In 2024, Northspan’s Welcoming Community initiatives celebrated three years of bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds to explore intercultural differences and build mutual understanding.
Northspan’s Amber Lewis led a 30-person Advisory Committee through quarterly meetings to advise programming and plan this year’s key projects. Associate Consultant Stefanie Sjelin also provided integral support to Welcoming Community activities and efforts throughout the year.
“This year it really feels like the Welcoming Community work is hitting its stride,” shares Amber. “Three years ago, we began with a vision, some ideas, and a lot of unknowns. We have learned so much in that time and have found programming elements that have become pillars of the work of building inclusion and belonging in our region.”
Here’s a recap of Welcoming Community initiatives in 2024:
Equity Summit
The fourth annual Equity Summit, “Inclusion in Action,” took place October 1 at Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia, drawing approximately 120 attendees. Participants engaged in a Lyceum discussion after hearing four keynotes from young people in the Northland who shared their experiences of inclusion and belonging. The day-long summit provided opportunities to engage in interactive workshops and breakout sessions while building connections across the region.
Duluth Lyceum
Building on over 150 years of American tradition, neighbors got together at the Duluth Folk School for the Duluth Lyceum event series to talk about topics of interest and bridge divides. This year’s topics included “Reimagining Community Life in a New Generation,” “Science and Community Responsibility,” and “Our Future with Artificial Intelligence.” An additional Lyceum took place during Welcoming Week 2024 in partnership with the Interfaith Committee for Migrant Justice (ICMJ) and Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation (DSACF), and focused on the theme of, “We’re All In.” Welcoming Week is an initiative of the national organization Welcoming America.
Inclusion Learning Cohorts
The 2024 Inclusion Learning Cohort (ILC) communities of Deer River and International Falls participated in a series of interactive workshops with topics unique to each community and centered in how to increase belonging locally. They wrapped up their workshop programming and selected community inclusion projects eligible for up to $5,000 in funding through June 2025. The communities of Deer River and International Falls were chosen as ILC communities based on the 2023-2024 ILC open application process.
Rural Minnesota Community Safety Project
The former ILC communities of the Cloquet and Grand Marais areas participated in programming for harm reduction and conflict intervention skillbuilding as part of the Rural Minnesota Community Safety Project. Community-wide survey results informed the sessions along with input from in-person story circles in each respective community. The first workshop, “Safe Together: Empowering Peaceful Responses,” took place October 4 in Grand Marais and December 17 in Cloquet. This workshop focused on de-escalation and upstander intervention skills with facilitation provided by international humanitarian organization Nonviolent Peaceforce.
Community Outreach and Continued Learning
A vital part of welcoming work is a commitment to continued learning and network expansion. In 2024, staff with a welcoming focus participated in over 220 community outreach and continued learning opportunities. Some highlights of these experiences included attendance at the 2024 Braver Angels Convention in Kenosha, Wisconsin; participation as a member of the NAACP Economic Committee; and participation with True Tuesdays through the Minnesota Humanities Center, which brought Sketches of Minnesota to two communities in the Northland. We also participated in three community Juneteenth Celebrations, and numerous one-on-one meetings that created ripples of impact and new connections across the region.
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Monthly Newsletter
Each month, Welcoming Community sends out a newsletter with updates on projects and initiatives, inclusion resources, leads for area events, and more. You can browse this year’s issues below and sign up to receive future editions!
November 2024: Cultural Equity
September 2024: Historical Equity
August 2024: Expression Equity
June 2024: Social Capital Equity
May 2024: Entrepreneurial Equity
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Get Involved
You can learn more about Welcoming Community initiatives and get involved with welcoming work throughout the Northland. Contact Amber Lewis at alewis@northspan.org or (218) 481-7737 for more info.