Wellesley launches Civil Discourse Initiative Community Content After witnessing a decline in civility, members of the Wellesley community are launching an initiative to give residents a new way to come together to talk about important issues facing the town. The Wellesley Civil Discourse Initiative aims to address the increasingly divisive and fractious tone in public conversations by organizing carefully planned dialogues with trained facilitators. Organizers of the initiative are working with town leaders, local nonprofits and community volunteers to help shape the initiative. Describing the goals of the project, planning team member Lise Olney said, “We want to train people in our community to facilitate conversations so when we face difficult issues, we are ready to have discussions that will help us understand each other’s perspectives -- even when we disagree.”