Community Oregon is a statewide program that brings rural and urban Oregonians together to build trust and mutual understanding through dialogue and local community immersion.
Participants from diverse communities come together to build relationships, participate in a community exchange, and better understand one another as fellow citizens and Oregonians.
Community Oregon
The program consists of three parts:
- Community Oregon Camp
- Community Oregon Exchange
- Community Oregon Expo
Community Oregon Camp
Participants will participate in a retreat, which is intended to be a fun and challenging camp-like experience, where participants learn dialogue skills and get to know fellow Oregonians from all walks of life, led by facilitators from both urban and rural communities.
Community Oregon Exchange
As the cornerstone of the program, each urban participant will host a rural participant in their home, and vice versa. These exchange visits occur in the three months following the Community Oregon Camp retreat and are an opportunity for immersion in a community significantly different from one's own.
Community Oregon Expo
A one-day exposition that will include all Community Oregon participants and special invitees, provides participants with the opportunity to share their learnings from their experience. The brief and varied presentations will showcase what has been learned and to invite support for initiatives and projects that participants wish to develop or support as a result of their experience in the program.
Program Accommodations
Community Oregon participants are reimbursed for all travel to the Camp, Exchange, and Expo. Expenses for accommodations at the Community Oregon Camp are also covered. Overnight accommodations for the Urban/Rural Exchanges take the form of host community homestays.
Participant Profile
Ideal Community Oregon participants are active community members who have an interest in and the courage needed to engage in the sometimes difficult but rewarding process of re-building a sense of community across the state. The program looks for participants from a wide geographic area, and who are representative of the diversity of Oregon’s population, including political perspective, age, occupation/professional sector, religion, race, national origin, and gender.
Interested?
Click here to apply to indicate your interest in participating in a future Community Oregon program.
Questions?
Want to bring an urban-rural exchange program to your state? Or want to participate in future programs?
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