“Common Ground in a Polarized World” Convergence Project Seminar

Published in the Mountain Mail January 2009

I would like to invite members of the community to learn more about The Convergence Project and what we do by attending our forum entitled, “Common Ground in a Polarized World” on Thursday, January 22nd from 6-8 PM at the meeting room of the Salida Regional Library. Admission is free.

At the end of an election cycle, few of us need more evidence that we live in a world that is polarized and divided. Some would argue that the way to remedy this would be to all become the same or for each of us to “give up” something that we believe or value. The Convergence Project believes that neither of these things is necessary. Instead our work focuses on the common ground, the area of existing agreement, and we do so without asking our participants to compromise.

Receiving our designation as a tax-exempt nonprofit a year ago in February, The Convergence Project has helped area groups and organizations find common ground while helping them identify projects that they can do together that benefit both the groups and the community. Consistent with our mission of taking this process to a global level, we have had numerous inquiries from people around the county and abroad asking how they can bring the Convergence experience to their community.

We use a simple approach to train what we call Path Guides, or people who live in an area and know the area’s needs in order to bring our research-based process to their community. We are currently looking to train a Path Guide in Chaffee County who can continue the great work that we have begun here so that we may focus more of our attention on expanding our mission to other communities across the country and around the globe.

If you’re interested in training as a Path Guide for The Convergence Project, know someone who might like to be a Path Guide in another community, or just want to learn more about how we operate, we will present details of our process at our upcoming forum. For more information, please visit our website at www.TheConvergenceProject.org or email us at info@TheConvergenceProject.org. You may also phone us at 303 519 2555.

Brock Oyler
President and Executive Director
The Convergence Project