On March 1, 3, and 5, Nebraskans will set aside political fighting and show the nation just how we focus on solving problems together.
That’s when Civic Nebraska and Unify America will host The Unify Challenge – a live, one-to-one, online video conversation program that connects pairs of Nebraskans across political, ideological, geographic, and other divides.
Nebraska will be the first state to conduct a border-to-border Unify Challenge. Anyone living in Nebraska who is 18 or older can participate. Visit UnifyNebraska.com for more information and to register to be part of this first-ever event.
The Unify Challenge is designed to be much more than a polite conversation. It’s a serious discussion that emphasizes listening, dialogue, and collective problem-solving. Participants may be paired with someone who votes differently, who has a different background, or who lives in a different part of our state.
“My country’s uniform, which I wore for 36 years, doesn’t represent only Red America or Blue America. It represents the United States of America,” said State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon. “The Unify Challenge for Nebraska is an important opportunity for all of us to practice this – and to remember how great our country can truly be when we work together to find common ground.”
State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln said The Unify Challenge isn’t about compromising one’s most cherished and deeply held beliefs.
“It’s about putting away our caricatures about ‘the other side’ and recognizing our shared humanity,” Wishart said. “We have a proud tradition of gathering, listening, debating, making up our minds, and then moving forward together. That’s not only a core Nebraska value, it’s as American as it gets.”
Civic Nebraska is partnering with the national organization Unify America to kick off what will be a series of statewide Unify Challenges across the United States in 2022.
In smaller-scale Unify Challenges, Unify America has seen an overwhelming majority of participants find agreement with their partners, arrive at common ground, and enjoy the virtual screen-to-screen conversation.
“Talking with your political – or even geographic – opposite sounds impossible if you’ve spent time on Twitter, but the Unify Challenge for Nebraska isn’t that at all,” said Harry Nathan Gottlieb, the Jackbox Games CEO who founded Unify America. “It’s about identifying goals Nebraskans share and effective problem-solving for the communities we love – and we’ve seen a lot of love for the communities of Nebraska.”
Starting Feb. 1, participants can sign up to be matched with a fellow Nebraskan on one of three Unify Challenge dates:
›› 12 noon CST (11 am MST) on Tuesday, March 1;
›› 7 pm CST (6 pm MST) on Thursday, March 3; or
›› 10 am CST (9 am MST) on Saturday, March 5.
If you have questions about The Unify Challenge, contact Nancy Petitto, director of civic health programs at Civic Nebraska, at .
