The Diploma in Dialogue and Negotiation offered by Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC, offers participants the conceptual tools to analyze, understand and plan multi-interest consensus, dialogue and negotiation using case studies and scenarios reflecting a wide range of contexts. Designed for mid-career professionals, this non-credit, post-graduate program will introduce participants to the broader use of consensus-based approaches within and between organizations. If you’re interested in learning more, you can join program faculty to hear about the program content, format and application process on Thursday, January 11, 6:30 – 8:30pm at SFU’s Centre for Dialogue, Rm 470-580 W Hastings St in Vancouver, BC. RSVP by Tuesday, January 9 to 604.268.7925 or . For more information on the Diploma visit www.sfu.ca/dialogue/diploma.htm; or download a brochure: www.sfu.ca/dialogue/diploma/DialandNegBrochure.pdf.

The Community Renewal Society (www.communityrenewalsociety.org), a progressive, faith-based organization that works to eliminate race and class barriers, has announced a new awards program, the 35 under 35 Leadership Awards, and requests nominations of young leaders across the Chicago metropolitan region. The awards will honor 35 young people, all under the age of 35, who are using fresh approaches to tackle pressing social issues. Nominees will be judged on whether or not their work bridges racial, ethnic, generational, or geographic divides. The awardees will be announced at a reception following Community Renewal’s Finding Common Ground: the State of Race and Poverty conference in June 2007. To be eligible for consideration, nominees must be 35 years of age or younger on January 31, 2007, and must have a minimum of three years working in the area for which they are being nominated. The work of nominees can vary — from community organizing to fundraising to research. For more information about the awards and to access application materials, visit the Community Renewal Society Web site. The deadline for nominations is January 31, 2007.

Dr. Jim Ludema and Dr. Mike Mantel will be offering their widely-acclaimed Appreciative Inquiry Summit Workshop February 5-8, 2007 in Chicago, IL. The AI Summit is a powerful approach to organizational change based on the principles and practices of Appreciative Inquiry as applied to large groups (30-3000 people). In this workshop participants learn to use the AI Summit process to produce similar results in their organizations. The workshop is a highly interactive, hands-on event. Participants will be invited to bring a project to work on during the workshop, and will leave with a detailed plan and design for their projects. The workshop is appropriate for executives, managers, and practitioners who lead organizational change. Register by January 5, 2007 for an early-bird discount. Group and student discounts are also available. To register or for more information, contact the Corporation for Positive Change via email: ; telephone: 505.751.1232; fax: 505.751.1233 or visit their website: www.positivechange.org.

Dialogue Programs at Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver, BC has just announced some wonderful events for Winter 2007. Speakers include Leah Green, Frances Moore Lappé and Mary Gavan. Leah Green will present a dialogue “Compassionate Listening: Healing our world from the inside out” on Monday, February 5, 2007 from 7-9 pm and a follow-up workshop on Tuesday February 6 from 9am-4:30pm. Frances Moore Lappé will present a dialogue “Exploring Democracy’s Edge” on Thursday March 1, 2007 from 7 pm-9:30 pm and a workshop on Friday March 2, 2007 from 9:30 am to noon. Mary Gavan will present a workshop “The Way of the Storyteller” on Friday April 20, 2007 from 9 am to 4:30pm. For more information: email , call 604.268.7925 or visit www.sfu.ca/dialogue/current.htm#l.

Joanna, Jennifer and Nicole at SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre For Dialogue have sent out a holiday gift for all of us to enjoy -a guide to cultivating dialogue during the holiday season and the New Year. Download the guide here: www.sfu.ca/~nmaha/DialogueGift.pdf. Happy holidays to everyone!

The Center for Strategic Facilitation in San Francisco Bay Area is offering a two-day workshop, Facilitating Change in Whole Systems: A Comprehensive Diagnostic Method for Effective Change from February 27-28, 2007 in Oakland, CA. The workshop is targeted for facilitators and change agents. This course is based on a comprehensive systems thinking model developed by the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) which has been used worldwide with powerful results, and is at the root of all ToP Ë participatory interventions. William Staples, a founding member of ICA Canada and a seminal leader over 25 years in the development and practice of ICA’s participatory approach to social change, will lead the workshop. The cost of the workshop is $545.00. For more details or to register, contact Marti Roach, CSF Senior Partner, at 925.376.3853; . This workshop is one of many offerings in collaborative methods for managing change held in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit www.strategicfacilitation.com for more information.

My Google News Alert for “dialogue AND deliberation” informed me about an interesting new book about laws in the European Union are supporting the creation of new governance structures that encourage public dialogue, deliberation, and stakeholder participation. The book, entitled “Laws Practical Wisdom” can be purchased for 97 Euros (yikes!), and you can order it or read more about it at www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c47124.

The Public Conversations Project, which is well-known for their high-quality trainings, is offering its signature workshop, The Power of Dialogue: Constructive Conversations on Divisive Issues, in the Boston area April 26-28, 2007. Experience how dialogue can transform communication and relationships, build understanding and trust, and prevent destructive and fruitless debate, even between polarized groups. Practice designing, facilitating, and de-briefing in an extended dialogue simulation. Registration is a sliding scale from $375-$600, which includes three days of training, breakfast, and lunch. Learn more at www.publicconversations.org or call 888-727-8326 x13 to register.

Texas Campus Compact (www.texascampuscompact.org) and the University of Texas at Austin will co-host the first National Conference on Civic Engagement (NCCE) February 15th – 18th, 2007 at the Austin Marriott at the Capitol. This conference will bring together higher education faculty, students, and staff in Austin, as well as community partners and organizations from both the private and public sectors. The first NCCE will provide an engaging environment of best-practice workshops, dynamic speakers, and a learning environment for all involved in civic engagement efforts to examine and redefine the role of civic responsibility for community and political leaders, educators, and students. Future conferences are tentatively scheduled for 2009 and 2011. In order to ensure a successful conference and to present Austin as the perfect host city for this first National Conference, Texas Campus Compact and the University of Texas at Austin are actively seeking community partners and allies to assist in sponsoring this formative and meaningful event. For more information, visit the Texas Campus Compact website. Register online now at http://www.regonline.com/eventinfo.asp?EventId=105898.

The Public Conversations Project (PCP) is a national ally of a nationwide effort that uses the documentary, The Mystery of Love, as a springboard for conversations about the many different kinds of love in our lives. Narrated by Anna Deveare Smith, the film tells stories of marriage, family, friendship, divine love, altruistic love, brotherly love, the love between parents and children, and love of community. For more information about the broadcast and associated community engagement activities organized by Active Voice, visit www.themysteryoflove.org. In conjunction with the project, PCP has added a format for dialogue about violence prevention a to their guide to community dialogue, Constructive Conversations About Challenging Times. (more…)

The Perspectives Group will offer the International Association for Public Participation Certificate training four times in 2007. This course provides beginner through advanced practitioners with a broad-based learning experience covering all of the foundations of public participation. The Perspectives Group is one of the nation’s foremost experts in public participation and works throughout the world to establish and run advisory boards, communicate risk and technical information, develop cooperative decision-making programs, and enhance organizational effectiveness through team-building, visioning, and effective communications. The instructor for the course is Douglas Sarno, an IAP2 Master Trainer who was part of the team of developers that designed the IAP2 Certificate Training Program. The courses will be held in Alexandria, VA on the following dates: February 5-9; June 11-15; September 17-21; and December 3-7, 2007. For additional information, or to register for the training, please visit www.theperspectivesgroup.com/resource/trainingpro.html.

On Tuesday, November 14 more than four million students at over 10,000 schools participated in national Mix It Up at Lunch Day. Sponsored by tolerance.org, students across the country crossed the social boundaries in their schools and met new people. To read what students and teachers had to say about the event, and to find out how to keep mixing it up, visit http://newsletter.tolerance.org/cgi-bin4/DM/y/m1r10FNqg30E1S0EtOO0F2.

Ashoka’s Changemakers has announced the 8th Changemakers Collaborative Competition “Entrepreneuring Peace: innovation in managing group conflict.” Participating offers social entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain access to investors, a community of innovators, and wealth of new ideas. Twelve finalists will attend the “2007 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, England in March 2007. Three winners will receive each $5,000. Learn more and enter the competition at www.changemakers.net. All entries must be made before January 10, 2007.

Najeeba Syeed Miller from the Western Justice Center Foundation just sent us a news report WJCF’s most recent success. WJCF hosted a symposium on community/police relations and the use of dialogue and mediation to resolve disputes in this arena. To read the article that ran in the Pasadena Star-News click: www.pasadenastarnews.com/search/ci_4759645.

The Canadian Institute of Public Engagement in the Ottawa, Canada area is organizing a practice retreat on the Art of Hosting and Convening Conversations in March 2007. The Art of Hosting pattern and practice is based on the assumption that it is common sense to bring stakeholders together in conversation when you seek new solutions for the common good. The CIPE invites participants to explore the practise of hosting conversations that matter, to enhance their own practices of inviting, designing, opening and holding inspired and meaningful spaces in new places in work, communities and life. For more information on this training, read the invitation and registration information on the Art of Hosting website at www.artofhosting.org.