This fall, a new series of events hosted by the University of Vermont will bring people with disparate beliefs and points of view closer together through committed acts of listening.
Vermont Listens is a new UVM civic engagement project centered around one important question: What happens when people truly listen to one another? Beginning in October, audiences around the state will be invited to take part in listening sessions where participants share their personal values. Vermont Listens is an opportunity for Vermonters from all walks of life and perspectives to get together and talk about what matters to them, and why.
“Instead of beginning with issues, which can often drive people further apart, what you often find is that it startles people to discover how much they might have in common with the value system of someone else,” said UVM President Marlene Tromp.
An important goal of Vermont Listens is to create space for Vermont community members to challenge their assumptions and connect across their similarities rather than remain divided over differences.
The first Vermont Listens event will take place in Bennington in October, and will be followed by a second session in Burlington in November.