Inter-city visit
As many of you know, I have had harsh words for the inter-city visits organized by the Community Leadership Council (an arm of the Chamber of Commerce). I still believe what I said on July 11th:
I'd be willing to go under certain
circumstances, but I would not pay my own money for a junket that
promotes someone else's agenda. (Plus I couldn't afford it, even I
wanted to pay.) If I did go, it would mostly be as a blogger so that I
could get better informed and tell others what actually goes on, what
is learned, etc.
It seems like one of the main benefits of these
trips is better relations between the participants, who are already the
connected power brokers in town from the university, government,
business, and nonprofit worlds. They could certainly save money and
include more people by having a conference or retreat here in NC and
bringing in experts from other places.
The calendar is counting down the days remaining to register to attend the Inter-City Visit and Leadership Conference, at least in terms of being able to get the cheapest tickets and to be eligible for scholarship funds. Ann Arbor was chosen as this year's destination because of its perceived similarities to Chapel Hill, in both the populace and the problems they face. Are any OP'ers planning on attending this year? For those of you who went to Madison two years ago, do you feel like any real progress is made on these trips, or would community leaders be better off with a staycation?
I have received no reply to my private and public offers to help set-up a blog or other tools to help the participants document the Inter-City Visit and Leadership Conference which starts tonight in Madison, Wisconsin. But I still believe that if this trip is informative to the diverse and illustrious group of community leaders who are attending, then learning about their experiences and insights will also be helpful for anyone else in the community.
So please consider this post an open thread to discuss the trip - especially if you are on it. It should be easy if you bring a laptop, the hotel where you are staying provides complimentary high-speed wireless Internet. And if you forgot to pack your laptop - don't worry. I will personally reimburse any cost associated with getting online for any Madison participants who post here on this page during the 2-day trip (or posts pictures of the trip on Flickr.com). This offer stands for reporters as well.
In July, I wondered what people were thinking about the Inter-City Visit and Leadership Conference to be held in Madison, WI by the local "Community Leadership Council" on September 24-26. I considered participating in it, and in fact my husband and I both applied for scholarships to attend.
However, in addition to the fact that we did not receive the amount of scholarship requested ($1,300 for two of us, for a conference costing $2,190), the timing of the trip is singularly bad for us, and we simply cannot attend without throwing our lives into disarray. But! Just because the bloggers aren't going is no reason to for all of us who are staying home to miss out on what I'm sure will be interesting experiences for the folks in Madison.
I have suggested to the director of the Chamber of Commerce that they either set-up their own blog for the travellers or use OrangePolitics to help document the trip as it happens. The offer still stands...
So your standard collection of straight white male* honchos from across Orange County (Foy, Chilton, Jacobs, Moeser) and their friends are inviting community leaders to come on a trip with them to Madison, Wisconsin. The Inter-City Visit and Leadership Conference costs over $1,000 per person, but there are scholarships available.
The Madison Trip offers the opportunity to learn about how their community leaders are balancing environmental protection, social objectives and economic development opportunities. Specifically, we hope to learn more about:
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