Community Never Ends with Magnify Utah’s Community Quest

“Community, places and stories” are the three things Magnify Utah – a community initiative led by the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs – hopes to connect, according to Community Partnerships Coordinator Dustin Khong. The Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs’ role as a division within the Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement is to recognize important relationships with communities across the entire state. “We focus on amplifying voices, promoting belonging and forming connections between communities and state government,” Khong says.

Utah’s landscape is ever-evolving, whether that’s for Utahns who have lived here for generations or new community members who have recently immigrated to Utah. Therefore, it’s important that we have resources for those who want to enjoy the various cultures and communities in Utah. “New Utahns might have a sense of culture shock, not knowing where their community is or what to do,” Khong states.

“We focus on amplifying voices, promoting belonging and forming connections between communities and state government.”

That’s where Magnify Utah’s Community Quest comes in. Like a passport, the Community Quest encourages travel to new places. “Utah is home to countless cultures, backgrounds and experiences, all of which make it a very vibrant and exciting place with local businesses, resources and multi-cultural communities,” Khong says. “Go explore what’s around you and find these third spaces.”

Available for pickup at many libraries and other community centers across the state, the Community Quest is a map of “hot spots” that Magnify Utah recommends community members visit. Since the quest is intended to be statewide and some of these hot spots might not be accessible to all community members, Magnify Utah worked with Yelp to create collections for each of the multicultural communities.

When deciding what businesses to include on the Community Quest, Magnify Utah cast a wide net. Khong reveals the criteria were: “Are you local? Do you love Utah? Do you want to promote a sense of community?” They collaborated with other divisions within the Department of Cultural and Community Engagement, the Utah Main Street Program, The Utah Chamber of Commerce and other non-profits to research the best places to highlight.

“Go explore what’s around you and find these third spaces.”

Magnify Utah deliberately made the Community Quest an ongoing endeavor, with no deadline in sight, because “community never ends, and story never ends.” Khong describes many aspects of the Community Quest as “dynamic,” with the intention of being “as dynamic as multicultural communities, where new stories, communities and businesses pop up.” Another goal of the Community Quest is to support local artists. The passport includes a sticker sheet made by Dallas Graham as part of his “ABSLTLY AMZNG ANMLS” project in collaboration with medically fragile children.

Just as the Community Quest is dynamic, so is the day in the life of a Community Partnerships Coordinator. Khong excitedly explains that while no two days look alike, “The thing that stays the same is connecting with people, whether that’s connecting with someone we’re already partnered with, meeting someone new to potentially partner with or just engaging with the public.” Khong serves as an interface, interpreting and translating what the state can do for the community. If he’s not doing that, Khong is working creatively with his marketing team, brainstorming new ways they can go out into the public, like attending festivals or supporting artistry.

“Are you local? Do you love Utah? Do you want to promote a sense of community?”

Magnify Utah hopes people will share their experiences with the Community Quest online, so he knows whether it’s making an impact or helping people find spaces to engage with. “Whether that’s taking a picture of the delicious meal you’re about to have or the monument you found, tag us using #MagnifyUtah,” Khong encourages. That also helps him find ways to expand the program into what the people want. “We want this to feel community-led, something Utahns actually put together,” he says.

To learn more about Magnify Utah’s Community Quest, find out where to pick up your passport, view the Yelp community collections and see featured hot spots, go to multicultural.utah.gov/magnify/!

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