Civity’s relationship-building approach to increasing social trust is featured in a recent episode of the PBS NewsHour’s America at a Crossroads with Judy Woodruff.
Woodruff and her team filmed a Civity workshop hosted by Leadership Rhode Island (LRI), highlighting a one-on-one conversation between two of the participants.
More than 50 people gathered for the workshop, which came out of a partnership between Civity, the Association of Leadership Programs (ALP), and the National Leadership Network (NLN). The LRI workshop was the first of a planned series of initiatives with community leadership programs around the country, many of which recognize that they are well-placed to play a key role in helping strengthen the nation’s social fabric.
FROM THE VIDEO:
WOODRUFF: “The point of all this, says Civity’s Malka Kopell, is not to resolve differences over the difficult issues facing this state and many others. It’s to create a space to build trust face-to-face.”
KOPELL: “What we focus on with the civity work is the conversation before the conversation—before you can sit down with someone else and work out these tough issues that we all have to work out, people need to see each other as people.”
Workshop participant Angie Ankoma of the West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation participated because she’d like to find ways to counter the divisions throughout society.
“Right now, there are people in each respective corner, and there are very few people in the middle,” Ankoma said. “We need to be able to be in the same room and be in close proximity to one another.”
Ankoma engaged with Karl Wadensten, President & CEO of Vibco, who said he did find connection with someone who on their face is very different from him.
“Here are two people who are very different but have very similar paths,” Wadensten said. “I think that Angie will be somebody that I will use as a resource with the things that she does that I’d like to learn more about—what she does in her community.”
Ankoma said she can see civity being part of the solution. “If we’re looking at this as a state and national model, we just have to plant seeds of people who are willing to be engaged and have these courageous conversations—and be vulnerable.”
The leaders at the Rhode Island workshop saw for themselves the do-ability of building civic muscle. Engaging in civity simply means taking a moment to see the person in front of you, take an interest in them, and hear their story.
Kopell and co-founder Palma Strand say they appreciate the opportunity to share Civity with more people.
“When given the opportunity, people respond,” Kopell said. “What we see time and time again when we do civity around the country is that people want to build these relationships. They want to matter and make others feel they matter.”
The takeaway, said Strand, is that “We as a country do care about each other.”
We at Civity are thrilled at the response to the PBS episode to date, and we welcome those of you who have responded by reaching out!
If you see a need and/or potential for building social trust across difference in your community or organization, please contact us at info@civity.org.