Local Collaboration

Oftentimes, one city or area will be home to a student group and one or more adult (off-campus) groups. However, in many cases these groups rarely communicate or collaborate, and sometimes they are not even aware of one another. This program intends to foster collaboration between secular groups in the same geographical area (city, state, region), with a focus on connecting student groups with adult groups in the community. These relationships are beneficial to all involved, whether they involve one college group and one adult group in a small city, or connect dozens of likeminded organizations across half a state.

This program endeavors to:

• Build relationships between local adult and student freethought groups
• Facilitate communication between local groups
• Support existing campus groups
• Encourage students to remain involved in freethought beyond graduation
• Create an environment for post-college young people in the freethought movement
• Bring younger members into local adult groups
• Encourage students to develop relationships with national, international and interdisciplinary organizations
• Help build campus groups in areas without them
• Develop an outreach program for high school students

There are already some great networks in place. One of the largest is the Texas Secular Network, linking eight student groups and about 25 off-campus groups, including chapters of the American Humanists Association, American Atheists, Center for Inquiry, Ethical Society, and more. Members are invited to one another's events, collaborate on projects, and more, facilitated by an excellent website, blog and email list at www.txsecular.net.

Other networks include COCORE (Colorado), PhillyCoR (Philadelphia, PA), Beltway Atheists (Washington, D.C.) and ArizonaCoR. Many other areas have more or less formal networks between local secular groups.

The United COR program (www.unitedcor.org) also works to build networks among groups in the same local area. If there is a United COR program in your area, be sure to get involved! However, you don't have to wait for a COR to come into your area to start working with nearby groups.

In the past, the Secular Student Alliance has encouraged this kind of collaboration through the gLan (Group Local Area Network) and CANDLE (Campus Area Network Local Development and Exchange) programs.