Communication and capitalizing on assets were the focus of Evanston150’s Get to Work Workshop on Saturday.
More than 120 area residents participated in the workshop at Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave.
Evanston150, a community-wide and community-based effort, aims to develop environmental, educational and health services by Evanston’s 150th anniversary in 2013. A selection jury and community members picked 10 initiatives from a list suggested by Evanston residents and announced them Nov. 10. Each will be handled by a separate volunteer group.
Paul Arntson, a Communication professor at Northwestern, and Judy Hertz, executive director of Midwest Academy, led participants in activities and discussions meant to catalyze Evanston150 projects.
“Paul and Judy were fantastic – really engaging,” said Marybeth Schroeder, the event’s coordinator and a member of the Evanston150 steering committee. “They gave people both broad concepts to think about, but also some very practical strategies and tools to say, ‘OK, we can do this stuff.'”
Arntson, who also works with NU’s Center for Civic Engagement, provided suggestions for the meeting attendees to work well as a group.
“This is some of the most important information you need to know about the group you are working with: Why are they there?” Arntson asked workshop participants. “What’s a gift or asset they have that they are going to contribute to making this group work?”
That open communication is necessary outside the committees, too, Hertz said. She emphasized the importance of talking to the people who will be affected by Evanston150 projects and listening to their input on the initiatives. Inclusive and transparent efforts are the safe way to ensure the public’s appreciation of the final product, she added.
“You want a project that’s broad in community energy, uses community assets and rises to the level of what Evanston wants, and especially the people most directly impacted by whatever the subject matter is,” she said.
Arntson and Hertz’s messages resonated with attendees, they said.
“Arntson is spot on,” said Judy Carlsen, a 35-year Evanston resident who worked with the Walk ‘N Roll Evanston idea that strives to create biking infrastructure. “As far as groups go, articulating and aligning goals is very important when you start out.”
Though some groups assembled for the first time at the workshop, Schroeder said others have already begun work. She called Evanston150 an “evolutionary, organic process” and said the original 10 ideas may undergo some adaptations as community needs and desires are better understood.
“I think there is an enormous richness of ideas here,” said Sara Schastok, Evanston150 steering committee member. “This workshop is about taking the ideas and moving them to projects.”
Coordinators said the workshop was a success, despite Evanston150 lacking a formal organizational infrastructure to direct the ideas’ implementation.
“Our goals were that all the teams would get together, that we would establish some basic common language around how the groups work, what is community work, how are you going to create this strategy – and I think we met all of those goals,” said Schroeder, who also serves on the Evanston150 steering committee. “There’s something happening around each one of these ideas, which is really exciting.”
Schroeder recommended each group set its next meeting date to continue developing project plans.
(Jan. 12, 2012) Editor’s note: This article incorrectly stated two facts about Evanston150. It has been updated to reflect the corrections.
