Renowned instructors Loretta Donovan and Bernard Mohr will be leading a seminar called “Innovations in Business through a Positive Lens: Concepts & Practices in Appreciative Inquiry” On NOvember 9 and 10 at Columbia University Teacher’s College in New York City.  The Training is $995, and you can register here.

(more…)

In their September 27th Network News e-newsletter, AmericaSpeaks outlined two impressive recent projects.  AmericaSpeaks collaborated with the Clinton Global Initiative earlier in the month to facilitate small discussions for over 1,000 “changemakers” who attended their New York City gathering.  In addition, AmericaSpeaks concluded one of the largest citizen engagement efforts ever conducted in the U.S. on September 16 at a Regional Town Meeting in Akron, Ohio. The 900-person town meeting was the culmination of a process that has engaged more than 21,000 people in setting priorities for revitalizing Northeast Ohio’s economy.

(more…)

This week, approximately 75 leaders in community engagement have gathered in Guelph for the first-ever Communities Collaborating Institute. The energy is high, the momentum is building and visions are emerging. Convened by Tamarack, the Institute welcomes an inaugural participant group that represents a whole community system. Leaders from government, community organizations, businesses and volunteers have come together at Loyola House, a beautiful place of retreat, to share their learnings about collaboration and to learn from each other.

(more…)

William Copeland recently sent this announcement to the NCDD Discussion list, and I thought I’d share it on the blog as well.  The Detroit-based Boggs Center to Nurture Community Development is hosting a series of interesting conversations this fall.  William says they promise to be meaningful exchanges, and invites all to attend.

(more…)

On September 9th, 103 citizens from the Canadian province of Ontario met for the first time to review their provincial electoral system. These 52 women and 51 men were randomly selected from the voters list and, along with their Chair, compose the Ontario Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform. The Ontario Assembly is based on the renowned British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly and will follow a similar course.

(more…)

“Engaging the Other: The Power of Compassion” is an international, multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary conference examining concepts of “The Other” from a universal, cross-cultural perspective to promote wider public dialogue about images of “Us and Them.” The conference features a pool of leading experts from around the world to address the roots of negative stereotyping and prejudice, and how to move past artificial barriers of misunderstanding and distrust to cultivate our capacity for appreciation of diversity, reconciliation, and peace. These experts include NCDD’s own Sandy Heirbacher, who will be be presenting a workshop on Navigating the Continuum of D&D Methods using NCDD�s new framework for thinking about when to use which D&D method. The converence takes place from October 26-29, 2006 in Kalamazoo, Michigan USA. For more information visit the conference website at www.cbiworld.org, or click on the link below.
(more…)

The Western Justice Center (www.westernjustice.org), along with NCDD and the UCLA School of Law are organizing a banquet dinner for this September 16, 2006 from 6-8 pm. The banquet will will conclude the Environmental and Public Policy Facilitation Training run by the Western Justice Center, and is open to the public. The event will provide the opportunity to connect with individuals and organizations in the field of collaborative problem solving and to learn about Western Justice Center?s efforts to convene a regional network of collaborative problem solving practitioners and organizations. It will feature a keynote Address by Peter Adler of The Keystone Center, and opening remarks by UCLA Associate Vice Chancellor Dr. Frank D. Gilliam, Jr. Cost is $35. Space is limited, so get in touch to reserve a spot – contact the Western Justice Center Foundation at 55 S. Grand Avenue; Pasadena, CA 91105; Email: or call 626 584 7494 (ask for Erin).

The National Conference on Citizenship will hold its annual conference on Monday, September 18, 2006 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, DC. The conference will feature the release of the nation’s first Civic Health Index, a rigorous tool to measure civic progress over time. The Civic Health Index is comprised of 40 key civic indicators measuring levels of political activity, civic knowledge, volunteering, trust, philanthropy, and much more. The conference will include civic leaders working to strengthen citizenship in each of the NCoC’s three areas: American history and civics education; community, national, and public service; and civic and political participation. There is no charge for the event and lunch will be served. For more information and to register for the conference go to the National Conference on Citizenship’s website: www.ncoc.net.

The Institute on the Common Good at Regis University and the Colorado Civic Canopy are pleased to host a two day Public Deliberation Workshop September 22nd and 23rd, 2006. The workshop will equip new moderators with the skills and materials necessary to introduce deliberative public forums to their neighbors, groups, organizations, or community. The workshop will introduce and extensively explore the deliberative process used by the National Issues Forum (NIF), a nonpartisan, nationwide network of locally sponsored public forums for the consideration of public policy issues. NIF is rooted in the basic idea that people need to talk and to reason together � to deliberate�about how to respond to matters of shared concern. Workshop participants receive training and practice in moderating deliberative forums, become acquainted with NIF materials, learn how to organize forums, and acquire a thorough understanding of the importance and effectiveness of community deliberation in developing a civic (community) perspective on public policy issues. An actual forum focusing on immigration will be incorporated into the workshop to enhance participants� learning and skill building. If you are interested in attending this workshop or would like more information, please visit http://icgregis.org and click on upcoming events. Or please contact Katie Bruen at 303.458.4967 or .

Brooklyn Non-Violent Communication (NVC) has announced several workshops this fall at both introductory and advanced levels. Topics include “Peace: made easy,” “Enjoying difficult people” and “Getting your point across when others don’t want to listen.” Brooklyn NVC is also offering its Foundations One and Two courses in the principles and practice of Non Violent Communication. For information about the date, location and cost of each program, click on the link below. Or visit Brooklyn NVC’s website for information and to register: www.brooklynnvc.org.
(more…)

This Monday, September 11 Days of Dialogue is sponsoring “Constructive Responses to 9/11: Confronting our Fears, Working Together, Moving Ahead, A Community dialogue commemorating the 5th Anniversary of 9/11.” This event will take place from 4:30pm � 6:00pm at the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Foundation Masjid, 1025 W. Exposition Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA. The event is convened by Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas, and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, the County of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Clergy Council, the Omar Ibn Khattab Foundation, the Western Justice Center Foundation, and the Progressive Jewish Alliance. RSVP to or (213) 745-6656. For more information, visit www.daysofdialogue.org.

The purpose of the New England Grassroots Environment Fund (www.grassrootsfund.org) Boston Grants Initiative is to increase engagement and citizen participation on environmental health, environmental justice, and greenspace issues in greater Boston. Grant awards range from $500 to $10,000 each, and a broad range of activities will be funded. For more information on this grant competition, click on the link below, or visit the program website. Applications are due October 15, 2006.
(more…)

The Oracle Education Foundation (www.oraclefoundation.org) has announced the opening of a new ThinkQuest competition, ThinkQuest International 2007, and invites students and teachers from around the globe to take part in this collaborative learning experience. The educational contest is open to students between the ages of 9 and 19 and their teacher-coaches from anywhere in the world. The program promotes collaboration and cross-cultural learning by encouraging students to team with peers in other regions to develop Web sites on educational topics. In the process of creating their site, students learn and practice their skills in research, writing, technology, and teamwork. Additionally, the competing teams have the opportunity to create Web sites that can be used as educational resources by students worldwide as part of the ThinkQuest Library, available online at: www.thinkquest.org/library. All submitted Web sites for ThinkQuest International 2007 will be judged by professional educators. Students and educators interested in participating can find further information at the program’s Web site. Deadline: April 16, 2007

The folks at Brooklyn Non Violent Communication are sponsoring several workshops this September led by Miki Kashtan, PhD, co-founder and senior trainer at Bay Area Nonviolent Communication & the North America Leadership Training Program. Miki will lead workshops on Sept. 8 introducing the principles of NVC and on Sept. 9 on NVC in relationships. Each workshop is a full-day event (9 am to 5 pm) at 330 West 38th St, Suite 704 (Sacred Center) Manhattan. For more information and to register, visit www.brooklynnvc.org