We’ve asked libraries across Colorado to submit program they’ve run in the last year that they’re proud of and they want the rest of us to see and celebrate. Sharing stories in books is great… but what about our stories? The stories of the ways our libraries bring the community together, enrich the lives of our neighbors, and serve the people who live and work in our cities and towns.
Louise Richie, Manager of Community Engagement at Arapahoe Libraries, answered our call and we’re excited to let them tell you about their Community Conversation series which started with the “Peace & War” installment in February 2024.
Library Name: Arapahoe Library District
City/ Town: Englewood, CO
Program Name: Community Conversation: Peace & War
Date/ Date Range of Program: February 29, 2024
Intended Audience: Adults
Description:
On February 29, 2024, Thursday, Arapahoe Libraries held the first of four Community Conversations at the Eloise May Library. The topic of this conversation was peace and war, and the goal was to create a space where people could express their views and hear from others.
Led by master facilitator, Angela Engel, the conversation featured three panelists bringing different world views and experiences:
- Ahmed Abd Rabou is an assistant professor at Josef Korbel School of International Studies-University of Denver. He has written many articles for academic journals on democratic transition in Egypt and other Arab countries. He is also a respected expert among Egyptian scholars on civil-military relations, political Islam and democratization in the Middle East, which are his main research topics.
- Joan McWilliams is a lawyer, mediator, peacemaker, and writer from Denver, Colorado, who has spent her career on compassionate conflict resolution and family wellbeing. She has helped many families to achieve amicable divorce through her innovative mediation practice, ethical reforms advocacy, books on divorce guidance, and promotion of peacemaking as a key principle of dispute resolution. She has enabled many families to solve conflicts with empathy.
- Steve Marxer is the Director of Space Engineering for General Atomics. Steve has a long military career on various space platforms. He worked for Air Force Space Command from 1985-2013. His leadership covers three decades in the Defense Industry and involves twenty-eight years at Lockheed Martin supporting Civil, Military, and IC programs.
The panelists kicked off the conversation, however, participants jumped right in to share their own views and experiences. It is just what we had hoped for!
The conversation covered various aspects of peace and war, from international conflicts to personal ones. Participants discussed the relationship between conflict and profit, the responsibility of individuals and groups, and the conditions for peace. Some participants shared their firsthand experiences with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the U.S. judicial system.
To close, Angela asked the panel to describe in one word the conditions necessary for peace. “Education” and “democracy” were the responses. She also invited participants to hold in their minds a living example of peace, “Because if we can keep those examples as the focus and shine some more light on where we are achieving peace, I think that’s a good step in moving in that direction.”
How did you come up with the idea for this program?
This is a dream we’ve had for a very long time, to bring our community together to learn together, discuss and share our experiences over relevant, important issues of the day. We feel that the library is the perfect place to bring the community together for this type of conversation.
What partners (if any) did you work with in developing or implementing this program?
N/A
What about this program did you find successful? How did you measure the success of this program?
The panelists kicked off the conversation, however, participants jumped right in to share their own views and experiences. It’s just what we had hoped for. The conversation was richer for having so many different perspectives.
Participants even encouraged each other to keep sharing. When a few folks mentioned that they weren’t public speakers, other participants said, “You’re doing great, keep going.” It was so gratifying to see. It was exciting to be a part of a discussion like this. We started this series with the goal of creating a safe space to allow people to reflect, share authentically and listen to others. I think the night was a big success.
Final Thoughts:
We will host three more conversations this year:
- Individual Freedom & Public Protection: May 30 at Southglenn Library
- Democracy: August 29 at Smoky Hill Library Privilege,
- Power & Poverty: November 21 at Koelbel Library
Louise Richie has permitted us to share their contact information so that anyone interested in reaching out to them about their program can do so. It is an incredibly generous offer of which you are invited to avail yourself if you’re inspired by their work and want to celebrate them or if you have questions about ways you can follow their lead.
To reach Louise, email them at lrichey@arapahoelibraries.org
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Colorado State Library (and the readers of this point as well, no doubt) understands how time consuming, emotionally draining, costly (in so many ways), and challenging it can be to run a program or project. Sometimes they fail gloriously… sometimes they fail with barely a whisper. It can be hard to recover from that. You’ve worked so hard!… and it just didn’t work out. Be gentle with yourself. Self-reflect. Pick up the pieces. And then get to the next thing. It’ll be worth it.
For all those other times, be sure to celebrate. Brag about it! Feel good about yourself, the team that collaborated on your work, and the community members who participated with it. Celebrate your hard work and the value that you contribute to your community.
Tell us the story of your program just like this library did here. Submit your library’s program for a Program Spotlight featured here and shared as far as Colorado State Library news reaches.
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