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Working with Partners
to Grow Civity
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Hello Friends!
Happy Spring! I hope that wherever you are you are enjoying warmer days and new seedlings. At Civity, we are sowing a lot of seeds -- and by that, we mean developing new and exciting partnerships!
Operating from a complex-adaptive-systems frame, Civity has always tapped into partnerships to scale our work. We are continually on the lookout for leaders and networks of leaders who are deeply rooted in their own organizations and communities and who are aware of how crucial relationships across difference are to moving their own work forward. When we support these leaders in "seeding civity," we support and activate change at scale.
We partner with organizations and leaders working on tough issues like climate change and housing. We partner with local leaders and networks of local leaders. We partner with state-based civic hubs, and we partner with national organizations that reach into communities across the country.
Working with all of these partners, Civity adds the dimension of supporting community members to see each other with respect and empathy so they can build social trust – to help them in their journey From Us vs. Them to We All Belong. These relationships connecting the various individuals and groups in a place strengthen communities and their capacity to meet the challenges they face.
Check out Lucy's article about one of our newest partners, Civic Nebraska, to learn about their essential civic- and democracy-building across the State of Nebraska. And…
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We're partnering with AmeriCorps and Service Year Alliance, two powerful organizations that provide and support opportunities for Americans to address important challenges and strengthen communities through national service and volunteering, We are thrilled to support their partnership to fuel social cohesion, which provides AmeriCorps members with tools and resources to engage in "bridging" relationships throughout their terms of service and beyond. This initiative, funded in part by Einhorn Collaborative, responds to President Biden’s call to service to combat hate-fueled violence at the United We Stand summit last fall. Civity is one of several organizations chosen to provide practices and interventions to a select community of practice as part of a pilot project.
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We're partnering with Partners in Democracy, an up-and-coming organization founded by Danielle Allen with the mission of reinvigorating democracy state by state. We are excited to be providing Civity training to their volunteers to incorporate relationship-building as they organize in their communities to "renovate our democracy, together.”
This summer, we have more partner collaborations on the horizon – with the Public Interest Communications Summer Institute, the Federally Employed Women's National Training Program, the Association of Leadership Programs, and the National Leadership Network, among others. Each of these partnerships infuses Civity relationships of respect and empathy with people who are different into powerful networks of leaders who are grounded in communities nationwide.
In other Civity news, our fabulous social media intern Kaley Gruener is graduating from college and leaving us. Read her culminating article about her experience with Civity. Congrats, Kaley, and thank you so much for your great work!
Warmly,
Malka
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Our Differences Are Magic | |
By Palma Joy Strand
The definition of “civity” is “a culture of deliberately engaging in relationships of respect and empathy with others who are different.” The goal of Civity, the organization I co-founded, is building a civity culture.
So why the emphasis on others, on people who are different?
The short answer is that while difference carries the risk of violence and destruction, it also offers the potential for imagination, creativity, and resilience.
Difference fuels creativity. In music. In art. In food. In ideas. In planning. And yes, even in politics.
Difference lies at the core of learning, of growth, of adaptation.
The key to differences being generative is approaching them as opportunities: engaging others who are different with curiosity, interest, and kindness – and with the horizontality of “I see you” respect and “I hear you” empathy.
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Civity in Conversation with Citizen Connect
Malka & Palma sat down with Citizen Connect Co-Founder Brian Clancy in April on Citizen Connect Live to discuss Civity, the importance of engaging in conversation to build relationships, and how small changes can make big differences.
Malka & Palma remind us that we all have the power to transform our communities by building relationships across difference and cultivating belonging.
Check out DIYcivity to find tools and resources to help you build civity in your communities, and check out the interview!
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ThisIsCivity! Podcast:
Mónica Guzmán on the Importance of Curiosity to Build Relationships that Bridge Divides
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Civity Partnerships:
Civic Nebraska!
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By Lucy Hancock
We are excited to introduce you to one of our newest partners: Civic Nebraska, dedicated to empowering connection, building understanding, and cultivating advocacy to build a more modern and robust democracy for all Nebraskans. With the support of the Cotyledon Fund, we are collaborating with Civic Nebraska to support rural Nebraskans in talking across differences to make a positive difference in their own communities.
We kicked off our collaboration early this year with an in-person Train-the-Trainer workshop in Lincoln, Nebraska, to dive deep into the “why” behind the exercises in our Civity workshops. We spent 3.5 hours together, discussing the challenges that rural and urban Nebraskans face, what’s already working, and where relationship-building can bridge some of the gaps.
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What Civity Means to Me:
An Intern’s Perspective
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By Kaley Gruener
I’ve been getting my nails done regularly at salons for years. It has become routine to sit silently, smile, say “thank you,” tip, and leave. Though I’ve always been respectful toward and appreciative of people working as nail technicians, it wasn’t until I began interning at Civity that I started intentionally connecting with the people sitting across the manicure table from me.
I started by learning the names of each staff member at my salon. Each time I went back to get my nails done, I’d learn more about Joanne, the kind Asian woman who does my nails the majority of the time. Every few weeks when I returned, Joanne would greet me with a warm, welcoming smile. Before I learned about civity, the hour during the manicure would be filled with silence, texting, and a brief “thank you.” Now, Joanne and I fill the silence with conversation. We talk about nails, work, holidays, future plans, and she even teases me.
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Civity in the News:
A Path Toward Depolarization
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Angela Bradbery and Jane Johnston work in the field of Public Interest Communications, an emerging academic discipline that seeks to use communications to address complex social issues. PIC is defined as "the use of research-based strategic communications to mobilize people to effect positive social change" and "prioritizing democratic processes (such as consultation and listening) and enabling reasoned public debate."
Angela and Jane's piece "A Path Toward Depolarization" appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
We are excited to be bringing Civity to the PIC Summer Institute in Denver in May.
From the article:
Headlines in the United States tell of bitter political polarization. Take gun control, for instance. Mass shootings have become all too common, followed by news stories that imply that reform efforts are doomed. “As Mass Shootings Continue, Gridlock on Guns Returns to Washington,” laments a January 24, 2023, headline from The New York Times after two shootings in California.
But the truth is more complex than the headlines suggest. Although the gun-safety movement has faced serious setbacks, it has also seen gains. Poll after poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly want to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, and in some states, legislators from both sides of the aisle have responded.
As academics developing the field of public interest communications, we understand the wisdom of an approach that speaks to commonalities instead of differences. We live on opposite sides of the globe and have divergent definitions of public interest communications. But we share several common principles – and we believe these commonalities are critical to addressing the dangerous, often entrenched, political and social polarization that has developed in the United States and elsewhere around the world.
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How You Can Support Civity's Work | |
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Thank you for supporting and practicing civity! To support Civity’s work with a tax-exempt donation, CLICK HERE to donate online or get instructions for sending a check.
Your donation helps fund our communications and enables us to give free workshops to small nonprofits.
Our work is more important than ever, and we can’t do it without you. Help us reach more people and provide more support to leaders across the country seeking to build civity.
Let’s grow our civity community by reaching out to “others” and bridging across divides. Together, we can create a culture where we ALL belong.
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