PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Free Library of Philadelphia is launching a series of digital conversation forums to connect Pennsylvanians across distances and differences.
The program, called Hear Me Out, is a statewide civic dialogue. Instead of a panel, the video conference meetings will be kept to about eight people from across the state, who will talk about their experience on a given topic.
"We are trying to combat polarization in our state by opening a civic dialogue on issues that matter to all of us and thinking of what a common agenda for the state of Pennsylvania might be going forward," said Andrew Nurkin, deputy director for enrichment and civic engagement at the Free Library.
"The dialogues will be facilitated by professional facilitators. Our first one will be Oct. 27, and the theme of that dialogue is 'Does my vote count?' We will have a chance to come together and talk about our histories with voting and whether or not we believe our votes will count in the upcoming election.
"We will have future dialogues on a range of public issues — everything from economic recovery to climate change."
The dialogues are free and open to everyone, you just have to register in advance. The conversations will be held every six weeks.
"The other thing that we are hoping for — although this isn't necessarily a requirement at each session — is that in that shared ground, there will be some sense of action that people can take together across the distances that may divide us," Nurkin said. "Even if it is just encouraging people to go out and vote on Nov. 3 — regardless of their political affiliation — that would be a kind shared action."
