Make sure your voice is heard! Join us on Wednesday, February 24 for a Community Conversation centered around the question: How can we continue to make Rockland a welcoming place for everyone? 

A Community Conversation is an event where community members of all backgrounds and views come together to discuss a topic or issue of public life in a way that creates constructive, respectful conversation – often across differences. Participants listen to each perspective, build relationships, and generate ideas for possible action. This Community Conversation is presented with support from Maine Downtown Center and the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation.

Volunteer facilitators needed! As a facilitator, you will be paired with a notetaker in a breakout room of around 10 conversation participants to guide the group through discussion questions around the themes of Inclusion, Creating Community and Working Together. In preparation for the Community Conversation, facilitators will receive training by Maine Development Foundation on basic facilitation principles and skills, and what to expect on February 24. The facilitator training will take place on Monday, February 22 from 6-8pm. It will be recorded, and available to view afterwards for those who would like to facilitate but cannot attend at that time.

When asked about hosting the Community Conversation, Library Director Amy Levine shared, “Rockland Public Library is excited and honored by the opportunity to host the upcoming Community Conversation. Public libraries are the heart of the communities they serve.  We’re so much more than the material we lend; here in Rockland, we pride ourselves on being the warm, welcoming center, where everyone feels comfortable visiting, and which offers something of value to every segment of society.”

Additionally, Levine emphasized the shared goals of the Library and the Community Conversation itself, “As a no judgement zone, which seeks to include all voices, and leaves no one out, the Library is ideally placed to host this meeting. Rockland Public Library’s mission is to foster community & connection, offer resources to inspire & encourage ideas, and provide the tools to explore our past, enrich our present, & empower our future.  My perception is that the Community Conversation’s objective is the same.”

Mayor Ed Glaser will be emceeing the event, highlighting that, “Building community should be at the heart of everything we try to do as a city. Modern pressures make building community harder than ever before – media, mobility, and politics whittle away our sense of belonging. To make community we need to actively work on it. We need to listen to others, we need to ask hard questions, and we need to listen to the answers.” Mayor Glaser hopes that this event will serve as a catalyst for a continued dialogue, adding that, “Community conversations are important, but the hard work will be keeping that conversation going. It can’t be a one and done process, we need to keep repeating it, here’s another chance to keep the conversation going. The city of Rockland needs to be committed to the public process that engages everyone in what it means to be a member of our community.”

DETAILS

What: Rockland Community Conversation

When: 6-8pm Wednesday, February 24, 2020

Where: online via the Rockland Public Library’s Zoom

Cost: Free, registration required via Eventbrite

Register via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rockland-community-conversation-registration-138329947597

For More Information contact David Gogel at rocklanddowntown@gmail.com, 207-593-6095