Touchstones Week
During the first week of May 2017, Touchstones organized “Touchstones Week” to promote civil discourse and build community engagement and connection. This week-long celebration brought people together to engage in lively discussion and the exploration of new perspectives.
Highlights of the week included more than 25 different community organizations and civic groups hosting discussions around the U.S. and the world. Touchstones hosted its own local event on May 2nd with over 40 individuals participating in two discussion groups in Annapolis, MD. All groups and participants discussed a tale from Bhutan called “Four Friends.”
The text was available in English, French, and Spanish. The feedback from Touchstones Week has been great, and many attendees want to start their own Touchstones groups. Touchstones Week proved to be a wonderful way to introduce the Touchstones method and mission to those who had never heard of Touchstones, as well as a great opportunity to re-connect with past and present Touchstones participants, friends, and supporters.
In addition to participating in the local Annapolis event, Touchstones co-founder and member of the Touchstones Board, Nicholas Maistrellis, held a Touchstones class with a group that teaches each other conversational Spanish and English. He reported:
“It went very well. They indicated that they would like to do something like this again. They liked both the story and the activity. I should say that I made a short presentation about Touchstones in Spanish. We also had a discussion about that.”
This week-long project is one of the many ways that the Touchstones Discussion Project is committed to “building community through discussion everywhere!” Thankfully there is no reason that every week can’t be a Touchstones week. Wherever you are and whomever you are, let’s keep the discussion going! Contact us for help on how you can get started.