SparkCon

Given a blank slate and a simple question, four diverse groups of artists, independent busi-nesspeople, and technology professionals set about imagining the Triangle as a thriving creative scene. What follows are the wish lists, recommendations, and wildest dream ideas that emerged from the AllSpark, ArtSpark, IndySpark, and TechSpark workshops in September of 2006.

How to make a thriving atmosphere of Inclusivity:

Savor a Sensory Smorgasbord
Workshop participants say they know they are in a diverse and inclusive scene when their senses are overcome with rich smells, foreign languages, inter-esting music, and people who look different from each other. It is like a kaleidoscope of different experiences and creates a rich and fl am-boyant atmosphere. Among the ideas fl ying around this session was a suggestion that public schools offer an international menu day.

Get Frickin’ Jazzed
An inclusive atmosphere creates a kind of safety net where people feel cozy enough to truly open them-selves up. Again and again the concept of feeling “free” was mentioned as a defi nition of this type of place: free to express yourself and be yourself, where all ideas are equal and the people around you are tolerant. This dynamic leads to a place where ideas and inspiration are more important than any particular individual. It was compared to the way people feel when they sing karaoke. The trick is to fi nd ways to create that in other parts of people’s lives.

Encourage Positivity
Encouragement seemed to be a big part of an inclusive scene. The focus should be on recognizing differences and working towards commonality. Simple cues like body language, smiles, and pats on the back do a lot to help people feel accepted by one another and gives them a sense of truly belonging to a community.

Funk the Quilt
More than just being accepting though, an inclusive scene pushes “cultural kinetics” and forces the transfer of energy between diverse groups. Multicultural events that incorporate otherwise disparate groups of people can do a lot to create links between different parts of the community: be it age, ethnicity or socioeconomic differences. One bold idea even recommended having the mayors of each Triangle city switch places with each other for a week.

Create the Open Road
To feel integrated, communities need to be shared physically. The very best way of tearing down the barriers of physical separation is to connect people with mass transit. Ideally, these lead people to public spaces where they can listen to live music, see sports teams, and visit art events in addition to connecting to everyday destinations like schools and coffee shops.

Weave the Common Thread
A community comes together where families come together. Common to both of these groups—com-munities and families—is the notion of unconditional loyalty to each other. And building consensus is a common technique for making decisions. Working together on simple projects—whether it’s a family building a tree house or a community connecting downtown artists with suburban patrons—can unify groups of people and create bonds of mutual respect.

Fill the Sponge
At the root of an inclusive scene is the quest for knowledge. Paying attention to different types of people helps individuals “fill the sponge” of their minds and gain perspective on their own lives. People have to be willing to know that they are heard as much as they are willing to hear others. If people can do this, they will shift the ground of the current paradigm, and create increasing confi dence in themselves as individuals and as a community.