Table Talk Encouraged Here
If you’re a card player, then you know that table talk can get you accused of cheating. But a different kind of Table Talk took place throughout the Rochester area on June 30 as neighbors gathered about the dinner table.
In a program sponsored by the Diversity Council in partnership with RNeighbors and the Post-Bulletin, about 50 people met in five different homes, where they sat down to share a meal and some conversation. The discussion, led by a Diversity Council facilitator and a person who is an immigrant, focused on the strengths and contributions that immigrants and refugees bring to our neighborhoods, workforce, and community life in general.
Responses to the neighborhood dialogues were mostly enthusiastic. Participants learned from “hearing what people from different backgrounds and cultures had to say,” and said that the communal sharing led to a “change of perspective about different cultures.” “This program is terrific,” added another.
Table Talk is part of the Diversity Council’s asset-based community development project called VOICES: Valuing Our Immigrants’ Contributions to Economic Success. Many thanks to the sponsors who have supported this year-long project: Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), City of Rochester, Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association (IMAA), Mayo Clinic, Post-Bulletin, Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, Rochester Community & Technical College, University of Minnesota Rochester, and Winona State University.
