LET’S CREATE A “VACATION MATTERS” NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR 2009

You are probably aware of the grim facts about how Americans have been losing vacation time steadily, with only 14% of workers taking a full two-week vacation break last year, employees feeling pressured to give back vacation time and the studies that show how much taking some time off from work means to our health.

For a full explanation of the issue and why vacation time matters see:

http://www.experiencelifemag.com/issues/march-2008/health-wellness/no-vacation-nation.html

For the past year, TAKE BACK YOUR TIME (www.timeday.org) , has been working to build interest in legislation regarding minimum paid vacation leave in the US, something taken for granted in every other industrial country in the world.  We’ve been getting terrific media interest in this.

We have also had conversations with legislative assistants for a handful of U.S. Senators who have expressed interest in introducing paid vacation legislation along the line we support as an organization.  But we don’t expect anything to be introduced in Congress until 2009.  We are also working on efforts to encourage businesses to voluntarily provide more vacation time and to persuade working Americans to take what vacation time they have, preferably in blocks of a week or more, which do more to improve their health than taking a day off here or there.

But we believe that a major media-attracting event is really needed to bring full public attention to our vacation deprivation and its harmful impacts on health, families, communities, productivity and life satisfaction.  TAKE BACK YOUR TIME is developing plans for a major national conference, tentatively called The “Vacation Matters” Summit, to bring together organizations and people from around the country who believe Americans need more vacation time.

We hope that many of you reading this will want to join in the planning for this catalyzing event, which we envision taking place in Washington DC in the spring of 2009 (though we’re open to other suggestions!).

We believe that the number of organizations and businesses who have a stake in this issue is simply huge, and includes:

• Travel and tourist businesses
• Labor unions and employee associations
• Family organizations
• Health providers and insurers
• Religious and spiritual organizations
• Academics, especially in the fields of leisure and recreation, health, business and social sciences
• Parks and recreation leaders and employees
• Recreational equipment outlets
• Social justice organizations
• Environmental groups, especially those concerned with the declined in children’s connection to nature
• Political leaders interested in potential legislation
• Media outlets of all kinds
• Students and student organizations

We are currently looking for partner organizations in all of these areas to join with us to plan and build this conference.  We are also looking for financial sponsors and for suggestions as to time and venue.  We will provide a large venue for exhibits by corporate and other sponsors and offer sponsorship advertising in our program guide.

We envision this summit as making the case for more vacation time and offering various ways of doing that, from changing corporate culture to legislation like that which Take Back Your Time supports. We hope that we can have a conversation at this Summit that goes far beyond possible legislation to new ways to bring awareness of the importance of leisure, parks and recreation to the American public.  For example, we would honor companies that really do give workers adequate time off.  We will invite speakers from other countries to make clear how deprived we in the US actually are in this area of life.  We hope to attract a wide range of views and ideas about various ways to help Americans understand why vacation time is essential to health, family bonding and many other aspects of the quality of our lives.

The conference will have both academic and activist components.  We are inviting university faculty to help us design workshops showcasing the important academic research regarding the value of vacation time for health, family bonding and workplace productivity.  We will invite business and labor representatives to present ways by which workplace education and activism can improve vacation prospects. 

We expect to include a wide range of multi-media presentation, music, films and other engaging material.  I am certain this summit will attract considerable media attention and really put this issue on the national agenda.  I also believe we will attract members of Congress as speakers.  

Please join us now in helping plan this ground-breaking summit.  Please contact John de Graaf, Executive Director, Take Back Your Time at jodg@comcast.net or (206) 443-6747, if you are interested in volunteering to help build this event.  There’s no present like the time!