The Rhode Island Dialogues kicked off on April 26 at the beautifully restored Blackstone River Theater in Cumberland. Residents of both Cumberland and Lincoln were invited to help us launch our multi-year initiative aimed at bringing Rhode Islanders together to talk about issue and concerns they have for their communities. The majority of participants were teens from Cumberland and Lincoln High Schools. Both the adult participants and the youths discussed such issues as isolation in their neighborhoods and communities becoming more transient especially in areas that are newly suburban.

At the end of the meeting, a brief brainstorming session was held to share ideas about ways in which their community might address the concerns that were raised throughout the evening. As part of each Dialogue, RICH will award a small grant to each community we visit. The grant must address one of the issues raised during the dialogue through a public humanities project.

To learn more about Rhode Island Dialogues, please contact the Dialogues coordinator at ourtowns@etal.uri.edu or call RICH at 273-2250.

Fund for Community Engagement
After each of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns participates in the Dialogues Program, The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) offers it a one-time Fund for Community Engagement (FCE) award of up to $1,000. The Fund for Community Engagement grant gives each community an opportunity to address--through a public humanities project--issues raised during the Dialogue meeting. Please use the highlighted link here to access the guidelines for Fund for Community Engagement grants.