Saturday morning marked the end of the Better Conversations Bus Tour 2017. The final meeting took place in Dingwall. Participants from the area around Dingwall came along because of an interest in how to conduct better conversations. Whether participants had a background in public administration, private businesses or politics, most could relate to how conducting conversations in a different way could help foster better relationships with their counterparts. Relationships, they all acknowledged, were central to the process of solving the issues and challenges communities face now and in the future.
During the tour we introduced the Commitment to Respectful Dialogue to participants and asked them to sign it, if they wished. Our A3 document is now full and we hope that those who signed it will try to apply it in future conversations.
This tour has been a unique experience for everyone on the team. The North West Highlands is a wonderful place and it is clear that people who live there take great pride in that. Despite present difficulties, we have encountered people in the communities who have ideas and visions for the future. Ideas and visions that all seem to be founded in the same: a wish for a community that can thrive – socially as well as economically.
We hope that our tour has not just prompted people to think about what kind of community they would like to be and what could be done to achieve that, but also encouraged them to take the conversation forward with the rest of their community to work on solutions together.
