The Kickoff Convening for Bridging Divides - El Dorado took place on September 29, 2022 at the Cameron park Community Center.
Key sectors of the community that were represented (plus the number attending):
Non-profit (12), Healthcare (6), Education (19), Government (9), Business (7), Faith-based (9), Public Safety (3), Youth (10), Staff/Facilitators (27)
Goals:
Participants will come away with a clearer sense of the personal and organizational impacts of polarization.
Participants will learn about and briefly experience the benefits of a few de-polarization strategies (e.g., conversation agreements, finding common ground, using conversation agreements, deep listening, choosing empathy and curiosity over confrontation).
Groups will leave with action plans that name people who will (initially) lead the change, identify the challenges faced, the goals they hope to achieve, the resources they might tap, and additional people that will be involved after the convening.