Now, it seems, perhaps more than ever, we are “missing” one another.

Our interactions can feel like brutal battlegrounds of ideology rather than connective conversations.

Our relational networks can feeling like they are pooling at opposite ends of the spectrum called “who’s with me and who’s against me.”

Now, more than ever, the idea of common ground feels like a fantasy. And, it is, when we pretend that common ground means we have to agree with one another about everything, or that we should talk about everything in isolation from history or culture. We can’t do those things.

Join us for a 2-part series in which we explore the nature of common ground, and seek to become people who more effectively create and sustain it.

Session 1: Common Ground Doesn’t Mean Neutral Ground (June 15th, 12-1:30pm)

Summary: Understanding the context of our experiences, opinions, and perspectives, and being able to effectively position them within larger historical and cultural frameworks, is a crucial step toward building common ground that allows for a more nuanced and complex space for conversation, disagreement, and resolution.

Session 2: Common Ground Doesn’t Mean Simple Ground (June 22nd, 12-1:30pm)

Summary: Working toward common ground means we are actively disrupting binary thinking and seeking to complicate the broad narrative that some people are with us and some are against us. It means we are learning to “live” in the gray area between same and different and between agree and disagree, and that we are learning to hear and hold the truths of others’ experiences.

This event series is sponsored and presented by Adelante: The Latino Resource Center.

It is free, and open to the public.

This event series is in alignment with Adelante's vision to empower the Northwest Ohio community through education, and born from the desire by its leadership team to commit to continued learning from and engagement with that Northwest Ohio community.