Tag Archives: forums

07.17.16
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Are We An Us? Part 3

Our forum participants asked the question “are we an us?” long before the violence of the last two weeks left leaders nationwide calling for dialogue. Efforts by local leaders to create more dialogue included a news conference where the issue of racial profiling was discussed, and an open mic event sponsored by MU’s Black Studies department.

To make a difference, dialogue needs to be sustained. It’s up to each of us to reach out, to listen, to share our own thoughts, to listen again, and to stay engaged.

Wondering where you might start? You can start by downloading the community dialogue guide “Are We An Us?“, or one of the related mini-guides, “Addressing Inequities“, “Citizen Centered Planning“, or “Building Bridges“.  We also have a checklist which will help you plan dialogues within your neighborhood or organization and report back in on thoughts shared.

The Tribune publication “Sharp End”, published in 2015, can also serve as a starting point for discussions about race in Columbia, as can the documentary “Battle: Change From Within“.  The “Charleston Syllabus,” which was created in response to the June 2015 murders at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina provides many additional resources.

Do you have additional resources to share?  Add your suggestions in the comment section below.

06.07.16
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Are We An Us? Part 2

For the last month we have been meeting with our community partners, finalizing our dialogue guide, and returning to the Kettering Foundation to discuss our learning exchange.  Later this month we will launch our guide, titled “Are We An Us? A Guide for Dialogue About Community” along with a schedule of activities. Look for that on this blog!  You are welcome to download the guide and host your own discussion with your friends, family, neighborhood association, service organization or other group.

Also last month Columbia was named the 4th largest city in Missouri, passing Independence.  This reflects rapid growth over the past decade, and that growth continues.  Columbia passed the 100,000 mark in 2008 and is projected to exceed 200,000 by 2030.  As our forum participants observed, that growth has stressed our community in many ways.

How do we create or maintain a sense of community as we grow? Talking with each other across lines of race, place, and income is one way to do that. We hope to foster that conversation here and in other forums. Join in the conversation and watch for the guide!

03.26.16
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More Divides

In addition to healing divisions reflecting age, class and race,  participants in our February forum further identified a need to build bridges of communication and collaboration between City and County governments, City government and citizens, and  citizens and City staff.  The Battle students raised the question of how to strengthen connections between schools and community. Several people observed that without proactive dialogue between citizens, planners, and elected leaders, Columbia runs the risk of developing a geographic divide between North and South Columbia, like the geographic divides that exist in the St. Louis area.    Holding regular community dialogues within school buildings could begin to address some of these issues.

Other communities, including  Carbondale IL, have used sustained community dialogue to help solve difficult issues.  Columbia headed in that direction with the Imagine Columbia’s Future visioning process, although that dialogue was not sustained following that process in the ways envisioned by the public.  What could a “community commons” for dialogue look like in Columbia?  What might we accomplish by working together?

02.20.16
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Dialogue Builds Bridges

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“Groups of people getting together and talking is never a waste of time!  That is the only way to build communities.”

“Need more open democratic system for discussion.”

“People can’t seem to disagree without it getting personal.”

These were all comments made by citizens who attended the recent Trib Talks forum “Are We An Us?”

It was an energizing exchange that resulted in much productive dialogue and several ideas for action. We will be posting more of the comments and ideas shared on the three themes – Building Bridges, Citizen-Centered Planning, and Addressing Inequities – over the next few weeks.   In the meantime, view more pictures and resources in this summary from reporter Alicia Stice.

Keep the conversation going and join us!

02.11.16
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Join Us Thursday Feb 11 at 7 pm

Join us tomorrow evening for the Trib Talks forum “Are We An Us?’  The world-cafe style forum will be held at the ARC, 1701W. Ash St., at 7 pm. We will dig deeper into themes that emerged during our last session and our on-line forums.

These were citizen centered planning, addressing inequities, and building bridges.

What is citizen-centered planning?  One thing it involves is leadership that accurately informs citizens.  During our last forum citizens expressed a desire for the Trib to make it easier for them to track coverage on complex issues, like the current transmission line controversy.  The Trib has responded with a new archive on infrastructure issues.  Come and share additional thoughts on how our planning for growth might be improved.

There are many groups in Columbia working to address needs for food and shelter.  Affordable housing, and outreach through efforts like Project Homeless Connect have been in the news. Bring your ideas on what more might be done.

And over the last month uniting the diverse elements of our community has been a theme of many events – from the the city-sponsored diversity breakfast, to a unity concert, to a multicultural cooking class sponsored by the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture. Come and share your thoughts on how we might bridge our gaps.

Join us at the ARC and here on-line!

 

 

02.03.16
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Poverty and Our Community

The Tribune’s City Editor Matt Sanders presented the facts on the number of children receiving free and reduced price lunch in our schools in an op-ed Sunday.  He also outlined what the schools are doing to help children in poverty.  Several of those who commented on the article were less than sympathetic.

What kind of community do we want to be?  “Are We An Us?” was a question raised in our past forums and will be the topic of our next forum scheduled for next Thursday evening, February 11, at the ARC, from 7 to 9 pm.  Join us as we explore questions related to community here in Columbia, MO.

Another opportunity for information and dialogue directly related to the questions Matt raised occurs Monday night, February 8, 6 pm, also at the ARC, as the Cradle to Career Alliance screens the film “Wounded Places“.  This film explores the effects that chronic poverty has on children.  Members of the Minority Men’s Network and the Worley Street Roundtable will facilitate the post movie discussion.

And if you want to take Matt’s challenge to explore your assumptions about poverty, here is a place to begin: Poverty USA.

01.04.16
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Trib Talks: What’s Happened So Far

The Columbia Tribune launched its “Trib Talks Forums” as part of a joint learning exchange with the Kettering Foundation in May 2015, starting with an issue guide on politics and democracy.  One purpose of this exchange is to look at ways in which the media can help strengthen the citizen voice in our evolving political system.As part of the learning exchange we are experimenting with different kinds of dialogue platforms and hosting dialogues on those topics that those who participate want to discuss.

The first forums were on-line and used the “Cover It Live” platform that was designed for sports.  You can view transcripts of these forums on the Trib Talks Forums archive page.  An in-person forum, co-hosted by the League of Women Voters and the Minority Men’s Network was held at the ARC in September 2015. We also asked for and received feedback through surveys and polls.

Although citizens raised many specific issues, including those relating to jobs, safety, and development, the overall focus was on the question of who we are and where we are going as a community.

In 2008 a report from a citizen-led visioning process sponsored by the city included this stated goal: “Columbia will be an inclusive community where people from all walks of life hear, appreciate, understand, respect, and trust each other, and where positive relationships are fostered and human rights are advanced.” In our 2015 dialogues citizens indicated continuing interest in this type of goal, and expressed concern with a “lack of community”.

Lack of a common vision for our future was another theme across the forums, reinforced by comments like “we seem to be drifting” or “In Columbia folks seem to be saying, ‘If it’s not on my side of town, I don’t care.'”

Forum participants also asked questions like “are we an us?” and “what would it be like if we could come together as one WHOLE community?”  These are questions worth pursuing and we are interested in your thoughts.

You can participate in further dialogue on this blog, or join us at our scheduled forum, February 11, 2016 at the ARC, 1701 W. Ash St, 7 to 9 pm.