Touchstones Week 2024!

It is our great honor to dedicate this year’s Touchstones Week to Ford Rowan, on his retirement from the Touchstones Board of Directors after 12 years of service. Throughout his tenure, Ford brought boundless passion, conviction, and care to advance our work to foster inclusive and collaborative discussions with people of all ages and backgrounds.
 
The lessons provided for this year’s Touchstones Week promote three prominent themes of Ford’s service to Touchstones: empathy, self-awareness, and authentic connection and community. We hope you will enjoy bringing these themes into your own discussion programming with the enclosed Touchstones lessons, as we recognize and thank Ford for his volunteerism and service.
 
Touchstones Week 2024 is sponsored by the Touchstones Discussion Project Board of Directors and True and Ford Rowan and their family and friends.
 
 

Students learning the value of community through collaborative group discussion.

Civil discourse is one of the most important set of skills for citizens in a democracy. At Touchstones, we believe that building mutual understanding through discussion will help us solve our world’s most pressing problems together. To support people around the globe in strengthening these skills while building connections and community, we’re bringing back Touchstones Week from December 1-7 2024!

How it Works

  • Sign up below to participate
  • We’ll email you a Touchstones Week Kit with everything you need to facilitate a discussion.
  • Bring together a group of students in your classroom or participants in your community – anyone can participate!
  • During Touchstones Week, share your stories, photos, and videos with us on social media using #TouchtonesWeek2024.

What’s Included in the Kit?

  • A Touchstones text in English, Spanish, or French, appropriate for ages 9-99.
  • Guidance for discussion leaders, including possible questions and strategies for building participation.

Registration for Touchstones Week begins now and kits will be emailed starting the end of November. Reach out to us with questions at schoolprograms@touchstones.org.