The public is invited to be part of a new course at Kansas Wesleyan University.

According to the school, the Community Resilience Hub (CRH) at Kansas Wesleyan University is opening its courses on civil discourse to the public.

Alan Yarborough will be the trainer for both the full-day basic course Aug. 8 and the half-day advanced course Aug. 9. The half-day program is designed for those who attended the first training, either Aug. 8 or when it was offered last October.

“This is the second time we’re offering the Civil Discourse training as part of our CRH advocacy focus,” said Sabrina Rosario, CRH campus coordinator. “We need to engage in healthy conversations and find common ground to move forward in community.”

CRH brings together agents and researchers to develop solutions for social issues and to build a more resilient community through education, action and advocacy.

Being able to have a conversation with folks you may not have much in common with is a skill that’s much needed in a world that’s so polarized, said Sheila Kjellberg, CRH market coordinator.

Yarborough will train participants to have healthy engagements across differences, improve the ability to dialogue, and build capacity for engagement and to work together to tackle critical issues.

He has six years of advocacy experience with the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations in Washington, D.C. In that role, he oversees policy portfolios on Haiti, voting rights and racial justice issues, and leads weekly trainings and workshops on effective advocacy strategy. He was the primary content developer for “Make Me an Instrument of Peace,” an online civil discourse class, which has been used widely across the Episcopal Church.

Yarborough holds a B.S. in Economics from Clemson University in South Carolina and an M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University.

The full-day course will run from 8 a.m. to noonand 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $20. The advanced course will run from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and noon to 2 p.m. and will cost $10. Registration for both courses costs $25. Lunch is included with the registration.

To find out more and to register, go to www.kwu.edu/about/events/civil-discourse-training/. The deadline to register is Aug. 5.