Uniting for Action: America
Strengthening our Country by Working Together Across Divides

What was this program all about?
This was a NON-PARTISAN ONLINE initiative with four goals:

1. Build new connections and find commonalities across divides 
2. Increase understanding of different perspectives on issues relating to food, education, race, the economy, and the media
3. Strengthen skills for collaborating across divides 
4. Implement projects to strengthen our communities and our country

Who participated?
A diverse group of 33 Americans from different communities with political views across the ideological spectrum who worked together to:

• Reduce food waste
• Help people without four-year college degrees obtain good jobs
• Address mental health challenges
• Support high-quality local journalism
• Take action for racial justice​

Program

​Implementers

Public statement
Read the group's public statement from February 2021 on their efforts and their vision for the future of the country. ​

Program results:   

An increased understanding of views different from participants' own views on issues about which they feel strongly.
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• At the start of the program, nearly 1/4 of participants said that the thinking of people who have different views from them "just doesn't make sense to me." No one said that at the end of the program.
• At the start of the program, 46% of participants said they "generally respect" people who hold views with which they disagree. By the end, 62% said they do.

Implementation of community projects to: 

• Improve mental health
• Reduce food waste
• Advance racial justice
• Increase rural community college capacity to boost economic growth 
• Raise awareness about news deserts 

The rise and consequences of news deserts
Millions of Americans live in news deserts, where they lack credible and comprehensive information that helps residents make decisions about issues that matter to them. Listen to Areas of Agreement Episode 5 to learn more about news deserts, and how people access news about Covid-19. 

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Investing in rural community colleges
Community colleges, especially in rural areas, often get little attention. But they are immensely important to their regional economies. Listen to Areas of Agreement Episode 6 to learn how the U4A America economy team helped the Education Design Lab on a multi-year initiative to create pathways to postsecondary attainment and economic opportunity in rural communities.

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Uniting for Action: America was supported by: