Community Conversations are facilitated dialogues on selected topics held via Zoom. We invite you to our Zoom Living Room, a safe, trusted space. Community members come together to relate and to connect. An invitation to share perspective, generate understanding, build relationships, and ultimately strengthen the community.
Next Conversation:
Civil Unrest 2.0: Saturday, March 20 from 4:30-6 p.m. (ET) with facilitator Jamila Mindingall. Our first affinity group conversation! This facilitated dialogue is for community members aged 50 and above. In the past year, we saw more protests and civil action than we’ve seen in decades. We’ll use this time to remember the civil unrest in 1960’s and 70’s and compare it to what is happening today. Register here.
Upcoming Conversations
Women and Money: Friday, March 26 from 5-6:30 p.m. (ET) with facilitator Gail Scarbrough. In honor of National Women’s History Month, this affinity-group conversation is for woman-identifying community members. How comfortable are you with money? Use this space to share your approach to finances and learn from other women. Register here
Agreements we set as ground rules to ensure a safe environment for great conversation:
Be curious and listen to understand.
Conversation is as much about listening as it is about talking. You might enjoy exploring how others’ experiences have shaped their values and perspectives.
Show respect and suspend judgment.
People tend to judge one another. Setting judgment aside opens you up to learning from others and makes them feel respected and appreciated. Try to truly listen, without interruption or crosstalk.
Note any common ground as well as any differences.
Look for areas of agreement or shared values that may arise and take an interest in the differing beliefs and opinions of others.
Be authentic and welcome that from others.
Share what’s important to you. Speak from your experience. Be considerate of others who are doing the same.
Be purposeful and to the point.
Do your best to keep your comments concise and relevant to the question you are answering. Be conscious of sharing airtime with other participants.
Own and guide the conversation.
Take responsibility for the quality of your participation and the conversation as a whole. Be proactive in getting yourself and others back on track if needed. Use an agreed upon signal if you feel the agreements are not being honored.
These ground rules and our Community Conversations are inspired by Living Room Conversations.
Stop Telling Stories with facilitator Jamila Mindingall
Setting Healthy Boundaries while Sheltering in Place with Co-habitants During the Pandemic with facilitator Jamila Mindingall
Free Speech, Hate Speech, and Campus Life with facilitator Kelly Crosby
Anxious Around ReOpening…for You and Your Family, with facilitator Elizabeth Kehoe
Unmasking Shame with facilitator Jamila Mindingall
Empathy is not Endorsement with facilitator Jamila Mindingall
If you have any suggestions for Community Conversation topics, please email info@mediationsavannah.com