Citizens discuss generational differences
The event will continue at Friendship Baptist Church until 6 p.m. Saturday.
Published Feb. 24, 2008
The first part of a two-day community dialogue about bridging the gap between generations took place Friday evening at Friendship Baptist Church. This annual program called "Let's Talk, Columbia!" focused specifically on bridging the generation gap between teens and adults mainly through small group discussions and was in part triggered by teen crime rates in Columbia.
Sponsored by the City of Columbia Human Rights Commission along with the Youth Community Coalition, "Let's Talk, Columbia!" has been hosted annually since 2001.
Nanette Chun-Ming Ward, Human Rights Educator for the Human Rights Commission, directed the program, which was centered around the theme, "One Community, All Generations - Teens and Adults Working Together." The evening consisted of several smaller group activities, a live performance by local band Disruptive Perceptions and raffle drawings for various donated prizes.
The night was based on a "circle" theme, emphasizing the feeling of community. Before dividing into smaller discussion groups, Ward explained it is "important to be in a circle, no one on the outside, no one on the fringes."
Ages ranged from teenagers all the way to a 76-year-old-man. About 60 people attended overall, not including the 25 facilitators that were specially trained to lead group discussions.
The facilitators lead small groups in discussion topics related to being a teenager in the world today. The adults in small groups were asked to talk about their past memories and experiences as teenagers while the teens spoke about modern-day peer pressures.
Facilitator Greg Allen has been involved in the program since it began in 2001. Allen first attended "Let's Talk, Columbia!" as a participant and then trained to be a facilitator.
"I think this is such a good thing for people to talk about very real issues," he said.
The event is continuing to Saturday and will end with a plan for citizen action, according to the City of Columbia's Web site.