PROVIDENCE – Starting this month and stretching into early May, the Rhode Island Foundation will host 20 community gatherings as part of a new initiative called TogetherRI focused on convening Rhode Islanders to encourage increased discussion of local matters.
Neil D. Steinberg, president and CEO of the foundation, was inspired by a New York Times opinion article by Erick Erickson which describes an increasing disconnect between community members in this digital era.
In an interview with the Providence Business News Thursday, Steinberg said “people are not being heard” and TogetherRI is a “grand experiment” to bring Rhode Islanders together for sessions of informal, civil discourse.
TogetherRI sessions are open to all, said Steinberg adding: “Somewhere on Kennedy Plaza there’s a brilliant idea from somebody having a rough time.”
Additionally, he added that if public officials choose to attend the sessions they do so “without their stripes” and speak with other attendees as fellow Rhode Islanders.
Steinberg likened the new initiative to the Make It Happen Rhode Island invite-only workshops from which multiple ideas and projects sprung “because of random collisions” between people with similar opinions.
He would not give a specific cost for the program but said the ball park figure was “very low six figures.”
He added food was “the biggest variable” in terms of cost as well as getting the word out to the public and encouraging attendance.
A website with the 20-event schedule went live Thursday morning. Most events will be held in the evening – two will be morning sessions – and participants are asked to trade an hour and a half of “informal, small group conversation,” according to the foundation, for a free, family-style meal catered by Central Falls-based Emery’s Catering.
While the foundation reported a handful of reservations for TogetherRI events as of Thursday afternoon, Steinberg hopes there is an appetite for such grassroots “community building.”
Per foundation documents, sample conversation-inducing questions include:
- In your opinion, what is Rhode Island’s biggest strength?
- In your opinion, what is the biggest opportunity facing Rhode Island?
- What are the challenges facing you, or your community, that impact your daily life?
- What about, or in, Rhode Island makes you proud?
- What do you think contributes the most to a positive sense of community in Rhode Island?
- Is there something that was discussed at your table that you would spend personal time working to improve, or promote, on behalf of your community or on behalf of yourself?
The foundation plans to announce TogetherRI findings at its May 24 Annual Meeting and will release a larger report later this summer.
Sessions are open to the public and will be “lightly” facilitated, according to the foundation, by a “trusted member of the community.”
Registration is suggested for event attendance and can be completed on the initiative’s website. Child care will be provided at some of the event venues.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, gowdey-backus@pbn.com.
