Listening projects have been used since the early 1980s to organize
in local communities. Trained interviewers go door-to-door asking
powerful questions about local issues. Once people become convinced
of the interviewers' sincerity, they are only too glad to give
their opinions. The interviews often last about an hour, delving
deeply into the knowledge, needs and concerns of those present.
Their purpose is less to gather data (although that is also a
part of it), than to bring the issues to life in the minds and
hearts of those being interviewed, and to generate change not
by telling but by listening. Often both interviewers and interviewees
come to understandings or possibilities they hadn't foreseen,
with many interviewees asking how they can take action. Many listening
projects simultaneously discover (and bring to life) both community
concerns and people who want to do something about them.
Informal listening projects not sponsored by organizations
are called "listening
to our neighbors programs."
Rural Southern Voice for Peace
www.listeningproject.info
International Listening Project Training and Resource Center
1036 Hannah Branch Rd.
Burnsville, NC 28714
828-675-5933
rsvplp@yancey.main.nc.us OR info@listeningproject.info