Workshop: Essential Partners

Building Thriving Communities: Connecting the Cornerstones of Community to Catalyze Change 

What it is: A hands-on workshop where you’ll learn dialogic practices that help shift people from conflict to curiosity and, when leveraged at scale, build more resilient, hopeful, and cohesive communities. 

What you’ll learn:   

  • Explore Essential Partners’ Reflective Structured Dialogue process and principles that promote mutual understanding, trust, and stronger relationships.
  • Understand how intentional co-creation of structures and practices can build constructive patterns and shape community norms.
  • Hear stories of real-world impact at the individual, organizational, and community levels.
  • Learn to identify assets, opportunities, and community cornerstones that can catalyze change.
  • Gain a renewed sense of hope. 

Facilitators: Meg Griffiths, Director of Programs, Essential Partners; John Sarrouf, Co-Executive Director, Essential Partners; CJ Suitt, Restorative Practice Associate, Essential Partners/ Dispute Settlement Center 

About Essential Partners: Essential Partners collaborates with civic groups, schools, faith communities, colleges, and organizations to build a culture of connection, a deeper sense of belonging, as well as mutual understanding and trust across differences of values, beliefs, and identities.