Concurrent Workshops Offered at the 2004 NCDD Conference
Below you will find an alphabetical listing of all the workshops presented at this year's conference. The first group, the two-hour workshops, were offered on Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday morning (each workshop will only be given during one of those time slots). The second group, the three-hour workshops, were scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
Two-hour workshops...
Between the Lines: Creating Spaces for Dialogue among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender & Heterosexuals
Dr. Biren "Ratnesh" Nagda, School of Social Work, University of Washington; Sivagami Subbaraman, University of Maryland
We will engage participants in brief presentations and experiential activities involving dialogue about heterosexism and homophobia. This remains an important yet not fully explored area in dialoguing and deliberating across differences. Participants will gain knowledge and skills in facilitating dialogues around "heterosexist" privilege and confronting heterosexism and homophobia to create LGBT safe spaces on campus and in their various communities. Participants will also deepen their awareness of how "heterosexist privilege" (in the model of Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege) intersects with other dimensions of difference in dialogue practices, and will build a repertoire of resources and materials and best practices that will allow ALL OF US to BE invested in this issue, and not "just LGBT folk." Presenters will provide a CD of resource materials related to the topic.
Beyond White Privilege: White Feminist Antiracism Strategies
Karen Trietsch, Beyond White Privilege Training Project
This workshop deciphers difficult aspects of antiracism coalitions by examining how white privilege affects white activists' ability to have constructive dialogue with people of color. Participants learn about interpersonal dynamics of white guilt, analogies, stealing the center, and using anger and conflict for action and change. We begin by defining these dynamics theoretically, and then we apply the theories to examples of real life antiracism situations. BWP moves us beyond our knowledge of privilege and into working toward dismantling interpersonal and societal systems of racial injustice by removing the most common barriers to constructive dialogue. We will conclude with discussion of "10 Ways to Divest From Privilege." Participants will receive the Antiracist's Toolkit, which contains 1) Resource List, 2) Motivations, and 3) "10 Ways to Divest From Privilege."
Breakthrough Initiatives in Governing WITH the People: The Australian Experience
Dr. Janette Hartz-Karp, JHK Quality Consultants
As a result of the last 4 years of planning with the community, Western Australia is now one of the world leaders in innovative approaches to deliberative democracy. Janette's presentation will outline the variety of techniques that have been applied, adapted and combined, including Citizen's Juries, Consensus Conferences, Consensus Forums, Deliberative Surveys, Multi Criteria Analysis Workshops, and "21st Century Town Meetings." The focus will be on how representativeness, deliberation and influence have been sought, and what has been learned. Participants will gain an understanding about the ways in which different deliberative democracy techniques have been applied and adapted in Western Australia, and will examine the critical success factors of deliberative democracy initiatives.
Bringing Dialogue to the Media: Leaping Between and Beyond the Horns of Dilemma to Paradox
Duncan Campbell, Living Dialogues with Duncan Campbell
In this session we will share, starting from my experience in my Living Dialogues radio and TV programs, stories of ways in which to create and maintain an authentic dialogue process in the public media. After a short presentation about my work and inspiration relative to this topic, we will engage in dialogue about our experiences utilizing the media to promote dialogue and strategies for further amplifying our efforts through the media.
Building and Sustaining Networks of Dialogue - Locally and Globally
Paul Alexander, Institute on the Common Good, Regis University; Marc-Andr? Franche, United Nations Development Program; Bill Fulton, Colorado Civic Canopy
This session will provide an opportunity to look at two different approaches to building and sustaining networks dedicated to dialogue and democratic practice. We will begin by exploring the key ideas, experiences, challenges and future plans of the Community of Practice on Democratic Dialogue in Latin America. This community brings together two networks: one of like minded institutions and the second of practitioners. The session would highlight three key areas of work of the Community: a) Dialogue typologies and categories; b) Handbook for dialogue practitioners and c) impact assessment of dialogues. We will then look at the Civic Canopy, a Colorado effort to use dialogue as a means of building and sustaining a network of individuals and organizations working to increase civic engagement in Colorado. Participants will reflect on the similarities and distinctions between the approaches, and how they relate to the work in their own communities.
"But, I Don't Want to Dialogue! I Want to Win!"
Deborah L. Flick, Ph.D, Collaborative Solutions Group
In this interactive workshop we will learn and use the "Understanding Process" approach to dialogue (as described in Flick's award winning book, From Debate to Dialogue) to surface, unpack and inquire into our assumptions about the practice of dialogue with an eye toward revisiting our purpose and roles as dialogue practitioners. In the current political climate many people are not interested in being in dialogue with those with whom they disagree. Sometimes people want to argue, persuade and win. Is there room for strong emotions in dialogue? For forcefully arguing for one's position? Are we dialogue practitioners out of sync with what some, maybe many, people want? What do people who are at odds really want? Do people want what dialogue has to offer, but they just don't know it? Do we only deal with people who are "ready" for dialogues, who voluntarily sign up? What role, if any, can we play with those who are not? Should we always be for "both sides"? Are we ever advocates? If so, when and how? Questions such as these and others generated by the group will launch our investigation.
Changing the Conversation on Education in Connecticut
Sonja Ahuja and Nancy Polk, League of Women Voters of Connecticut; Nancy Leonard, William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
Community Conversations about Education is a statewide project that has been a pioneer effort in citizen engagement in Connecticut. The project has reached over 70 cities and towns, and a recent case study shows that this 7-year project has created a new culture of communication between educators, policy makers and the public and has resulted in numerous community based initiatives. This workshop combines presentation and group discussion and is divided into three parts: the first examines the model as it has worked in Connecticut; the second looks closely at the experiences of a cross section of communities; the third engages participants in analyzing implications from the Connecticut experience. In closing exercises, participants will have the opportunity to design adaptations for local practice and options for specific applications.
Citizen-Initiated Deliberations on Legislative Public Policy Issues
Les Ihara, Jr., Hawaii State Senate; Bruce Feustel and Peggy Kerns, National Conference of State Legislatures
This session is for those interested in organizing deliberative activities involving state legislators and the issues they face. Legislators and others with experience in citizen-legislator engagement will lead a discussion with participants on involving legislators in their deliberative activities and initiating deliberative forums on legislative issues. The session will also include discussion on practical applications of public policy best practices in legislative bodies, strategies for promoting public deliberation in legislatures, subculture of legislative bodies, and national projects to support citizen engagement with state legislatures and to form a network of state legislators for public deliberation.
Civic Index and Civic Indicators - A Community's Capacity for Change
Gail Hoagland, National Civic League
The Civic Index is a community assessment and self-evaluation tool. The Civic Index assesses what the National Civic League calls "civic infrastructure," or those characteristics that communities possess to effectively solve problems. Civic Indicators is a relatively new concept in the community indicators movement that allows a community to measure and track the civic health of a community over time. These elements are the building blocks of the community's capacity for change and effectively addressing issues. This session will provide an opportunity to learn about these critical elements of community, as well as the application and utilization of these tools to create impactful, long-term change. Participants will gain an understanding of the critical role civic infrastructure plays in community problem solving; be able to identify the basic elements of the Civic Index; learn how to assess the civic health of their own community; and be the first to hear about the exciting field of Civic Indicators and lessons learned to date.
Common Sense to Common Practice: Improving Public Involvement at EPA
Patricia Bonner and Leanne Smith Nurse, US EPA Natl Ctr for Environmental Innovation
This session will show how the Environmental Protection Agency is using a series of unique tools to raise awareness about and showcase the value of effective public involvement. These tools support EPA's Public Involvement Policy and reflect the expressed needs of government, business, citizens and non-governmental partners. As the first federal agency with such a policy, EPA's work is of interest to other units of government, citizens and NGOs. Participants will learn how to "stretch" beyond current public involvement competencies by integrating some new tools/skills in your practice of public/community involvement; how to gain and use the special knowledge of others through several easy-to-use group processes; and how to do more effective networking to find the right help at the right time.
Convening & Capacity Building in States: The Role of University-Based Centers
Chris Carlson, Policy Consensus Initiative; Karen Cross, Matsunaga Institute for Peace, University of Hawaii; Miranda Duncan, University of Missouri Extension; Carolyn Penny, Common Ground: Center for Collaborative Solutions
This panel will discuss the role university programs can play in assisting public leaders, to engage the public and build consensus on issues. Universities are uniquely positioned to apply their knowledge base and convening capacity in useful ways to help state leaders engage citizens around the critical issues we face. Participants will discuss what they can do to further the work of universities in engaging the public in deliberation and dialogue.
D2 Dreaming of Democracy Through Dialogue and Dance
Wanjiru Kamuyu, Urban Bush Women; Vincent E. Thomas, VTDance
This session shares principles and practices from the internationally acclaimed dance company Urban Bush Women's recent efforts in arts-based civic dialogue. It focuses on "Are We Democracy?," a new performance piece based on the theme of voter education, registration, and voter turnout that was built from dialogue. The piece resulted from an immersion in dance and dialogue in which artists, educators, and cultural leaders responded to the fundamental questions: "Are we democracy?" and "What is democracy?" Through a lively and interactive experience using words and movement, this session will focus on four Ds! As a group, we will explore ways to imagine a better future (Dreaming), create a more participatory Democracy, share our experiences and listen to experiences of others (Dialogue), and become more physically active towards our goal through the arts (Dance). Participants will learn how dance and dialogue can be combined to catalyze public dialogue. Presenters will also share information about UBW's Hair Parties project, which combines dance and dialogue to explore issues of race, class and gender.
Deliberative Learning and Liberal Education
Joni Doherty and Jed Donelan, New England Center for Civic Life/Franklin Pierce College; James T. Knauer, Ph.D., Pennsylvania Center for Civic Life/Lock Haven University of PA
In what ways can the teaching of deliberative practices increase student capacity for achieving a liberal education while assisting them in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to be active participants in a democratic society? By creating deliberative environments in and out of the classroom and on-line, faculty from the Democracy Lab, housed at Lock Haven University, and the Diversity and Community Project of Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, NH, have adapted National Issues Forums practices to actively engage students in their own learning. Presenters will describe their techniques for developing student deliberative skills while pursuing traditional content and intellectual development goals. Through active engagement and hands-on demonstrations, the presenters will invite participants to share their own experiences, and to join them in reflecting on the objectives and techniques of deliberative learning, and their fit with the goals of liberal education. This highly participatory session is designed for students, faculty, and administrators in secondary and higher education who wish to integrate deliberative practices into their teaching and learning.
De-Polarizing the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: An Experiment in Town-Gown Dialogue in Olympia, Washington
Lori Blewett, Patrick J. Hill, Valerie Krull and Joe Tougas, Ph.D., Evergreen State College
In the winter of 2004, The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, finding itself and its surrounding community polarized by the death in Gaza of its student Rachel Corrie (and by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in general), invented a new kind of college course. It was fundamentally based on dialogue. Its meetings were brought out into the community. And the 300-plus community-participants were edged out of the debate-mode and introduced to compassionate listening. Five members of the dozens who led the experiment will make brief presentations from the point of view of the various players in this delicate negotiation: from the administration of the College that initiated the controversial experiment with the confidence that an innovative institution could rise to the new challenge, from the faculty who worried that its authority and expertise were being undermined in the interest of public relations, from the students who found themselves in a multi-perspectival course and involved in dialogue with "drop-in" community members, and from the community members themselves, both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian.
Designing the D&D City
Kenoli Oleari and W. Marc Tognotti, The Global Democracy Institute and San Francisco Neighborhood Assemblies Network
What would a city designed around D&D principles look like? Cities regularly talk about developing physical infrastructure. But how about participatory infrastructure? How can we develop institutions and processes to bring neighborhoods together in regular and ongoing dialogue? We'll talk about how a number of cities are already moving in this direction, creating innovative citizen-participation systems. We'll discuss the work we are doing in San Francisco, legislatively and with communities, to create a citywide network of neighborhood assemblies that are independent from but recognized by city hall, and integrated into city decision-making processes. Participants in the session will be asked to use their knowledge of D&D tools and processes and their collective imagination to design model "neighborhood constitutions" instituting D&D practices into the ongoing routine of community life. Our meeting will use processes borrowed from Future Search and The World Cafe, among others.
Dynamic Dialogue: Strategies for Finding Meaning & Healing in Difficult Times
Jude Blitz, MA and Tom Daly, Ph.D., The Living Arts Foundation
Dynamic Dialogue offers cutting edge tools for working with groups and systems using deep inquiry and experimentation. Dynamic Dialogue brings movement and healing to difficult conflicts, and many organizations have used it as simulation and 3-dimensional modeling to help groups think more creatively. This practice is very experiential and quickly moves beyond talking about conflicting forces and works directly with and influences those forces. Participants will be invited to represent the patterns, positions, and forces within a troubled system. The whole group will then actively inquire together about those patterns and collectively create scenarios that evolve the system from its own deeper roots to its emergent realities. Participants will leave this workshop with transformational tools that can be applied to a wide variety of issues and in many different settings.
ENGAGE: An Exploration of a Community
Leah Lamb, MSW, The Performance Initiative
What does voter apathy, youth disengagement, actors, filmakers, researchers, the democratic, republican, green political leaders, Hope in the City, Rock the Vote, and Calling the Question all have in common? They were all part of a pilot project initiative designed to use the arts as a vehicle as social change, and connect youth to their political leaders. This interactive session will demonstrate the model of theatre used to connect with disengaged youth - the model of dialogue co-designed by Cricket White of Hope in the Cities and Josh Weiss of Harvard's Global Negotiation Project - and share the results of this unique city-wide initiative to connect youth into the political arena.
Evaluation Methods for Dialogue & Deliberation: Roundtable Discussion
Angie Boyce and Christine Reich, Museum of Science in Boston
The evaluation of Dialogue & Deliberation programs and events is a growing area of interest for practitioners across a variety of fields. We would like to gather together individuals who are interested in evaluation from multiple perspectives for a roundtable discussion on theories, methodologies and practices that can be employed when evaluating D&D. Additionally, since the Museum of Science in Boston is initiating a new program called Technology Forum, in which we present opportunities for citizens to engage in scientifically-informed decision-making about current issues in technology that affect our society, we will collectively brainstorm about how D&D evaluation methods can be applied in the museum and informal learning contexts. We will present preliminary findings from forums we have held on obesity and renewable energy, but because the program (and its evaluation) is in its infancy, this breakout session will not focus exclusively on our findings, but center more on collective brainstorming and reflecting on evaluation issues for the field. Through this workshop, we hope to achieve a better collective understanding of how we can evaluate D&D in a way that maximizes the utility of the results for the practitioners, ensures that evaluation continually informs what we do and the learning of the field, and upholds the evolving standards for good D&D.
Experimenting with Deliberative Democracy
James Fishkin, Center for Deliberative Democracy, Stanford University
This session will discuss the use of Deliberative Polling as a model of public consultation and as a method for engaging social science in the study of deliberation. Deliberative Polling is a technique which combines deliberation in small group discussions with scientific random sampling to provide public consultation for public policy and for electoral issues. The discussion will draw on local, regional and national projects in the U.S. and other countries. Both face-to-face and online methodologies will be discussed, and there will be some discussion about "Deliberation Day," a project in which thousands of Americans will have had the opportunity (on October 16) to meet in communities around the nation to reflect, discuss and deliberate on key issues facing the nation during this election.
Exploring the Leverage Points for Sustaining Complex Collaborations
Stephanie Nestlerode, Omega Point International, Inc. and several members of the Prevention Capacity Development Task Force.
The Prevention Capacity Development Task Force has been in continuous evolution since 1987. "Listening" to all stakeholders (public, private and civic), creating shared meaning, learning as a collective, making informed decisions and developing innovative approaches for empowering communities have been cornerstones of its nationally recognized success. Members hold an intention to deepen the collective wisdom regarding what creates and sustains success. The Task Force recently conducted an Appreciative Inquiry into what has made the work successful for almost two decades. A panel of stakeholder members will share these results and the role of strategic learning conversations. Participants will be invited to contribute their own lessons learned on these inquiries: What are the life-giving forces that provide energy? What supports these energetic forces? How is success measured?
Finding the Funding
William Roberts, The Whistler Forum for Dialogue
In the important work of citizen engagement, finding the funding and resources to design, promote, deliver, evaluate programs is frequently one of the greatest challenges we face. And it is ironic that these efforts to cultivate the roots of democracy are often choked on dry and stony ground. In this session on tools for fundraising, we will learn from our successes and frustrations, hear some advice from the pros, and develop a "finding the funding framework" suitable for your organization and/or project. With ten years of fundraising experience for non-profit clients in the Pacific Northwest, and two years of finding the funding for the Whistler Forum, William Roberts brings refreshing perspectives to share with others who want to meet these funding challenges more effectively.
From "Choir" Conversations to Meaningful Blue/Red Dialogue
Laura Chasin, Public Conversations Project; Gloria F. Mengual, Study Circles Resource Center; Susan Partnow, Lets Talk America
In this year's political shorthand, how can primarily "blue" NCDD members increase the political diversity, not only of our colleagues, but participants in the conversations we conduct? What challenges have you encountered while attempting to engage colleagues and participants likely to view themselves as more toward "red" than "blue"? How have you successfully addressed these challenges? What do we already know about broadening the political base who reflectively asks, "What do we still need to learn?" This interactive session will ponder "Where to From Here?" in our efforts to make dialogue and deliberation more attractive/accessible to people from across the political spectrum. It also will be an opportunity to share what participants already know about the answers to these questions. Participants will develop several collective maps of: a) the contexts in which people of "redder" political views have been interested in engaging in dialogue; b) the barriers to successful engagement that practitioners have encountered; c) "best practices" in addressing these barriers effectively; and d) possible next steps and how NCDD can support those who take them.
Getting to Millions: Engaging the Public in a Nat'l Discussion to Impact Policy
Ashley Boyd, AmericaSpeaks; Amy Malick, Study Circles Resource Center; Jed Miller, Web Lab
We must find new ways to help citizens play a greater role in our nation's policy-making process. In the summer of 2003, 15 leading practitioners of public deliberation came together to develop a proposal for how more than 1 million people could take part in a National Discussion to influence Congress on the issue of health care reform. Among the participants in this strategy session were AmericaSpeaks, Study Circles Resource Center, National Issues Forums, Viewpoint Learning, Web Lab, Information Renaissance, E-thePeople, and several others. This session will present the strategy that emerged from this process. In addition to presenting the strategy, session leaders will facilitate a discussion about how different models may be integrated to impact national policy-making.
How Can We Co-Create an Effective, Visionary D&D Movement?
Tom Atlee, The Co-Intelligence Institute; Sandy Heierbacher, NCDD
What would it take to build a D&D movement that created increasing public and official demand for all types of D&D; convinced more and more funders of the value of D&D as a tool for social benefit; helped D&D people - not only practitioners, scholars and activists, but also D&D consumers and participants - find, learn from, and work with each other; helped such people co-create a "D&D Commons" - resources they could all use - from databases and trainings, to marketing tools and evaluation instruments; and ultimately catalyzed a culture of dialogue that expected and used D&D in all sectors and levels of society? We'll start out with a brainstorm around "What questions do we need to ask to accomplish the purpose of this session?" and then proceed with open facilitated dialogue. Results from this workshop will be posted on the NCDD wiki for further development.
How to Dialogue With Children About Race and Racism
Reena Bernards and Rebecca Williams, The Dialogue Project
How do we raise children with healthy cultural identities in this divided society? We dialogue with our children about race and racism. This may seem obvious, but how many times have we avoided the "opportunity" to address the subject because it seems inappropriate or rude? Or we don't want to expose our children or our students to the pain of racial realities. Ultimately we don't talk about race and racism because we don't want to perpetuate an unjust system. But silence in a race-conscious society leaves children unprepared for fighting injustice, and unwittingly maintains the status quo. Children can be empowered to face reality and become the visionaries for a better future. In this workshop, we will explore age-appropriate guidelines for discussing racial identity and racism with children. We will explore how to communicate messages that enhance our children's sense of pride in themselves, as well how to engage our children in a dialogue about how race and racism affect their lives. The workshop will be a hands-on experiential opportunity to dialogue with others about how to prepare and inspire the next generation.
Israel and Palestine: The Wisdom of Bringing Compassion Into The Fire
Joy Helmer, RN, MS, Children's Hospital Regional Medical Center
In this workshop, the essence of Compassionate Listening (SM) practice will be taught, using the heated Israeli-Palestinian conflict as content. The workshop includes deep attunement exercises, skills practice and faciliated conversations using the skills in a group setting. Learning Objectives for participants include: increased understanding of the value of Compassionate Listening as taught by The Compassionate Listening Project; inspriation and confidence to use this practice when in conversation about Israel and Palestine; and enhancement of practical skills and tools for use in everyday life.
Let's Talk America: Engaging the Power of Conversation to Heal the Political Divide
Susan Partnow, Lets Talk America
Come learn about and experience Let's Talk America, an initiative that aims to change the tone of political discourse in this country from the polarized, divisive, either/or rhetoric we hear from the politicians and pundits, to an inclusive dialogue that welcomes all voices to the table and recognizes that we all hold a piece of the truth. You will hear our Fetzer success story, where 28 thought leaders from across the political spectrum signed a declaration of support for dialogue, and participate in a Let's Talk conversation. Join this highly interactive session and learn how you and your organization can join in revitalizing our democracy. Learning Objectives are to experience Let's Talk America a process that fosters inclusive dialogue across political difference, and to learn the process so that participants can become hosts and partners in the initiative.
Listening for Wisdom: Conversations at the World Caf?
Ken Homer, The World Caf? Community Foundation; Susan Skjei, SaneSystems
The World Caf? is a living network of conversations around questions that matter. A key feature of the World Cafe is the way in which it enables large groups of people to build trust, think together and take effective action on issues that have often confounded or polarized them in the past. Now approaching its tenth anniversary, the World Cafe has been used in business, community, government and educational settings, with tremendous results. In this session you will learn some of the theory behind the World Caf? and practical tips for hosting and convening your own World Cafe conversations using the seven design principles. We will also explore how to create powerful questions that help us hear beyond our individual filters and arrive at collective understandings that allow us to act with greater wisdom in our lives. Ken and Susan have worked extensively with World Cafe originators Juanita Brown and David Isaacs, and have hosted many cafes in diverse settings.
Making Headlines: Work Smart to Make Media Work for You
Carrie Boron, Amy Malick and Gloria Francesca Mengual, Study Circles Resource Center
Want to hold a press conference? Fight the urge! In this interactive session, learn the five strategic decisions to make before you pick up the phone to call a reporter. Drawing from real-life examples provided by participants, we will work together through the "Smart Chart," a tool to help nonprofits make the smart communications choices they need before they plan media tactics. During the second half of the session, a panel of seasoned communications veterans will lead you in a learning exchange about your media challenges. Participants will learn from communication veterans and from each other as they share, and work through, successes, challenges and failures in working with the media. Learning objectives include learning the importance of assessing your organization's strategic decisions to make sure your communication efforts deliver high impact; learning how to use the ?Smart Chart,? a practical tool developed by Spitfire Strategies to help nonprofits make smart communications choices - ensuring better outcomes and more efficient use of time and resources; learning how to build effective media relations - and find the time to do it!
Mediation, Dialogue, Restorative Conferencing: Comparisons and Contrasts
Mary Jacksteit, Search for Common Ground; Phyllis Lawrence, National Association for Community Mediation; Najeeba Syeed Miller, Western Justice Center
Many practitioners get "tied" into their "brand" of facilitating dialogue among others. Three panelists, each with expertise in one or more of these three models will describe restorative justice processes, civil mediation styles, and dialogue processes. Through the presentations and group interaction, participants will become familiar with these models and their similarities and differences, common and innovative applications, and the training needed to gain levels of competence.
Online Dialogue & Deliberation: Lessons Learned & Challenges For the Future
Bob Carlitz, Information Renaissance; Tim Erickson, St. Paul E-Democracy; Joseph Peters, Ascentum Inc.
This session is intended to be an interactive discussion about the field of online dialogue and deliberation. Topics on the agenda include: a look at how online and face-to-face D&D can interact, examining the lessons learned in recent years, and a discussion about the challenges still before us. This discussion will be lead by a panel of experts on online D&D, but with a real focus on letting participants share their own thoughts, concerns, and ideas.
Polarization Dynamics: Sources and Effects
Richard Chasin, MD and Maggie Herzig, Public Conversations Project
Polarization is all over the news. But what is it and how does it work? The presenters will describe and illustrate the family systems-based model of polarization that informs our work. We will describe dynamics that tend to polarize conversations and controversies and briefly summarize some of the methods we use to prevent, mitigate or reverse those dynamics. Attention will be given to the impact of polarization on those who openly advocate opposing positions on a contested issue, as well as its effect on those who are largely silent. We hope to sharpen the analytic tools of practitioners who work with polarized controversies. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on and share their own perspectives on the dynamics of polarization.
Project 540: Youth Dialogues for Community Improvement
Stacie Molnar-Main and Harris J. Sokoloff, University of Pennsylvania and Students of J.P. McCaskey High School
Project 540 is a national school-based initiative to engage high school students in dialogue and reflection leading to civic action. It is unique because it engages students in all aspects of project leadership, from organizing the project to group facilitation to action plan development and implementation. The workshop will introduce participants to the Project 540 dialogue process through experiential activities and interaction with youth who lead the project in their schools and communities. Key learnings will be shared, as well as copies of Project 540 leadership materials.
Public Engagement in Government Agencies: Examples from Practice and a Proposal to Create a New Practitioner Exchange Network
Roger Bernier, United States Centers for Disease Control; Rosemary Gunn, Information Renaissance (Moderator); Hank Topper, United States Environmental Protection Agency; Additional representatives from NIH, DOD and/or HHS.
Join us for a discussion on building governments for a democratic society. Workshop organizers invite the participation of federal and state agency staff with an interest in deepening their practice of citizen participation in a range of administrative and regulatory processes in government and others interested in the role of government in a democratic society to join this discussion. The session will include presentations by agency practitioners describing government sponsored public engagement activities, including examples of both successes in and obstacles to good public engagement. A proposal to create a network of agency practitioners will be presented and discussed as one means of enhancing public engagement by government agencies. Approximately one half of the time will be devoted to presentations and the other half to open discussion. All interested persons are invited regardless of whether or not they are currently employed by government.
Seven Core Principles for Effective Citizen Engagement
Ashley Boyd and Janet Fiero, Ph.D., AmericaSpeaks
Citizen engagement projects developed without guiding principles often lack continuity, focus and concrete results. In first half of their session, Boyd and Fiero will describe in detail seven core principles underlying effective citizen engagement efforts. These principles cover issues related to project timing, issue selection, outreach and marketing, coalition building and involvement of decision-makers. During the presentation, Boyd and Fiero will illustrate how these principles can be applied in a variety of settings and project sizes. In the second half of the session, participants (working in small groups) will have an opportunity to directly apply the seven principles by preparing a specific project engagement plan.
Talking Our Walk: Positioning Conversations to Leverage Systemic Change
Joyce Diamond, Dr. Nancy Glock-Grueneich and Jennifer White, HIGHER EDge
A workshop for activists, policy-makers, educators and entrepreneurs on using dialogue, deliberation and critical discourse to change lives and transform systems. Using a model of social transformation we are developing, we will share stories from around the world showing how "talk," of the right kind, combined with knowledge, and positioned at pivotal points within a system, can build alliances, further collaboration, bridge institutional barriers, realign professions, redirect corporate priorities, empower villages, reconnect neighbors, and reconcile enemies. Reflecting upon these stories together, and using the model as a "map," we may better appreciate the place of our own work among the many forces coming together to make possible a livable future. These reflections may also suggest additional factors to consider in deciding where to engage in dialogue, with whom, and why, with particular attention on how to use knowledge to inform discourse. Related models and a CD with key examples, links, definitions, additional sources, and explanations will also be shared.
The Advantages and Challenges of the Citizens Jury Process
Pat Benn and Ned Crosby, Jefferson Center
The goal of this interactive workshop is to review the successes and failures of the Citizens Jury process as it was conducted for 28 years by the Jefferson Center, and review proposals for future use. The Jefferson Center stopped promoting the process because public officials did not pay enough attention to its recommendations. But voters loved projects conducted in the 90s that evaluated candidates on their stands on issues. Electoral reforms based on citizens juries that bring trustworthy information to voters will be reviewed. Participants will be asked for comments and suggestions for how to move ahead with this effort.
The Contexts of Dialogue: Three Perspectives
John G. Bell, Antioch University Seattle; Robin R. Fenske and Patrick J. Hill, The Evergreen State College; Jolanda Westerhof-Shultz, Grand Valley State University/ College of Education
This session explores three of the many contexts in which the power and limitations of dialogue can be assessed. In the broadest perspective, that of systems thinking, we are reminded that individuals or groups are part of a matrix of relationships that is forgotten or distorted by an overemphasis on the individuals or groups in face-to- face dialogue. A second perspective highlights the multiplicity of factors that subtly undermine the potential of dialogue. And a third perspective, focusing on the classroom, calls attention to the enhanced potential of deliberative dialogue in a context wherein pedagogical goals have been radically transformed from the traditional Socratic regimen. Three papers were submitted about these perspectives; these papers were available for viewing on the NCDD website before the conference.
The Practice of Deliberative Democracy & Its Embeddedness in Communities
Elena Fagotto and Abby Williamson, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
The panelists will present preliminary findings from a research project being conducted at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government on public deliberation. The research project has two components: 1) the mapping of the deliberative democracy field and 2) an analysis of how deliberation impacts communities and may be embedded into how communities address local problems on an on-going basis. The first component examines the range of major models of public deliberation and charts the models based on their distribution, frequency, and strengths and weaknesses to advance the field's understanding of the uses of deliberation. The second component analyzes mature cases of civic deliberation in the U.S. to examine whether and how practices of civic deliberation have become embedded in communities -- in other words, to see if communities that have used public deliberation in certain contexts apply deliberative tools also to other areas of decision making and problem solving.
Tools and Techniques For Online Dialogue and Deliberation
Bob Carlitz, Information Renaissance; Tim Erickson, St. Paul E-Democracy; Additional presenters TBD.
This session will provide participants with an introduction to the tools, technologies, and techniques available for managing and facilitating online dialogues and deliberation. We will present several case studies, provide a detailed list of online resources, and ask participants to share their own experiences. Handouts will include: A list of technology resources (including links), sample "rules and guidelines" for managing online dialogues, and several different examples or models for local, national, and international dialogues.
Traces of the Trade: Film-based Dialogue on White Privilege
Harold Fields, Denver Victim Offender Reconciliation Program; Holly Fulton, Abraham Lincoln High School; Pam Korza, Americans for the Arts; Chris Waldron, Andover Newton Theological School
In the documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, filmmaker Katrina Browne tells the story of her Rhode Island ancestors, the largest slave-trading family in early America. DeWolf family descendents were filmed as they retraced the notorious Triangle Trade route to uncover a family's, a region's, and a nation's hidden past and, as white Americans, to engage in dialogue with each other about the contemporary legacy of slavery. When completed, Traces will be used as a dialogue catalyst on issues of white privilege, individual and collective responsibility, and repair. The session will show a compelling assembly of scenes to stimulate peer exchange on ways to inspire dialogue among white citizens that fosters understanding about their history as one intertwined with the history of slavery and racism. Topics for mutual exploration include: the advantages and disadvantages of using film as a catalyst for civic dialogue; how the little known history of New England's role in slavery can offer insights into contemporary racism and support meaningful dialogue; the role of empathy and emotion in dialogues on race; as well as other issues, challenges, and practices from participants' own experiences.
Using the Arts to Promote Dialogue Among Youth
Diana Brittain, Performing ArtWorks; Karen Eberle-Smith and Stella Yu, Arts Street (Mayor's Office of Workforce Development, City & County of Denver)
Arts Street will introduce the concept of using the arts to promote dialogue and deliberation among inner-city youth. The program uses hands-on job training as a tool to activate adolescents to develop problem solving skills, learn teamwork and build consensus toward completing work, on-time and on-budget, for community clients. Through theatre techniques and a visual art exercise, the Arts Street presenters will guide conference attendees in a process to learn critical analysis, and to develop communication, negotiation and presentation skills which are applicable to other situations in life.
Why Aren't We Making Long Term Institutional Change, and How Could We?
William R. Caspary, Gallatin School at NYU; Len Krimerman, Grassroots Economic Organizing and U-CONN
What, we will ask, are the obstacles we face in having "a greater collective impact...", i.e., in making long-term, enduring, and structural (institutional) changes? Which of these obstacles are we ourselves responsible for, or able to offset? In small groups, participants will come up with their own remedies for our apparent lack of ongoing influence on main stream institutions, i.e., their own proposals for having wider and deeper sorts of impacts on public issues and public policy. Back in the large group, we will address the question of just who these remedies and proposals are to be addressed to, and attempt to identify groups who want to continue discussing and begin implementing any of them.
What Comes After Dialogue and Deliberation? Civic Organizing as a Way to Transform Talk into Tangible and Sustainable Change
Melinda Patrician and Palma Strand, Arlington Forum
Dialogue and deliberation processes focus on creating relationships, enhancing participants'; awareness, or arriving at decisions that draw in a broad range of those affected and concerned. There is often a general hope that these processes will ripple outward and have lasting effects, and participants are often encouraged to view themselves as change agents. A civic organizing approach and civic organizing techniques give people who have participated in dialogue and deliberation processes tools that enable them to intentionally transform their organizations and communities. The proposed session will introduce participants to civic organizing theory and techniques, distinguish civic organizing from other modes of social change (including community organizing), and provide experiential exercises that provide a grounding in basic civic organizing skills.
Wisdom Council Experiments and Experiences
Jean Rough, Center for Wise Democracy; Jim Rough, Jim Rough and Associates, Inc.
Wouldn't it be great to involve large numbers of people from the Left and Right in dialogue on the key issues? The Wisdom Council is a new social invention that promises that and more ... much more. It promises to involve everyone, not just lots of people. It provides a way that all can be part of ONE conversation on difficult emotional issues, as well as many small groups. And it facilitates a near-consensus of all. Impossible you say? Come hear about the growing number of experiments that demonstrate that this new process really works -- like in the Department of Agriculture of Washington State, among homeless people in Eugene, OR, or in the city of Pleasantville, NY. Part of the workshop will be to view a 22-minute video illustration of one experiment with Jackson County, OR, entitled "Democracy in America," and to consider the national experiment slated for September.
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Three-hour workshops...
The following workshops will be held on Sunday, October 24th from 2:30 - 5:45 pm. Please refer to the guidebook schedule insert for the locations of each workshop.
Accelerating the Discovery, Evolution & Implementation of Socially Valuable Ideas
Mitch Saunders, Action Learning Partners, Inc.
In this workshop you will experience first-hand a "Laboratory for Social Invention." This is a kind of dynamic dialogue that enables participants to uncover and influence the emergence of deeper purposes and opportunities that often appear on the surface as confusion, stuckness, or conflict. You will also learn how a diverse group can provide a protected forum to help surface, sort through, and experiment with options in response to complex dilemmas. We will demonstrate how a group can be focused and facilitated to serve as a "greenhouse" to accelerate the discovery of socially valuable ideas, new modes of leadership, and organizing tools used to foster sustainable change. This Laboratory is based on two simple premises. First, whenever two or more are gathered, enormous creativity, wisdom and grace can be evoked and utilized, if you know how. Second, powerful, natural forces for positive change are always present and available as resources, even amidst even the toughest transitions, daunting challenges, and unfamiliar circumstances.
Consensus: Decisions That Bring People Together
Tree Bressen, Group Process Consultant
How does a group move from dialogue and deliberation to a decision? Bringing together the wisdom of the group is a nice ideal, but how do you do it effectively? This workshop will offer a coherent approach to consensus decision-making, including the official structures (agreement, standing aside, blocking), the principles underlying them, and what it really takes to make them work. Participants will leave this session with a basic understanding of and ability to apply secular consensus process to group decisions.
Diagnosing & Deciding What Process is Most Appropriate in Different Contexts
Jan Elliott, Fielding Graduate Institute and Public Policy Forum; Barnett Pearce, Public Dialogue Consortium and Fielding Graduate Institute; Hal Saunders and Phil Stewart, International Institute for Sustained Dialogue
How to decide what approach is best suited for your purposes? This workshop will explore this question from the perspective of different approaches and practitioners. Participants will interact with session facilitators to develop together and share experience and expertise about making diagnostic distinctions, and coming up with diagnostic questions. The workshop will strive to produce a "learning template" for helping to make diagnostic distinctions. There are many different approaches and technologies available. This session will strive to help practitioners in the field learn together how to distinguish and choose. The workshop's goal is to help us all put a spotlight on key distinctions among various methods. We see this as a workshop session in which we are all learners.
Dialogue as a Force for Transformation -- of Ourselves, Our Groups, & Our World
Tom Atlee, The Co-Intelligence Institute; Craig Hamilton, "What Is Enlightenment?" magazine; Patricia A. Wilson, University of Texas in Austin
Dialogue can generate the transformational wisdom we need by deepening us into authentic encounter with ourselves, each other and the energy of our planetary challenges and opportunities at this moment in evolution. Session leaders will share stories of the transformational power of dialogue. Participants will then experience about an hour-and-a-half of "enlightened communication." Developed by Andrew Cohen of What is Enlightenment? magazine, this group dialogue modality is an experiment in conscious evolution beyond ego which focuses specifically on the awakening and expression of the deepest, most authentic part of ourselves. The group will then explore together how the collective intelligence and wisdom capacity of group dialogue can influence the world and its problems. This will include a discussion of the work of Deep Democracy, and the citizen deliberative councils Tom Atlee writes about. Participants can expect to gain a deeper realization of the power of dialogue in personal, group, transpersonal and political/societal realms.
Embodying Bohmian Dialogue
Lee Nichol, Author; Ray Seigfried, Christiana Care Health System
In this session, two long-time practitioners will provide a framework for the practice of Bohmian Dialogue. Although the session is specifically designed for those who intend to experience Bohm's dialogue in the post-training session, it can serve as an introduction for anyone who is interested. Topics to be explored include individual and collective participation; thought, body, and emotions; proprioception of thought; the impulse of "necessity"; the flow of meaning; solo dialogue; and creative insights as a foundation for a new culture.
Framing an Issue for Deliberation
Stacie Molnar-Main and Harris Sokoloff, Graduate School of Education, Univ. of Pennsylvania; Nandini Saxena and Judy Watling, Canadian Policy Research Networks
An issue well?framed is an issue half?addressed. And the way an issue is framed for dialogue or deliberation will provide the context for the work participants do. This workshop will provide an introduction to framing an issue. While the workshop will focus on the model developed by the National Issues Forum Institute, we will also discuss variations of that model that have been utilized in different contexts. We will start with an overview of the theory/perspective behind this kind of issue?framing, including what counts as an issue and the possible roles of expert knowledge in understanding and working through issues. We will then go through the initial steps of framing an issue for public deliberation. Case study examples will be provided to enhance participants' learning. In particular, we will focus on the Canadian Policy Research Networks' (CPRN) experiences in framing a highly complex, scientific public policy issue and how that framing was used by randomly chosen citizens in a national deliberative dialogue. Participants will leave the workshop with an understanding of the NIF theory of and CPRNs approach to issue-framing, an outline of the issue framing process, a beginning framework for an issue, and an awareness of possible applications and strategies for issue framing in various contexts.
Interreligious Conversations to Encourage Simple and Profound Acts
Emily Axelrod, Axelrod Group; Dr. Ingrid Richter, Threshold Associates; Rita Schweitz, ChangeWorks of the Rockies; Helen Spector, Spector & Associates
Experience a new methodology developed for the Parliament of the Worlds' Religions that enables people of diverse faiths from around the world to build relationships across faiths and cultures, deepen their understanding of critical issues that impact their community, and engage their faith or institutional communities in simple yet profound acts that create positive change in health, wellbeing and peace for those impacted by the issues. See how the teachings of the religious/spiritual traditions of the world (our own and others') can inspire us to act, and inform us as we develop our responses to critical issues facing our local and global communities. Join us to learn about 5 international, interreligious, multi-language conversations designed to encourage multiple stakeholders to individually commit to simple and profound acts to impact the issues of overcoming religiously-motivated violence, increasing access to safe water, supporting refugees, and reducing third-world debt. Learn about the effect these conversations had on over 800 participants and hear some of their commitments for change. See a display of graphic recordings that illustrate the deep dialogues that occurred. Explore how your own faith/religious/spiritual traditions might compel you to take action on a critical world issue. Share personal stories relating to critical world issues. Learn how dialogue that engages the spirit as well as the heart and mind can help us create a more just, peaceful and sustainable world.
An Introduction to Future Search
Kenoli Oleari, The Global Democracy Institute and San Francisco Neighborhood Assemblies Network
This session will introduce Future Search, an important large group methodology developed by Sandra Janoff and Marv Weisbord. Marv is one of the key contributors to organization development practice in the United States. Future search is the culmination of decades of research and experience by many practitioners working with organizational dynamics and provides a concise way to affect system-wide change efficiently and effectively. The workshop will be a hands-on introduction to the process, providing an introduction to the principles, practice with the application and resources and direction to resources that will allow practitioners to become competent with future search.
Introduction to Spiral Dynamics
Ben Levi, Levi Consulting Group
Spiral Dynamics is a model that describes the evolution of human consciousness in terms of value-systems...why we believe what we believe. Understanding how we evolve in consciousness can be very useful for the D&D practitioner when facilitating groups, because: a) it provides a better understanding of the value-systems that people are coming from; b) it encourages the practitioner to have compassion for where people are in their development; and c) it provides ways to encourage people to be more open to expanding their ability to appreciate different value-systems in others (i.e. promotes compassion). This brief introduction will give you an overview of the Spiral Dynamics model, how it fits into a more inclusive AQAL model created by Ken Wilber, and its application to promoting conscious evolution. Learning objectives include developing a basic understanding of the Spiral Dynamics model of the evolution of human consciousness; learning how Spiral Dynamics enhances understanding and communication; and gaining an understanding of the evolution of your own values system.
Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue: A How-to of Beginning, Sustaining, and Outreach
Elias Botto, Len Traubman, DDS, MSD and Libby Traubman, MSW, Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group
The how-to of Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue will be presented in sound intellectual framework and face-to-face experience, based in on-the-ground experience. Libby and Len Traubman co-founded the 12-year-old Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group on the San Francisco Peninsula. These 30 women and men -- Holocaust survivors and 20th generation Palestinians -- after 147 meetings, continue learning how to change strangers into friends, "enemies" into partners. With face-to-face listening and relationship building, they initiate concrete projects that help people and invigorate the public peace process, here and overseas. Elements of this workshop will include: (1) story as entry to dialogue, (2) the process of social change through dialogue and expanding identification, and (3) beginning, maturing, and growing a dialogue. Participant will be able to return home to initiate and sustain a local dialogue. Printed guidelines and videos will be provided.
Personal Presence, Resilience and Dialogue Facilitation
Glenna Gerard, Glenna Gerard Unlimited, Inc. and The Dialogue Group
As facilitators of collective processes like dialogue, we are responsible for designing, creating and sustaining the energetic fields/containers that enable groups of people to build relationships and create higher degrees of coherence around topics and questions that are deeply important and often charged with emotion. To do our work we need a diverse toolkit of activities, guidelines, and processes. But even more important, this work requires a highly developed capacity to hold the tensions, diversities, even paradoxes that arise within circles in a way that creates the opening for people's perceptions to move from the "level of the problem or disturbance" to one of new insight and possibility. This is no small thing. It demands our sustained attention. Yet all too often because of our busy schedules and multiple demands we neglect the strengthening of this essential capacity. This session is about the practices that help us to develop our own presence, resilience, and ability to hold tension and use paradox as generative gateways for new flows of energy and insight. You are invited to join in an actual practice of "presencing" to renew your internal reserves and sense into your personal needs for sustainable development as a facilitator/practitioner of dialogue.
Writing, Dialogue, and Community: Sharing What We Know
SY Bowland and Mary Adams Trujillo, Practitioners & Scholars Research Insititute (PRASI)
Dialogue professionals (anyone who takes the work seriously, regardless of pay status) are in a unique position to observe and faciltiate conflict resolution. By documenting these experiences, with an eye toward publication, readers can learn from dialogue professionals. Participants in this workshop will 1) enhance observational and analytical skills, 2) enhance writing and communication strategies to produce narratives which reflect their insights, 3) explore publication opportunities, and 4) experience a supportive writing community. Particular emphasis will be focused on the role of culture, both for the observer and the observed.
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