Early this month a news item from a Ready by 21 Southeast Convening in Atlanta caught my eye by highlighting a part of their program in which 80 delegates "Swapped stories of success, examined challenges, and brainstormed solutions" during a chock-full 2-day meeting.

It suddenly occurred to me that sharing successes---‘who’s doing what that works’ experiences with an audience of 80 committed advocates and decision makers responsible for children’s initiatives in multiple cities---in a setting where there is ample time to reflect, and additional time to connect with colleagues during social hours and dinner, might have a distinct advantage over writing a story, mailing it out to thousands of engaged people, and then wondering how they use it.

I told my colleagues: This is keeping communication simple! A breath of fresh air in the power of story telling!—not likely to be crafted with the same care we use in writing a success story—but more apt, in a networking environment, to create momentum that can carry over to community conversations and action back home.

Last week we followed up with Ready by 21 executives and its parent organization, The Forum for Youth Investment, in a telephone conference that yielded promising insights . In June we plan a follow up session---face to face—where we can capture the full flavor of the Atlanta meeting—and much more.

We believe we have found a Sweet Spot in child advocacy messaging. Are you already doing something similar that you might share with us?

Hershels@aol.com