Intersections, a platform for sharing our experience of community in the Upper Valley.
Our speakers, Julius Turner and Michelle Rogee shared the new podcast they have developed for our local cable TV channel, CATV8. Julius has been in the Upper Valley for two years. Julius shared he met Rudy Fedrizzi at a board member of Health Council of the Upper Valley. Michelle has been in the Upper Valley for 6 years. She previously lived in France. Both work at Novo Nordisk.
Background: Michelle and Julius began having conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion. This led to broader discussions about what does it mean to be a part of a community. Out of these discussions came the idea of developing their podcast. They are looking for volunteers to sit for recording sessions that ask the participant to share their experiences of being part of the Upper Valley Community. The sessions will not be interviews but will only ask participants to talk about the following topics.
“What does community mean to you? What are your personal experiences of inclusion and exclusion in the Upper Valley?
They believe it is important for podcast listeners to only listen to the voice of the speaker. Michelle and Julius have no preconceived ideas of what the volunteer should share. It shouldn’t be a dialogue. If should just be the persons views. All individuals recorded are not identified by name.
As of today, four conversations have been recorded and two are “in the can” and can be listened to on CATV8. Here is a little information about the first two episodes.
Episode 1: Our first guest recounts a vision of community grounded in a childhood in East Texas, and the challenges of losing a sense of connection upon arriving in New England.
Episode 2: Our second guest shares a vision of how our cycles of life feed the source of community, amongst humans and throughout the natural world, offering a gentle map of the small things that bring us together: harvesting tomatoes, the neighbor’s mailbox, the porcupine, the cockroach, the softening of the eyes.
You can listen to the recording at https://catv8.org/listen/
Interviews take about 30 minutes to record, and they are then edited to remove long pauses, ums and ahs. The final recordings are about 16 minutes long.
For the volunteers, it provides an opportunity to listen to your own voice, and reflect on your views of being a part of the Upper Valley Community.
To share your story or questions with co-creators Michelle and Julius, you’re invited to email them at: misharogge@gmail.com and julius_turner2000@yahoo.com
Again, they are seeking volunteers to candidly share your firsthand accounts of living in Upper Valley communities in the format of a new local podcast called Intersections.
At the end of the of the talk, Rudy shared that this Margaret Wheatley poem is one of his favorite poems and that it is very consistent with what Michelle and Julius are trying to do.
Turning to One Another
There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about.
Ask “What’s possible?” not “What’s wrong?” Keep asking.
Notice what you care about.
Assume that many others share your dreams.
Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters. Talk to people you know.
Talk to people you don’t know.
Talk to people you never talk to.
Be intrigued by the differences you hear.
Expect to be surprised.
Treasure curiosity more than certainty.
Invite in everybody who cares to work on what’s possible.
Acknowledge that everyone is an expert about something.
Know that creative solutions come from new connections.
Remember, you don’t fear people whose story you know.
Real listening always brings people closer together.
Trust that meaningful conversations can change your world.
Rely on human goodness. Stay together.
—Margaret Wheatley, “Turning to One Another,” 2002