| Greetings!
The art of building trust is a crucial need for America. Lack of trust divides us on politics, race, religion, and social issues. Civility is important, but it's just a beginning. Trustbuilding means honest conversation, acknowledgment of injustices, apology, gestures that heal, and a commitment to work together for the future. Trustbuilding starts in our own lives, our own relationships, our own actions.
Looking ahead in 2011 - Trustbuilding continues as the key program focus.
· The Trust Factor - a series of events in Washington, DC, in October that demonstrate how people from diverse backgrounds have built trust and are working together to solve problems. In partnership with other organizations, The Trust Factor offers speakers, workshops, films, and training opportunities that inspire, equip, and engage individuals as trustbuilders. Everyone can participate!
· Walking through history - With the 150th commemoration of the Civil War, the Hope in the Cities experience shows that the right kind of remembering can build a common narrative. Serving as a center for community trustbuilding, Richmond, Virginia, provides a resource for groups and communities seeking to heal history. Students from Duke Divinity School and Congressional staffers are among the many groups who have asked to experience this "walk through history."
· Trustbuilding presentations and workshops are scheduled for corporate and community groups as outreach continues with Rob Corcoran's book Trustbuilding. These include the Trustbuilding Leadership program for campuses.
· Global Trustbuilding - As young people across the world clamor for democracy and freedom, Caux provides a place where the foundations of freedom are built. The Caux Scholars Program, under the new leadership of Dr. Carl Stauffer, will focus on building trust and healing relationships in war-torn societies. The fourth Caux Forum for Human Security will highlight the trust needed to sustain action around five themes - wounded memory, inclusive economics, governance, intercultural understanding and environmental sustainability.
Stay tuned for more information on how to participate.
Please consider a donation to help make these plans a reality.
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A Week of Trustbuilding in Hampton Roads
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Trustbuilding Week in Hampton Roads, VA
(Photo: Cricket White)
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From January 24-29, ten events brought together over 600 people to put trust on the regional agenda in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The Hampton Roads Trustbuilding Taskforce, organized this first-ever "Week of Trustbuilding." The idea started as a seed thought in the mind of Brenda Exum, an associate professor at Norfolk State University (NSU) and a community organizer. At The Trust Factor Forum in Richmond, Virginia in 2009 she was moved to action by words of Dr. Syngman Rhee, "A bridge has to touch both sides. New history is made by people who are willing to touch both sides and to lie down." Exum asked herself, "Will I be the bridge? Am I willing to make that sacrifice and build trust?" She built a team and launched this program entirely through volunteer help and donations. "We showed that you can start with zero budget, finish with zero budget and still get the job done." The week's events ran the gamut of audience and focus. There were day-long workshops for counselors to explore the role of trust in the counselor-client relationship, and for emerging student leaders at Norfolk State University. Other events addressed gerontology, hospice care, teen development, and social work. The week culminated with a luncheon at NSU where Rob Corcoran, author of Trustbuilding, gave the keynote address. The diversity of events, Exum suggests, was an outcome of her teambuilding strategy. "The key was casting a vision and supporting people to design their own programs." Exum notes that the team shared a common value of making a difference in the community ahead of ego and personal ambition. Reflecting on the week, Exum says, "It was an opportunity to practice what I value, trust in relationships ... I know that there are other people out there who share the same values and who want to be catalysts. It's just a matter of being asked and being given the opportunity."
Read the complete story here.
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Trustbuilding Leadership Pilot Program
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Trustbuilding Leadership program at NSU (Photo: Chris Breitenberg)
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On January 29, nearly 30 students at Norfolk State University (NSU) took part in the pilot program of Trustbuilding Leadership. Chris Breitenberg and Jeanné Isler led students through an activity-driven, day-long workshop that explored ideas of personal trustworthiness, trust in various contexts, and the traits of a trustbuilder. Trustbuilding Leadership is a program of Initiatives of Change that launched in 2010. It aims to develop emerging leaders at the US collegiate level by emphasizing the core foundation for trust in leadership. One student said after this initial offering, "It was a real awakening. Now I see how important trust is in all relationships." Another shared, "It was a reality check, a guide to show me what I need to do and how to do it." Earlier in the week at a presentation on Trustbuilding for a class for Social Work students, the professor, Mary Yanisko, commented, "The session on trustbuilding was very powerful and engaged students in self-discovery as they explored the essential nature of trust in relationships." Trustbuilding Leadership has emerged from a synthesis of ideas, skills, needs and passions. Rob Corcoran's book Trustbuilding, published last year, has given a dynamic role to a theme that has long been at the heart of Initiatives of Change. Chris Breitenberg, whose passion for working with young people in leadership development, has led him to spend extensive time abroad with Initiatives of Change with Action for Life, the Caux Interns Program and the Gandhi Voyage. Jeanné Isler, in her current position with Search for Common Ground, brought dynamic facilitation skills to the table. "We designed the program on the basic concept that trust is perhaps the single biggest barometer in terms of how creative, productive and effective a relationship or team can be." Breitenberg says. Trustbuilding Leadership will roll out in the coming year to reach students at a number of different universities. The program's vision includes an active online presence for those who are compelled by the idea of trust in leadership, both at the university level and beyond. Follow on Facebook Read Complete Story Here.
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Unpacking the 2010 Census
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The New Realities of Race, Economics, and Jurisdiction
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Who are our neighbors? Hope in the Cities, in partnership with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, and the University of Richmond Bonner Center for Civic Engagement will present a half-day program on March 18, 2011, 8:30am-12:00pm, at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA on "Unpacking the 2010 Census: The New Realities of Race, Economics, and Jurisdiction." Dr. John Moeser, Senior Fellow, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, at the University of Richmond and Professor Emeritus, Urban Studies and Planning, Virginia Commonwealth University, will present an overview of the 2010 census as it relates to race and economics in the region. New census figures about poverty in metropolitan Richmond are startling. This program examines the dramatically changing landscape of human need and what we must do collectively, city and counties alike, to address the needs of fellow Richmonders and build a just and inclusive community. Breakout sessions will explore the impact of poverty in one of six sectors: business, civic life, education, healthcare, housing, and religion. As follow-up to the program, Hope in the Cities and the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities will provide presenters, facilitators and a dialogue guide to take this program throughout the region. The plan is to disseminate the information widely and invite the community into conversation. Andrew Schoeneman, co chair of the Hope in the Cities Council, and a PhD student in social work, is developing a pre- and post- survey so we can track any self-reported changes of attitude or newly acquired information due to the presentation. The program on March 18 is free and open to the public. To register
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Richmond Can Tell America's Story of
Emancipation
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Dr. Edward L Ayers
(Photo: Karen Elliott Greisdorf)
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As America commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Richmond has a unique opportunity to tell the story of emancipation, according to Dr. Edward L. Ayers, President of the University of Richmond. He shared his vision with hundreds of community leaders on January 14 at a downtown breakfast event, "From Emancipation to Dr. Martin Luther King."
When Virginia seceded from the Union in April 1861, African Americans "seized the opportunity to make themselves free," said Ayers. Three enslaved men escaped to the Union army at Fortress Monroe. "As soon as word spread, thousands of men and women took this first opportunity to begin their journey to freedom."
By 1863, two hundred thousand African Americans were fighting for the United States. By 1865, a regiment of black soldiers marched into Richmond as Confederate soldiers fled leaving much of the city in flames.
Although the events of the Civil War and emancipation "seem far removed from the man and the victory we celebrate today," said Ayers, "we cannot know where King came from, we cannot understand our own city's freedom struggle, unless we understand emancipation and the century of consequences that followed it."
Ayers reminded his audience that because of the sesquicentennial many people would be coming to Richmond. "They will want to see what we have done with our inheritance."
"There is nowhere in America where this full story of emancipation is fully represented. Richmond, with the Slave Trail and Lumpkin's Jail, with Tredegar (American Civil War Center) and the Capital, with Maggie Walker and Virginia Union, could be that place, the place where we make emancipation visible, the place where Americans and people from around the world come to remember how we got from slave-trading to the Civil Rights memorial on the very Capital grounds where Virginia seceded. The connection is real and it is powerful. And it is ours if we have the courage to recognize it, to embrace and grapple with all of our history."
Read the complete story here.
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Alex Wise Joins Initiatives of Change Board
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Alex Wise
(Photo: Karen Elliott Greisdorf)
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H. Alexander Wise was elected to the Initiatives of Change Board of Directors at its Annual Meeting in February. Alex has led a varied life as educator, public servant, lawyer, and social entrepreneur. Since 2007 he has been the director of development of St George's Independent School in Memphis,TN which has forged a new model for independent schools that seek to diversify their constituencies.
History has always been Alex's first love. During the 1980s as an aide to U. S. Senator John Heinz and later as a Reagan appointee, he spearheaded initiatives to build on postwar U.S.-German reconciliation in an era when Cold War pressures seemed to be forcing the two countries apart. In the '90s, he directed the Virginia Department of Historic Resources under two governors.
It was his vision to create the American Civil War Center in Richmond as a place of dialogue where the Union, Confederate, and African American stories could be told under one roof, and he served as the center's first president/CEO and chief fundraiser.
Alex says, "Historical imagination is the ability to imagine walking in the other person's shoes... Honest conversation about race and responsibility strips away isolating pretensions and allows us to feel and value the humanity of all. Honest conversation fosters forgiveness and healing."
Alex has been actively involved with Initiatives of Change and its program Hope in the Cities for more than ten years. He says, "IofC founder Frank Buchman was a man whose faith gave him the strength to confront his prejudices, deal honestly with others, and thereby gain the trust of the most unlikely people. By building relationships of trust with world leaders, he made the world a better place. The trustbuilding work of IofC continues today across racial, economic, and religious divides, and I look forward to doing what I can to further that work."
Read Complete Story Here.
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The Courage to Stand Up to Bullies | |
Day Ely Ravenscroft
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I was born, brought up, and most often voted Republican. Recently in Arizona, our Republicans have become very unlike the ones I remember, such as my father, Senator Wadsworth, Senator Saltonstall, Senator Dirksen, Senator Goldwater and President Reagan. Yes, we always leaned toward "the people's right to bear arms" but basically rifles and shotguns for hunting and a permit for a pistol. No concealed weapons, and certainly no combat weapons with 30 rounds in the clip. Yes, we preferred low taxes but we were not against "the safety net." Most of those laws in 1940s and 50s, like the GI Bill for studies, were passed in a bi-partisan manner. And, in the old days, we definitely believed that power should stay as "low on the totem pole" as possible - villages, cities, counties, states, and then federal. You may agree with some of the current bills before the legislature that attempt to remove the power of the Federal Government to regulate, that dictate to cities and counties how services are managed and seek to privatize much in the public sector, or the bills to loosen gun control laws making it legal to carry concealed weapons in the State Capitol, at community festivals, or on school property. These are not just bills being proposed in the legislature to balance the budget. Wherever we have an imbalance of power we risk the tyranny of the majority. When Republicans or Democrats are 100% in control the power can shift to the far right or left and those that are more moderate get bullied by the extremists. What some of us are doing here to build solutions in Arizona is training people how to talk about problem solving with people who have a different opinion from theirs, or may just be shouting slogans. We are rebuilding our churches, schools, clubs, bowling leagues and choirs and turning them again into places where people talk about important things and learn how to hold a useful discussion, really listening and thinking together, rather than just waiting to present their own point of view. It is slower than campaigning for a different party to win the next election, but that doesn't necessarily help because both parties now are trained to shout slogans instead of seeking solutions. What we need to find is "Not who is right but what is right." And remember, most of us learned as children that our own honor is measured by how we treat the vulnerable among us. We were not brought up to be bullies. These proposed bills will cost lives directly and indirectly. Pray for the young, the sick, the old and the poor in Arizona. Day Ravenscroft is an octogenarian living in a retirement community in Tucson. She first met Frank Buchman, founder of Initiatives of Change, in the 1930s and spent many years in service to this work on several continents. She has been a community activist and change maker all her life. Read Complete Story Here.
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Hope you enjoyed this issue of Breakthroughs Online. Please share this newsletter with your friends and forward it to those you know have a passion for trustbuilding. Hope in the Cities is a program of Initiatives of Change. Visit our website for more information.
Thank you! |
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Supporting HIC
If you would like to support any of the programs you have read about in this newsletter please do so by clicking on the button below. |
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The New Realities, or Race, Economics, and Jurisdiction
March 18, 8:00am - !2:00pm
VCU Student Commons
Richmond, VA
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Rob has started a Blog! Follow it here.
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Global Update reports on the first screening of the documentary An African Answer in the Kenyan township where it was filmed. |
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July 3-8
Transform yourself - transform the world around you
July 10-17
Caux Forum for Human Security
July 26-31
Learning to Live in a Multicultural World
August 2-8
Trust and Integrity in the global economy
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