Join the University of Denver’s Grand Challenges initiative for its second A Community Table event on April 10, 2019. A Community Table is a one-day event that brings small groups together across the globe to share their aspirations for creating Thriving Communities.

The idea is simple. Anyone can sign up to host a community table conversation focused on exploring aspirations for increasing economic opportunities in our communities. Conversations—whether at a restaurant, coffee shop, school, home or any gathering place—can happen at any time of day and with anyone that a host invites.  The University of Denver will provide resources and swag with the hopes that table hosts will share conversation and ideas that will then inform and guide a shared agenda going forward.

DU Grand Challenges is a family of programs that bring together university and community changemakers to address the most difficult and far-reaching issues facing our society today. Guided by the theme, Thriving Communities, we want to hear from our diverse community to address economic opportunity in society.

Members in the Graduate School of Social Work Meet for a Dinner Conversation during A Community Table 2018

During its inaugural year, A Community Table focused on improving daily living in our communities. DU Grand Challenges heard from over 200 participants across more than 75 tables. These tables took place all over Denver and the U.S. and brought together diverse groups of community members, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Participants told us that improving daily living meant addressing issues like urban sustainability, crime and safety, migration, and food and housing insecurity. With that input, the University has invested in four Collective Impact Cohorts made up of community and university experts working side-by-side to foster measurable change in these areas. Cohorts are charged with developing a proposal for specific actions as part of a facilitated collective impact process. Community-engaged scholarship, alongside DU resources, are at the core of this approach to advance discovery goals while also affecting change at the community level.

Conversations that take place this year will guide and inform collective actions that DU Grand Challenges takes around increasing economic opportunities over the coming years. As a table host, we invite you to gather your group and start a conversation. Join community and DU thought leaders around the world on April 10, 2019, as we strive to address these pressing issues with input, insight, and community. Register at du.edu/acommunitytable .

A Community Table, 2018- Faculty, Staff, and Students Gather for a Breakfast Conversation