes, resolution adoptions, closing celebrity speakers and cultural events.

Evening Events

25 August – Opening Ceremony
26 August – Indigenous only Pow-Wow
27 August – Public Pow-Wow
29 August – International Indigenous Fashion Show
30 August – Indigenous Conservation Film Festival

Ongoing Throughout Congress

• Poster presentations in concourses
• Cultural art show in concourses
• Art Alley murals (downtown Rapid City)
• Exhibition – Expo of commercial, NGO, governmental, artistic, educational, artisanal initiatives. Display areas booths are available for rental, learn more here
• Memorial Park (immediately adjacent to The Monument) demonstrations

If specific invitations are required for a delegate or invitee to use for visa, travel or other purposes, they can be requested from info@wild.org. In the subject line please enter “Request for invitation.” Include in the email your name, the gender with which you identify with, age, address, organization/community affiliation, passport number, and nationality.