The 75th Diversity Forum featured a performance by saxophonist Jason Weismann and a talk given by Minnesota Council on Foundations President Trista Harris in celebration of MLK Day. Harris spoke about how to use the tools of futurism to build on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream for a better future.
Three-Step Guide to a Better Future
Harris pointed out that “we treat the future now like it’s something that happens to us, not something we create for ourselves.”
Instead of thinking about today’s problems this way, Harris encouraged the audience to think about what positive impacts they would like to leave on the world. With that, she provided a simple, three-step guide to looking to the future to create something better:
- Stop loving the problem. Instead of dwelling on what the problems are, Harris encouraged people to understand the problem then immediately move to step two.
- Look around you. Pay attention to trends and headlines to get a grasp on where you might find solutions for your problem.
- Go, try it out. “If you fail faster, you succeed sooner,” said Harris, “try new ideas to learn what works and how to move forward.”
The next Diversity Forum will feature KSTP TV 5 Broadcast Journalist Cleo Green and Grammy Award Winner Kimberly Brown in honor of Black History Month. For questions or to RSVP, contact Dr. Leo Parvis via email at lparvis@dunwoody.edu. Dr. Parvis is a Principal Instructor and the Diversity Programs & Education Coordinator at Dunwoody College of Technology.