USDA’s Jasper Schneider and N.D. Department of Commerce’s Al Anderson to speak at Buffalo, N.D., community forum on Saturday
Organizers of a community forum to be held in Buffalo, N.D., Saturday have announced that Al Anderson, Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Commerce, and Jasper Schneider, State Director of U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, are scheduled to address participants.
The event kicks off at 9 a.m. with coffee, registration & exhibits at the Buffalo, N.D. Fire Hall. The Welcome event begins at 9:30 a.m.
The annual "Community Connect Forum,' sponsored by the University of North Dakota Center for Community Engagement and hosted this year by the city of Buffalo, is intended to help communities connect with each other and with the resources available at UND and other colleges and universities, according to Lana Rakow, director of the UND Center for Community Engagement.
Rakow said that Anderson and Schneider will bring an important perspective to the discussion of community issues at this year's forum. With the theme of the forum "Mapping Our Community Stories," speakers will address how state and federal programs can help communities who want to change their stories to interest visitors, new residents, and new business opportunities.
Other program sessions include panels and workshops on choosing media channels for telling community stories and mobilizing communities for change. Attendees will also be able to see exhibits of art, community resources, and community research, as well as to shop at the Buffalo Food Market, now under local shareholder ownership, and at the Old School Gift Shoppe, a fund-raising project for improvements in the renovated 1916 Buffalo High School.
The forum in Buffalo, which is 35 miles west of Fargo and three miles north of I-94, begins with registration at 9 a.m. at the new Buffalo Fire Hall on Main Street. It is free and open to the public. More detailed program information is available at www.communityengagement.und.edu or by calling 701.777.0675.
For a full program schedule and registration, visit: www.communityengagement.und.edu.
More 'Community Connect' background:
The 2012 version of the "Community Connect Forum" will allow participants to connect with Buffalo, N.D., community members from across the state and region, as well as faculty, staff and students from the University of North Dakota, to discuss the theme Mapping Our Community Stories. Panels, workshops and brainstorming sessions will give participants a chance to learn about finding stories in their communities, telling community stories effectively using media and social technologies and organizing community stories for achieving social change.
In addition to the breakout sessions, there will be an ongoing collaborative service project in the community throughout the day for students from UND and other campuses. The forum will culminate with the world premiere theatrical production of Off the Map, written by UND playwright Kathleen Coudle-King and features true stories from rural North Dakota communities.
Contact:
Lana Rakow, Center for Community Engagement, 701.777.0675, or at und.communityengagement@und.edu
