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Another way communities can build and strengthen social connection is to listen to their residents and give voice to their ideas. As prospectors of old looked for many entry points to find gold, an organization serving as a Connection Circle in your area can work with their network of Neighborhood Connectors to search for dreams lying hidden within the minds of the community.

 

Through interviews of participants in the project, communities can discover what people are thinking about, their own personal passions and dreams and those about the future of the city as a whole. These interviews can capture the power of the imagination by spurring residents on to think outside the box.

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Communities can create a list of standard questions about what brings people joy that they would like to see more of, such as creative projects and cultural events, ideas for the future, creative ways to bring people together, ways to improve our collective well being, and more (see examples on our prompts page). 

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Compare interview responses to find themes to feature in a quarterly newsletter, share as standalone ideas, or present as a compilation. By leveraging your community's own Neighborhood Connectors to interview their own neighbors, it becomes a truly organic effort from within. Local community members, artists, and events could then be invited to draw from these ideas and weave them into the community's social tapestry through stories, artwork, music, podcasts, new types of community gatherings, and more.

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Imagining these shared visions would increase a community's joint sense of purpose and help people participate in creating their future. They would be a joy to fulfill together and a way to celebrate being a resident of their communities. And these mutual causes would create even more opportunities for social connection. 

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"If we can dream it, we really can do it."