Get Involved!

The AMPU project is seeking partners in communities throughout the United States who want to help organize and carry out community-based conversations about cultural identity and the challenges of pluralism.

A More Perfect Union materials provide community groups with a focal point for organizing local discussions and other activities that bring together diverse community members who otherwise have few opportunities to get to know each other -- people from all walks of life and economic strata, of all cultural backgrounds, interests, and ages. A More Perfect Union activities can help build bridges across the barriers that keep different community groups apart.

• Organizing local Conversations

  AMPU materials provide an excellent foundation for community discussion of issues of cultural diversity, one where everyone has a place in the conversation. These materials are being made available to community organizations free or at nominal cost.

  The discussion-starter video, Toward a More Perfect Union , and its related Discussion Guide -- Toward a More Perfect Union in an Age of Diversity -- provide a framework for a four-part conversation, focusing on the following general questions:

  1. The Many Faces of America: Who are we?
  2. Bonds and Boundaries: Looking at Our Communities
  3. Visions of America: What ties us together?
  4. Making a Difference: What can we do in our community?

  Toward a More Perfect Union comprises four five-minute video segments featuring speakers who address these four themese. The Discussion Guide suggests ways that discussion leaders can bring these questions alive for group members.

  Assistance in organizing large-scale conversation projects based on AMPU materials is being offered by Study Circles Resource Center (SCRC). SCRC's mission is to enhance deliberative democracy through study circles -- small, democratic, highly participatory discussions. Convinced that dialogue provides a vital foundation for community-building and problem-solving, SCRC has worked successfully with people throughout the United States to organize broad-based conversations dealing with education, race, violence, and youth issues. For information and assistance, contact SCRC at P.O. Box 203, Pomfret, CT 06258, phone 860/928-2616, fax 860/928-3713, or send e-mail to scrc@neca.com. An online version of the Discussion Guide can be found here in the AMPU Web site.

• Community Arts Activities

  Community arts and media projects provide fun and interesting ways to involve people in exploring their own and their neighbors' cultural identities. Such projects offer especially appealing ways to involve people who don't like to sit in meetings and discussions. Some examples are:

  • Photo-and-text projects, which involve people in creating a community self-portrait from their own pictures and stories
  • Video and theatrical presentations building on local people's own stories
  • Community murals, "hidden history" tours, publications and cookbooks that emphasize the diversity of community life
  Such projects can bring local arts and media centers together with school groups, clubs, and community organizations to focus positive attention on cultural diversity.

  Cultural development consultant Don Adams has volunteered to advise organizers on AMPU's behalf. Consult Webster's World of Cultural Action

  -- http://www.wwcd.org/action --

  write in care of The Institute for Cultural Democracy, P.O. Box 404, Talmage, CA 95481-0404 USA; phone or fax 707/462-0169; or send e-mail to icd@wwcd.org.

The national broadcast of Talk To Me provides a great opportunity to get people talking about cultural diversity. Alert your own networks, and encourage them to tune in.

Contact your local PBS station, and make sure they're planning to broadcast the program locally. Encourage them to help you undertake related activities, perhaps scheduling re-broadcasts locally to coincide with events you plan later in the year.

Contact the following for additional help in organizing community programs:

• For sales and rentals to educational institutions, libraries and other media centers, contact The Cinema Guild at 1697 Broadway, Suite 506, New York, NY 10019; phone 212/246-5522 or toll-free 800/723-5522, fax 212/246-5525, or send e-mail to TheCinemaG@aol.com.

• For help in organizing community-based conversations using AMPU materials, contact Study Circles Resource Center, P.O. Box 203, Pomfret, CT 06258, phone 860/928-2616, fax 860/928-3713, or send e-mail to scrc@neca.com.

• Regional and national networks interested in using AMPU materials should contact Arcadia Pictures at 157 West 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, phone or fax 212/580-1853, or send e-mail to arcady@delphi.com.

For further information, contact AMPU project sponsor Arcadia Pictures at 157 West 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, phone or fax 212/580-1853, or send e-mail to arcady@delphi.com.