The Knight Cities Challenge is open through noon ET Nov. 3, 2016 seeking the best ideas to make one or more of the 26 Knight communities more successful. Catherine Ferrer is the community engagement coordinator for Realize Bradenton (Florida), a 2015 winner of the challenge, for Pop-Ups for a Purpose, which transforms outdoor spaces into places for conversations on local issues

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

—Nelson Mandela

Realize Bradenton’s project—Pop-Ups for a Purpose, a ReUse ReCONNECT project—was focused on attracting and retaining talented millennials in the Bradenton area. That’s no easy feat in a state known for retirement communities. 

One key to our success was knowing who we were trying to reach and what kinds of things spoke to those people.

We knew millennials in our community were tired of being talked at and talked about, so we talked with them to plan Pop-Ups for a Purpose. The project had three elements, all executed by and for millennials: events, infographics and public art.

Events: We planned events that spoke to different millennials. Plaza Cubana spoke Spanish.  A robot-themed celebration of books spoke to parents of young children. The shuffleboard pop-up party spoke to young people searching for things to do socially besides sit on a barstool.

We’ve attracted loads of people, one measure of success, and we’re continuing to organize events to engage millennials socially; nonprofit fundraisers are now focusing on this group, shuffleboard “socials” continue, and families with children are connecting at the Bradenton Farmers’ Market thanks to a millennial business owner sponsoring “Kids Corner.”

Infographics: We used engaging infographics that spoke to people who want to know “what do the numbers say?” Students from New College of Florida dug up a wealth of data about Bradenton-area millennials—population, educational attainment, jobs, housing and voting patterns. Realtors, other nonprofits, civic groups such as the chamber of commerce and local government all requested (and received) copies of the infographics to inform their decision-making processes.

Public art: We employed public art to let millennials speak directly to anyone interested in listening. Through the “See Me Hear Me” public art project, 23 diverse millennials were featured in larger-than-life portraits covering windows throughout downtown. 

The portraits are accompanied by the highlights of 10-question interviews with each participant, which are available on the Realize Bradenton website and cover topics such as housing, jobs, family, attachment to this community, poetry, volunteering, doughnuts and citizenship.

To carry all of these messages across to community leaders, we combined all of these elements—events, infographics and portraits with interviews—into a traveling art exhibition titled “Talent Now Seeks Place.” After its debut at the Manatee Performing Arts Center in September 2016, it now resides in the lobby of Bradenton City Hall.

Realizing the difference between talking with people rather than talking at them has been a bit like learning a new language; at times it’s frustrating, but ultimately rewarding in how it expands comprehension, empathy and connection. This process of learning to speak with millennials and starting conversations about how to attract and retain millennial talent has stretched our organization—and our community—in positive ways.

For more on the Knight Cities Challenge and to apply, visit knightcities.org, follow @knightfdn and #knightcities on Twitter, or attend a virtual or in-person session.