RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) – The Rhinelander community is on its way to building a youth plaza and skate park.
It’s been an effort led by teens and young adults that formed the Over It group with assistance from ArtStart and the City of Rhinelander.
Now, a national initiative is lending its support as well. Rhinelander is one of 9 communities chosen for One Nation, One Project. Tyler Thomas is the associate artistic director. “What we seek to bring to the table for all of our local partners is the ability to both amplify the local initiative and also put them in conversation with each of the other projects across the country that’s connected to the peer learning, but also an opportunity for us, that we’re really excited about to tell a new story about our country that includes all of the diversity, all of the difference and that relates to the prompt that each site is responding too.”
The prompt the projects needed to focus on was “No place like home”.
The group said they were impressed with Rhinelander’s skate park and youth plaza project because of how unique it was in terms of being youth led and having the sports aspect.
Georgia Gempler is the National League of Cities Senior Program Specialist. “I think we were just really excited that it seemed like the youth in Rhinelander spurring this really creative, innovative way of engaging with city officials, engaging with adults in their community to make sure they were heard and then also make their community better in the way that they wanted to make change. We were just really, really excited to see that happen.”
Gempler and Thomas were part of a small group from One Nation, One Project touring Rhinelander this week.
All the groups will work together over the next two years.
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