Introduction to Conversations 8.13.10

On April 16, 2010, over 100 women came together to talk about Omaha. From all parts of the community, representing diverse ages and life experiences, we convened as a group to start a conversation.

We began with the premise that Omaha is a good place to live and raise families. We acknowledged that there are many opportunities here and optimism for future development and growth.

But, we also recognize that for women and girls there are still far too many barriers for success. Our roundtable discussions on April 16th focused on 14 different topics that affect the lives of women and girls in the Omaha community and could be a factor in those barriers. The moderated discussions began with four questions:

1. What's working?

2. What are some of the challenges?

3. What are some possibilities to consider?

4. What is one thing we could do now?

We asked the participants to jot down their answers before the session began and we used those sheets, as well as a recorder taking notes to compile recaps.

Over the course of the summer we will post those recaps on the website. We will notify you by email when a new topic is posted and hope that you will feel free to comment and continue the conversation on the blog.

One of the most important things we learned from the day, was that anecdotal discussions were not enough. To truly effect positive change in the community, comprehensive research into the issues facing women and girls in Omaha is needed as well as information on best practices in other communities. The steering committee is in the process of requesting proposals for research to help us clearly identify the status of women and girls in Omaha, what factors, if any, are barriers to success and best practices from other communities.

Our plan is to conduct the study over the summer and re-convene the Community of Women for Change in the fall with the results. Our hope is to take the results, begin the conversation anew and find ways to turn dialogue and study into plans of action.Thank you for joining us on this exciting journey!
 
If you have a suggestion for a conversation topic, please send us a note.