The city of Aurora is hoping to give local residents a more effective voice in their community along with improving communication skills by offering two workshops on Monday, July 15.
The initiative known as Crucial Conversations for Community Action is described in a press release from the city as “an interactive and informative workshop designed to prepare you for meaningful – and sometimes difficult – conversations at home, at work and in the community.”
The release said that skills to focused on at the workshops include engaging in critical conversations without creating division, practicing structured dialogue and enhanced conversation skills, with the events offering networking opportunities with local residents.
Aurora Chief Engagement and Equity Officer Clayton Muhammad said fostering more open, effective communication is needed now more than ever.
“If you look at the climate of the country, we’re extremely divided across the board, but in Aurora we’re focused on being one community and we want to definitely make certain there is an opportunity to have these conversations at work, at home and in the community that allow us to build bonds as opposed to having gaps between us,” he said. “We need the conversations. We need the honest, sometimes uncomfortable conversations we are calling the crucial conversations.
“We also need some tools from communication experts how best to handle those conversations and how best to enhance the discussions,” he said.
The city plans to hold two sessions of the workshop July 15, the first from 10 a.m. to noon with a second session from 1 until 3 p.m. at Aurora City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place.
To reserve a spot at a session, go to www.aurora-il.org/CrucialConversations.
“We just sent out the registration on Sunday, July 7, and we’re already 75% full,” Muhammad said Monday morning. “We’re also going to be looking at doing an evening session for community members that work during the day and want to be a part of the conversation as well as a Spanish session.
“This is a beginning, a new piece that is coming out of the mayor’s office and particularly our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Division to really push forward the ‘One Aurora’ focus in our community,” he said.
Muhammad said those interested may sign up for either the morning or afternoon workshops which will be led by Michele Clark, the city’s diversity and inclusion director.
“(Clark) brings two decades of experience of human resource with Fortune 500 companies so she understands people, she understands communication and she will collaborate with some third-party facilitators who will help further the conversation,” he said.
Muhammad said the hope is that those who participate will become more effective in all communication circles including with family members as well as within the community.
“Any type of professional development just fundamentally makes an individual better and makes that individual’s networking group better and, of course, in the long run it makes a community stronger by providing opportunities to have discussion and even discourse in a very civil way,” he said. “It only benefits a community and we have so many different cultures and political parties and lived experiences but we’re all still living here. It makes a community better when we have these discussions and conversations that can be uncomfortable, but we know we need to have them if we want to perpetuate the ‘One Aurora’ title and make sure this community is one.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.