I had a great time meeting Cara Solomon and members of her team out in Boston at the Building Connected Communities conference. Cara shared two of their initiatives at one of the break out sessions of the conference I attended, Building Connected Communities.
One was the Conversation Station, which I’d love to do here in Milwaukee County. It involves a 10 minute conversation challenge to people walking down busy streets and parks. People sit down, use discussion prompts to engage in a meaningful conversation with a stranger. That’s it, yet it yields powerful results for connection.
The other incredible initiative is having story ambassadors interview neighbors about a story they want to share, and then creating an interview repository on their website. The story ambassadors also train others to become ambassadors for their own neighborhoods and interview their neighbors. What a great idea to get everyone involved from the ground up and create a way for neighbors to connect! This resonated with our Prospecting for Dreams Initiative designed earlier in 2023 we want to create for Milwaukee County. Cara has such incredible positive energy and we will be following their organization. Here is a summary of what they are up to in Boston:
Everyday Boston is an organization dedicated to fostering connections among Bostonians by teaching essential listening and communication skills necessary to engage with people from diverse backgrounds. The organization believes in the power of curiosity and connection to make Boston a more equitable and connected city. Their initiatives focus on story-sharing projects and events that bring together residents from different walks of life.
Story Share
They have "Story Share Events" where residents share their life experiences with neighbors in libraries, community centers, and open spaces. These events aim to break down barriers and create connections among Bostonians who may not have interacted otherwise. Additionally, Everyday Boston conducts "Pop-Up Story Shops" at various community events, recording two-minute snapshot stories from people's lives to capture the diverse narratives of the city.
Conversation Stations
As mentioned, the organization participates in the Task Force to End Loneliness in Massachusetts' campaign by hosting "Conversation Stations" around the city. These stations provide individuals with story prompts and a space to share, promoting meaningful conversations and combating loneliness.
Story Collecting
Everyday Boston's "Story Collecting" program encourages Bostonians to seek out, listen to, and share each other's stories. This initiative recognizes the importance of everyone taking on the responsibility of storytelling, not just journalists. Story ambassadors, trained by Everyday Boston's founder Cara Solomon, a former newspaper reporter, go out into different neighborhoods in their free time to record the life experiences of people they find interesting. These interviews are edited and published in a multimedia story library, creating a portrait of the people of Boston by the people of Boston. Through these efforts, Everyday Boston aims to build community and bridge gaps in a divided city, one story at a time. Last year, they successfully brought together over 1,000 Bostonians from various backgrounds, including middle school students, bank employees, and individuals returning from prison.
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