The Dialogue for Aquidneck Island brought people from many organizations, some lived on the island and some did not. We encouraged participants to explore the notion of "island identity" in contrast to "town identity". The majority felt that their local identities were much stronger than that for Aquidneck Island. We found this interesting as outsiders who have heard so much about "island thinking". But spokespeople from each town saw the history of their town, and primarily their neighborhoods as most important for understanding themselves. One participant asked how this is different from anywhere else (in Rhode Island); once again our question about the validity of an "island identity" arose. At this later point in the Dialogue people began to rally around the practicality of a larger identity, not only for more political attention but because there are already so many issues that tie people of Portsmouth, Middletown and Newport together. This issue along with questions about whether or not a larger identity is already in the making due to issues that tie islanders together in opposition to Providence ended our meeting. We hope that representatives from each town will be able to use this Dialogue as the beginning point for a larger community exploration.
To learn more about Rhode Island Dialogues, please contact the Dialogues coordinator at ourtowns@etal.uri.edu or call RICH at 273-2250.
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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. |