December 3, 2007, Des Moines, Iowa--A 1000 Voices video montage, backed by the music of Iowa's favorite homegrown band, The Nadas, opened the groundbreaking Heartland Presidential Forum in Iowa. Organized by the Heartland Alliance and the extensive community networks of national organizing powerhouse, the Center for Community Change, this gathering was one of the largest leading up to Caucus day. More than 2,000 Iowans and over 1,600 out-of-staters from 32 states asked each candidate to stand with the Campaign for Community Values and put people before politics.

The video and energy-packed Forum were broadcast live on C-Span, and focused on the theme of "community values", the idea that we care for one another, share similar desires to work together toward common goals, and believe that everyone in the community should be able to flourish to their fullest potential.

Learnings

We have found that our short film stories build public dialogue effectively when:

1. The filmmakers and host groups have pre-existing local relationships. For many months prior to the invitation to present an "event opening" piece, 1000 Voices filmmakers and the Center for Community Change had been working closely with communities in Iowa. Both groups had been exploring a range of diverse voices and stories that enabled us to create a compelling piece quickly and effectively. All the filmmakers who contributed to this piece were local Iowan filmmakers.

2. The filmmaker and host group have a longterm commitment to community building. 1000 Voices Archive producers are dedicated to building long term relationships with our storytellers, and most importantly, continuing to work with local leaders to effectively use the videos and tools even after a main screening event. In this way, the Archive has become much more than a curated film clearinghouse or one-time campaign tool. Instead, it is transformed into a nationwide "social capital"-building tool, as we link storytellers, filmmakers, advocates, and communities together over and over again.

1000 Voices Archive creative teams continue to work closely with dozens of organizations and communities around the country, knowing that the stories our filmmakers are collecting can help the efforts of community organizers to elevate specific messages of community and diversity.

If you represent an organization that might be interested in being a screening venue, let us know.