Bringing Together Diverse Perspectives
The staff and board of Whole Communities work hard to create a safe space where people with very different perspectives and views can have honest and sustained dialogue with one another, and where people can ask reciprocal questions: Why do I need you? Why do you need me? The retreats allow diverse people to come together and hear one another’s stories while working through the tensions that are created by divides. We endeavor to ensure that each retreat’s teachers and participants reflect the true diversity of those working in careers connected to land and community in America, whether that diversity be cultural, racial, professional or otherwise.
We recognize that our capacity to help people practice “whole thinking” depends entirely on the trust that we build and the diversity of people who come to our retreats. In terms of racial diversity, we seek for at least one third of each retreat’s participants to be people of color and more than one-third of our retreat fellowships go to people of color.
During the retreats, while attention is paid to the challenges created by divides, we focus equally on the bonds and necessities that hold us together. We aspire to help build a shared vision for an emerging future that depends on us. What is emerging from this work is a new leadership for the land community that acts with more wisdom, more collaboration, and more commitment to creating change.
Please read our organizational statement on land, race, class and privilege
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