Community for the 21st Century

We finally have the story of weDialogue's first session of the "Conversations for the 21st Century" series up in StoryNet! Here's an added enhancement you will only see here: an audio recording of the round table of conversation starters with Peter Block, Sarah Whiteley and Maria Scordialos, and Nancy White:

Just to get you to want to see more, here's a sneak peak of Susan Kelly's graphic recording of the conversation starters (click to see it full size):

Comments

[haleemah]

Excellent graphics. I totally get it. Many of my adult mathematic students use graphics to help them figure out complex word problems. I give them credit for illustrations.

[Amy Lenzo]

Thank you Haleemah.

We too find graphic recording to be an invaluable part of the World Cafe process, a vital aid to making meaning together.

[Todd Wolf]

There are nations within nations. "Haves" and "have-nots"? "Haves" have what? Power? What is power? What is powerful? If recognized ... self ... a connected self in a sea of “we” being situational aware. This requires mutual recognition which leads to understanding and appreciation of interdependencies and interactions of the sum of the parts that contribute to the consequential dynamic whole ... the collective striving.

“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live; it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. Selfishness always aims at uniformity of type. Unselfishness recognizes infinite variety of type as a delightful thing, accepts it, acquiesces in it, enjoys it”. - Oscar Wilde

[Todd Wolf]

A sense of being, of belonging, of participation, of contribution does not require an organization. It requires organizing one’s senses and sensibilities around a sense of being, of belonging, of participating, of contribution … the “we” in “me”.

[amy lenzo]

Thank you Todd! That's a wonderful quote from Oscar Wilde and a great example of the WC principle about inviting diversity, welcoming and celebrating it for all it has to teach us.

I also love your words about community being something we feel within us, rather than the external structures we often associate with that word - neighborhoods, nations, and associations of different kinds.