The Most Highly Recommended Resources
Organizations to Contact
How to Get a Dialogue Started
Build Dialogue-Related Skills
The Growth and Development of the Dialogue Process
Listservs, E-Newsletters and Similar Resources
Videos That Stimulate Discussion and Inspire Action
Race and Racism in America
Teachers and Trainers
Links - Dialogue Resources
Links - Groups that Organize Dialogues
Links - Intergroup Relations & Human Rights
Links - Peace and Conflict Transformation
Links - Higher Ed. Resources & Dialogue Programs
Links - Resources for K-12 Educators
Links - Community Change & Activism
Links - Community Building
Best Organizations to Contact for Resources or Assistance
The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)
P.O. Box 402, Brattleboro, VT 05302; Phone: 802-254-7341; www.thataway.org/ncdd; Sandy Heierbacher:
Also housed here at www.thataway.org, NCDD is a Coalition of organizations and individuals who are committed to strengthening and uniting the growing dialogue and deliberation community. Initially formed to organize the first National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation in October 2002, which brought together practitioners and theorists from across the entire spectrum of D&D practice, NCDD continues to grow in scope and membership.
National Issues Forum
Phone: 800-433-7834; www.nifi.org; Ginny O'Connor:
NIF is a nationwide network of educational and community organizations that deliberate about nation-wide issues. In 2000, three deliberation guides were produced that are of interest to organizers in the dialogue field: Racial and Ethnic Tensions: What Should We Do?, Money and Politics: Who Owns Democracy?, and Violent Kids: Can We Change The Trend? Some of NIF's reports may also be of interest, such as Public Schools: Are They Making The Grade?, Mission Uncertain: Reassessing America's Global Role, Our Nation's Kids: Is Something Wrong?, and Governing America: Our Choices, Our Challenge.
Public Conversations Project
46 Kondazian Street, Watertown, MA 02472-2832; Phone: 617-923-1216; www.publicconversations.org;
The Public Conversations Project designs and facilitates conversations in which people who have become destructively divided by their differences can deliberately avoid repeating their habitual, unproductive ways of relating and, instead develop new modes of communicating that lead to mutual understanding, respect and trust. In addition to their groundbreaking grassroots dialogue work, PCP provides trainings, presentations, and workshops on such topics as the power of dialogue and inquiry as intervention. PCP's website offers a variety of great tools to help you organize and facilitate a dialogue.
Study Circles Resource Center
Phone: 860-928-2616; , www.studycircles.org
The Study Circles Resource Center helps communities organize study circles - small-group, democratic, highly participatory discussions that give everyday people the opportunity to make a difference in their communities. SCRC provides free and low-cost publications to communities across the country which are interested in organizing dialogues utilizing the Study Circles model, and SCRC staff members are willing to work with community leaders throughout the process.
Best "How-to Resources" to Help You Get a Dialogue Started
Community Resource Manual. 1997. Richmond, VA: Hope in the Cities.
This manual taps into the powerful grassroots movement to heal racial division through community-based dialogue. Focuses on a proven process emphasizing honest words and effective action by teams of people of all races, many faiths and diverse political views. Offers case studies and specific principles that can be adapted by dialogue organizers to meet local needs. $30. Email or call 804-358-1764 for ordering information.
Constructive Conversations for Challenging Times: A Guide for Home and Community Dialogue. 2001. Watertown, MA: Public Conversations Project.
This 38-page downloadable resource is designed for those who want to convene and facilitate constructive conversations about the events of September 11 and all that has happened since. Available in pdf format and MS Word format at www.publicconversations.org.
National Issues Forum Starter Kit. National Issues Forum.
By offering citizens a framework for deliberative forums, the NIF network helps the public take an active role in policy decision making. The NIF Starter Kit includes the Public Policy Institute Guide, a summary of NIF's discussion guides, a moderator guide, and a network contact list. To order the kit, email Ruffolo at or call 800-600-4060. For more info, go to www.nifi.org/starter.html.
Study Circles Resource Center Publications
Some of SCRC's excellent materials are:
- Facing the Future: How Should we Respond to the Attack on our Nation? (2001)
- Organizing Community-Wide Dialogue for Action and Change (2001)
- Protecting Communities, Serving the Public: Police and Residents Building Relationships to Work Together (2001)
- A Guide for Training Study Circle Facilitators (1998)
- Facing the Challenge of Racism and Race Relations: Democratic Dialogue and Action for Stronger Communities (1997)
Download these (and other) guides onto your computer at the SCRC website for free, or contact SCRC to order them for a small charge: PO Box 203, Pomfret, CT 06258; phone: 860-928-2616; fax: 860-928-3713; e-mail: , website: www.studycircles.org.
Best Resources to Help You Build Dialogue-Related Skills
Adams, Maurianne, Lee Anne Bell and Pat Griffin, editors. 1997. Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A Sourcebook. New York, NY: Routledge.
Civic Index: Measuring Your Community's Civic Health, 2nd Edition. 1999. The National Civic League.
This revised edition of the Civic Index is a 12-point community self-evaluation tool. Whether the challenges being faced are economic development, low-income housing, transportation planning, or any other, the healthy functioning of the 12 components of the Civic Index is vital for success. Click here to order this 127-page book for $23 from NCL, or click here to read about other great NCL publications.
A Community Builder's Tool Kit: 15 Tools for Creating Healthy, Productive Interracial/ Multicultural Communities. 2001. Anti-Racism Initiative of the Institute for Democratic Renewal and Project Change.
This primer for revitalizing democracy from the ground up can be downloaded for free or ordered for $1.50 per copy from www.race-democracy.org.
Katz, Judy H. 1978. White Awareness: Handbook for Anti-Racism Training. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Kretzmann, John P and John L. McKnight. 1993. Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community?’s Assets. Evanston, IL: the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University?’s Institute for Policy Research.
Mattessich, Paul, Ph.D. and Barbara Monsy, M.P.H. 1997. Community Building: What Makes it Work. Saint Paul, MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.
Rees, Fran. 1998. The Facilitator Excellence Handbook: Helping People Work Creatively and Productively Together. Pfeiffer & Company.
Senge, Peter, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard B. Ross, and Bryan J. Smith. 1994. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Stephan, Walter and Cookie. 2001. Improving Intergroup Relations. Sage Publications.
A comprehensive review and evaluation of various techniques for improving intergroup relations, including intergroup dialogue.
Best Resources About the Dialogue Movement & Process
Abu-Nimer, Mohammed. 1999. Dialogue, Conflict Resolution, and Change: Arab-Jewish Encounters in Israel (Suny Series in Israeli Studies). State University of New York.
Bohm, David (Lee Nichol, Editor). 1996. On Dialogue. Routledge: New York, NY.
Ellinor, Linda and Glenna Gerard. 1998. Dialogue: Rediscover the Transforming Power of Conversation. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fowler, Anne, et. al. "Talking With The Enemy." The Boston Globe, January 28, 2001.
For six years, leaders on both sides of the abortion debate met in secret in an attempt to better understand each other through dialogue with the Public Conversations Project. Click here for the article.
Heierbacher, Sandy. 1999. Needs and Strategies of Today's Dialogue Groups: A Survey of 75 Leaders of Dialogue Organizations. Brattleboro, VT: Center for Living Democracy.
Click here for the results of this 1998-99 survey which uncovered, among other things, the need that dialogue programs have for ways to integrate action with dialogue more effectively.
Isaacs, William N. 1999. Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together. New York, NY: Currency.
Isaacs is a colleague of organizational learning guru Peter Senge (who wrote the introduction) and one of the founders of MIT's Organizational Learning Center. He also directed MIT's Dialogue Project, on which this book is based. Isaacs argues that organizational learning cannot take place without successful dialogue. For more info, go to www.thinkingtogether.com/publications/pubs.html.
Kuttab, Jonathan. The Pitfalls of Dialogue. Conflict Resolution Center International Newsletter, January 1998, pp 25-26. Click here for the article.
This article, written by a Palestinian attorney with many years of dialogue experience, describes some common problems with intergroup dialogue and suggests some basic solutions.
Saunders, Harold H. 1999. A Public Peace Process: Sustained Dialogue to Transform Racial and Ethnic Conflicts. St. Martin?’s Press.
Harold Saunders, now Director of International Programs at the Kettering Foundation, distills over 35 years of experience working with conflicts across the globe. This book describes how structured dialogue can help conflicting groups of citizens move toward resolution.
Schoem, David and Sylvia Hurtado. 2001. Intergroup Dialogue: Deliberative Democracy in School, College, Community and Workplace. University of Michigan Press.
A comprehensive overview of intergroup dialogue which includes 12 in-depth case studies, critical perspectives and the foundation of dialogue in democratic theory. Each of the case studies, which are drawn from leading organizations in the dialogue field, present the program's rationale, an account of its successes, and evaluation data.
Sirianni, Carmen and Lewis Friedland. 2001. Civic Innovation in America: Community Empowerment, Public Policy, and the Movement for Civic Renewal. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
This comprehensive book charts the progress of and best practices in the civic renewal movement. A must-have for those involved in deliberative democracy.
Tatum, Beverly Daniel, Ph.D. 1997. "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Yankelovich, Daniel. 1999. The Magic of Dialogue. Simon and Schuster.
The author is the co-founder of Public Agenda, an organization which helps policy makers better understand the public's point of view on major policy issues while helping citizens better understand critical policy issues so they can make their own more informed and thoughtful decisions. Public Agenda's conversation process and materials present issues in a nonpartisan and stimulating way.
Best Listservs, E-Newsletters and Similar Resources
Resource: CODEP Email Newsletter
Organization: CODEP (Conflict, Development and Peace Network) brings together NGOs, consultants, academics and donors who work in development, human rights and peacebuilding to explore the causes of conflict, its impact on people and to improve practice.
To subscribe/view: Go to www.codep.org.uk.
To submit: Email Kathleen Armstrong () with details on recent publications, upcoming workshops, conferences or seminars, ongoing or completed research and/or projects.
Resource: Civilrights.org (The Online Social Justice Network)
Organization: The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a coalition of 180 organizations working for equality and justice.
To subscribe/view: Go to www.civilrights.org.
To submit: Go to www.civilrights.org to post events to the calendar, add content to the library, etc.
More: Civilrights.org provides a home for policy perspectives, strategies, and research.
Resource: DialogueLeaders Email Discussion List
Organization: Dialogue to Action Initiative
To subscribe/view: Email with the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.
To submit: Email if you have announcements for the list.
More: Go to http://www.thataway.org/dialogue/list/list_intro.htm for more info.
Resource: IGC's PeaceNet, AntiRacismNet, WomensNet and EcoNet.
Organization: IGC, the 'progressive gateway to the web,' provides a great venue in which to promote advocacy campaigns, mobilize support, generate participation at events, recruit staff and volunteers, draw visitors to your web site, and raise funds.
To subscribe/view: Go to www.igc.org/igc/gateway/arnindex.html for this week's headlines and alerts. To subscribe to IGC-News send a message to . To subscribe to PeaceNet-News, send a message to .
Resource: MCPavilion
Organization: The Multicultural Pavilion's email discussion forum on multicultural issues and education.
To subscribe/view: Go to http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/multicultural/issues.html or send a message to with this in the body of the message: subscribe mcpavilion [email protected].
To submit: Email .
Resource: The Southern States Action Bulletin
Organization: Southern Catalyst Network (SCN), a project of the Southern Institute for Education and Research, a non-profit race and ethnic relations center based at Tulane University in New Orleans, dedicated to promoting tolerance, respect and harmony in the South through education, training and research.
To submit: To submit news items regarding progressive work, organizational programs, news of interest, or hate-group activity in your area, contact .
More: For more info on SCN, call 504-865-6100 x3 or go to www.southerncatalyst.org
Best Videos That Best Stimulate Discussion and Inspire Action
The Color of Fear. 1994.
This 90-minute film captures a multiracial group of eight men engaged in intense and riveting dialogue about racism. This powerful film makes clear why intergroup dialogue on racism can be difficult and why it is so necessary. Contact Stir Fry Seminars at 1-800-370-STIR or . Each video is $460 for educational institutions and $110 for individuals.
The Difference Deliberative Dialogue Makes: The Diversity and Community Project at Franklin Pierce College. 2002. The New England Center for Civic Life.
This 52-minute documentary video production chronicles a 4-year-old campus dialogue project on diversity issues which has engaged students, faculty and staff both in and outside the classroom in a unique type of public discourse that is patterned on the National Issue Forums. The video tells the story of how policy-oriented deliberative forums and the related practice of "sustained dialogue" helped change a rural New England college campus from a state of racial conflict and crisis to one of increased tolerance and respect for diversity. The video captures the experience of what it is like to be a participant in these dialogue groups and explains how such experiences educate and transform those involved. $25.00 (including shipping and handling). Email Doug Challenger at for purchase instructions.
Essential Blue-Eyed (aka "Brown Eyed, Blue Eyed"). Produced by ABC News.
A wake-up call for all ages, this best-selling program teaches about prejudice using a dramatic framework. It provides an examination of the realities of discrimination as experienced by actual students in the classroom of third grade teacher, Jane Elliott, whose demonstration shows how quickly children can succumb to discriminatory behavior. The video shows how easily prejudicial attitudes can lead to frustration, broken friendships and vicious behavior. This special Trainer?’s Version condensed the original film 86-minute film to its most insightful 50 minutes. Includes a new 36-minute debriefing in which Jane Elliott shows how to help participants apply the lessons of her exercise to their daily work lives. $295 from Guidance Associates (http://store.yahoo.com/guidanceassociates/).
Skin Deep: College Students Confront Racism. 1995.
This 53-minute video vividly illustrates students of color and white students at different stages of racial identity and demonstrates the possibility of growth as a result of dialogue. Order from California Newsreel (www.newsreel.org) or Iris Films (www.irisfilms.org) for $195.
True Colors. 1991.
ABC News correspondent Diane Sawyer follows two anonymous discrimination testers, one Black and one White, as they separately shop at the same stores and car dealership and seek employment and housing. This 19-minute video clearly and powerfully illustrates the reality of white privilege.
Tutu and Franklin: A Journey Towards Peace. Active Voice.
Documents the historic first encounter between Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and renowned historian and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Dr. John Hope Franklin. On Goree Island , the infamous former slave port off the coast of Senegal in West Africa , the two meet and discover surprising truths about their personal histories and their nations?’ struggles for racial peace. They are joined in these conversations by an international, interracial group of 21 teenagers. Together they engage in a series of unusually candid encounters on race and begin an emotional journey towards racial reconciliation. Contact Elaine Shen, Director of Training and Partnerships, for more information (415-553-2846 or ). You can also visit www.activevoice.net.
A Public Voice. Milton B. Hoffman Productions.
Each year, many public television stations around the nation air an hour-long program that features U.S. citizens deliberating in National Issues Forums around the nation. The programs also feature distinguished panels of nationally known political leaders, commentators and journalists meeting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to reflect on what this "public voice" may mean in setting direction for America. In 2002, the topic was ?“Racial and Ethnic Tensions.?” In 2001, it was ?“Money and Politics.?” For a list of these videos, go to www.nifi.org/catp1.html. Tapes of these programs are available for $6.50 each. To order, e-mail Ruffolo at , call 1-800-600-4060, or FAX 937-435-7367.
The Way Home. 1998. Shakti Butler (Producer/Director). Oakland, CA: World Trust.
This 92-minute video powerfully depicts the 8-month dialogue experience of 64 women who came together to share their experiences of oppression through the lens of race. The Way Home video and conversation guide is $75 for students, $99 for individuals, and $350 for institutions. Order on-line at www.world-trust.org or by phone (510-595-3322 or 877-WAY-HOME).
Best Books & Articles About Race and Racism in America
Ezekiel, Raphael S. 1996. The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen. Penguin USA.
Hardiman, Rita and Bailey W. Jackson. 1992. "Racial Identity Development: Understanding Racial Dynamics in College Classrooms and on Campus." In Promoting Diversity in College Classrooms: Innovative Responses for the Curriculum, Faculty, and Institutions.
Kivel, Paul. 1996. Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. Montpelier, VT: New Society Publishers.
Loewen, James. 1995. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York: Simon & Schuster.
McIntosh, Peggy. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," Peace and Freedom. July/August 1989, 10-12.
Takaki, Ronald. 1993. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Little, Brown and Company.
Wilson, Midge and Kathy Russell. 1996. Divided Sisters: Bridging the Gap Between Black Women and White Women. New York, NY: Anchor Books.
Best Resources for Teachers & Trainers
Adams, Maurianne, Lee Anne Bell and Pat Griffin, editors. 1997. Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A Sourcebook. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gaetano, Ronald. 1990. Please Talk With Me: A Guide to Teen-Adult Dialogue. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
Hate Crimes: ADL Blueprint for Action. 1997. Anti-Defamation League.
This booklet is a compilation of ADL initiatives that can be instituted in a variety of settings. It features information on college and university-based anti-bias initiatives and a section specifically on responding to bias incidents in college dormitories. Go to www.adl.org for more info.
Humphreys, Debra. Campus Diversity and Student Self-Segregation: Separating Myths from Facts. Assoc. of American Colleges & Universities. Click here for the article.
Kleiber, Pamela B., Ed.D., Margaret E. Holt, Ed.D., and Jill Dianne Swenson, Ph.D. The Electronic Forum Handbook: Study Circles in Cyberspace.
This handbook results from the experience of moderators trained in face-to-face dialogue who experimented with an electronic version on the internet. Two classes-one at Ithaca College in New York and one at the University of Georgia-were paired for an electronic dialogue experience in 1994. The Handbook is based in part on Study Circles Resource Center materials. Click here for the handbook.
Lee, E., Menkart, D. and Okazawa-Rey, M., Eds. 1999. Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development. Washington, DC: Network of Educators on the Americas. Available from NECA, PO Box 73038, Washington, DC 20056-3038; email: .
Schoem, David, Linda Frankel, Zimena Zúńiga, and Edith A. Lewis. Multicultural Teaching in the University: A Sourcebook. 1995. Westport, CT: Praeger.
This excellent anthology includes articles on intergroup relations courses and programs. It also includes valuable information about training teachers and facilitators of intergroup dialogues and learning, and examples of effective classroom and workshop exercises.
Violent Kids: Can We Change The Trend? 2000. National Issues Forum. Download or order this deliberation guide at www.nifi.org.
Warters, William C. 1999. Mediation in the Campus Community: Designing and Managing Effective Programs. Jossey-Bass.
Best Links to Dialogue Resources
The Animating Democracy Initiative www.artsusa.org/animatingdemocracy
Launched in fall 1999, ADI is a four-year programmatic initiative of Americans for the Arts which fosters artistic activity that encourages civic dialogue on important contemporary issues.
Civic Practices Network (CPN) www.cpn.org
CPN's website features an array of excellent resources for the new citizenship movement. The Network shares a commitment to bringing practical methods for public problem solving into every community and institutional setting in the U.S.
Community Builder's Tool Kit www.race-democracy.org
This 2000/2001 primer for revitalizing democracy from the ground up can be downloaded for free or ordered for $1.50 per copy. The Tool Kit was developed through the Anti-Racism Initiative of the Institute for Democratic Renewal and Project Change.
Evaluation of Dialogue Groups www.westernjustice.org/stephan_survey.htm
Walter G. Stephan, Ph.D., of New Mexico State University designed this pre- and post-dialogue survey to help dialogue organizers and facilitators assess the effectiveness of the dialogues in transforming people's attitudes and actions.
IGC Internet www.igc.org
The nonprofit Institute for Global Communications (IGC) offers activists in the areas of peace, environmentalism, feminism, and anti-racism a place on the Internet to learn, meet, and organize. Click here to go directly to the AntiRacismNet.
National Issues Forum www.nifi.org
NIF is a nationwide network of educational and community organizations that deliberate about nationwide issues. NIF publishes deliberation guides on such topics as Racial and Ethnic Tensions: What Should We Do?, Money and Politics: Who Owns Democracy?, and Violent Kids: Can We Change The Trend?
National MultiCultural Institute www.nmci.org
NMCI is a national training and development organization which holds diversity conferences, conducts trainings, develops educational resource materials and initiates special projects of interest to the field. Organizations and communities which contact NMCI can request many types of diversity trainings, including interracial dialogue.
President Clinton's Initiative on Race click here
Although the One America resources (the dialogue guide, the Advisory Board's report to President Clinton, the promising practices, etc.) are no longer accessible on the White House website, they are all archived at this location. The web address has changed, but not much else.
Public Conversations Project www.publicconversations.org
In addition to their groundbreaking grassroots dialogue work, PCP provides trainings, presentations, and workshops on such things as the power of dialogue, inquiry as intervention, and the architecture of dialogue. PCP's website offers a variety of great tools to help you organize and facilitate a dialogue.
The San Mateo Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group click here
Len and Libby Traubman have been organizing Jewish-Palestinian dialogue in the San Francisco area for over a decade. Their website features a 'how to' page on initiating Jewish-Palestinian dialogue groups, as well as many great articles and links. The Traubmans have spawned a number of similar, yet diverse groups in the Bay area, and their ideas are spreading into new cities and campuses.
Study Circles Resource Center www.studycircles.org
SCRC promotes and supports study circles (small-group, democratic, peer-led discussions, or dialogues, on important social and political issues). Their website provides downloadable copies of many of their top-notch dialogue guides and other resources.
Tolerance.org www.tolerance.org
Tolerance.org aims to create a national community committed to human rights. Along with fabulous sections on instances of intolerance, practical, proven action steps to take, online space for discussing events and issues about tolerance and hate, and an online activity for examining your own level of tolerance, Tolerance.org provides a clickable map of U.S. human rights groups.
The United Nations Year for Dialogue Among Civilizations
www.un.org/Dialogue and www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/en/natcom.htm
The UN General Assembly proclaimed the year 2001 as the "United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations." The resolution, proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and supported by a large number of countries, invited governments and the UN system to plan and implement cultural, educational and social programs to promote the concept of dialogue among civilizations. Also check out the Iran-based International Centre for Dialogue Among Civilizations' site: www.dialoguecentre.org.
Western Justice Center www.westernjustice.org
The Western Justice Center seeks new ways to resolve conflicts and improve the quality of justice. Their website provides an online database (not updated since 1998 or so) to help people connect with organizations working to prevent violence, resolve conflicts and promote intergroup dialogue and cross-cultural collaboration.
Best Links to Groups that Organize Dialogues
AmericaSpeaks www.americaspeaks.org
Promoting the founding belief that every citizen has a right to impact the decisions of government, AmericaSpeaks serves as a neutral convener of large-scale public participation forums. Through close consultation with leaders, citizens, the media and others, AmericaSpeaks designs and facilitates deliberative meetings for 500 to 5,000 participants. Its partners have included regional planning groups, local, state, and national government bodies, and national organizations. Issues have ranged from Social Security reform to redevelopment of ground zero in New York.
Community Relations Service www.usdoj.gov/crs
CRS, an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, is a specialized Federal conciliation service available to State and local officials to help resolve and prevent racial and ethnic conflict, violence and civil disorders. CRS helps local officials and residents tailor locally defined resolutions when conflict and violence threaten community stability and well-being.
Conversation Café www.conversationcafe.org
Vicki Robin, a pioneer in the voluntary simplicity movement, came up with the idea of using the "conversation café" model in attempts to take her ideas of simpler living to a higher level. Her organization has more than 60 trained café hosts and has spread internationally after a tremendous start in Seattle.
DIA-logos, Inc. www.dialogos-inc.com
DIA-logos promotes the spirit and practice of dialogue for strategic use at all levels of leadership within and across organizations. They work with client organizations to meet their business objectives by transforming taken-for-granted limits in ways of thinking and acting.
Future Search Network www.futuresearch.net
The Future Search Network initiates future search conferences, innovative planning conferences used world-wide by hundreds of communities and organizations. The conferences meet two goals at the same time: helping large diverse groups discover values, purposes and projects they hold in common; and enabling people to create a desired future together and start implementing right away.
Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy www.imtd.org
Established in 1992, IMTD promotes a systems approach to peacebuilding and facilitates the transformation of deep-rooted social conflict around the world. IMTD is based in Washington D.C. and has 1237 members in 31 countries.
National Issues Forum www.nifi.org
NIF is a nationwide network of educational and community organizations that deliberate about nationwide issues. NIF publishes deliberation guides on such topics as Racial and Ethnic Tensions: What Should We Do?, Money and Politics: Who Owns Democracy?, and Violent Kids: Can We Change The Trend?
Public Conversations Project www.publicconversations.org
In addition to their groundbreaking grassroots dialogue work, PCP provides trainings, presentations, and workshops on such things as the power of dialogue, inquiry as intervention, and the architecture of dialogue.
The San Mateo Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group www.igc.org/traubman/faq.htm
Len and Libby Traubman have been organizing Jewish-Palestinian dialogue in the San Francisco area for over a decade. Their website features a 'how to' page on initiating Jewish-Palestinian dialogue groups, as well as many great articles and links. The Traubmans have spawned a number of similar, yet diverse groups in the Bay area, and their ideas are spreading into new cities and onto college campuses.
Study Circles Resource Center www.studycircles.org
SCRC promotes and supports study circles (small-group, democratic, peer-led discussions, or dialogues, on important social and political issues).
WebLab www.weblab.org
This non-profit organization is dedicated to developing innovative Web-based projects that bring fresh perspectives and new voices to the discussion of public issues. The goal of the organization is to use the Web as a positive, transformative force in people's lives and in society at large.
World Café www.theworldcafe.com
Juanita Brown and David Isaacs from Whole Systems Associates use the model of the café setting to create a warm, inviting environment in which people can converse. Participants gather informally at small tables and are encouraged to map out the ideas generated from conversation onto the paper table cloths covering the tables.
Best Links for Intergroup Relations & Human Rights
About.com's Guide to Race Relations http://racerelations.about.com
Hundreds of links, categorized into topics such as Racial Profiling, Civil Rights, Gay/Lesbian, Hate Crimes, Interracial Issues, White Privilege and much, much more.
ACLU's Racial Equality Page www.aclu.org/issues/racial
The American Civil Liberties Union is the nation's foremost advocate of individual rights -- litigating, legislating, and educating the public on a broad array of issues affecting individual freedom in the United States.
Civilrights.org: The Online Social Justice Network www.civilrights.org
A project of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Civilrights.org is a coalition of 180 organizations working side by side in the fight for equality and justice. The site features the policy perspectives, strategies, research of the coalition, and a U.S. map of promising practices for improving intergroup relations.
Community Change, Inc. www.communitychangeinc.org
CCI is a Boston-based non-profit organization which serves as a Center for action and collaboration among individuals and multiracial grassroots groups in the fight to achieve racial justice and equity. CCI maintains a resource center which features an extensive Library on Racism. CCI's website lists the thousands of books, videos, audio tapes, and periodicals which are housed at the library. Books can be borrowed from the library and returned by mail.
IGC Internet www.igc.org
The nonprofit Institute for Global Communications (IGC) offers activists in the areas of peace, environmentalism, feminism, and anti-racism a place on the Internet to learn, meet, and organize. Click here to go to the AntiRacismNet directly.
Southern Catalyst Network www.southerncatalyst.org
SCN is a regional alliance devoted to combating prejudice and bigotry in the Deep South. SCN links activists and organizations working to promote democratic values and organizing against prejudice and hatred. Their website is designed as an information clearinghouse for activists and provides a wide range of material that can be used by progressive non-profits to strengthen their work for social justice.
Southern Poverty Law Center www.splcenter.org
Combats hate, intolerance and discrimination through education and litigation. SPLC's programs include Teaching Tolerance (listed next) and the Intelligence Project, which incorporates Klanwatch and the Militia Task Force.
Tolerance.org www.tolerance.org
The mission of Tolerance.org is to create a national community committed to human rights. A web project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the site provides easy access to news, solutions, and exercises that teach and prompt self-examination. Along with fabulous sections on instances of intolerance (and what others are doing about it), practical, proven action steps to take, online space for discussing events and issues about tolerance and hate, and an online activity for examining your own level of tolerance, Tolerance.org provides a clickable map of U.S. human rights groups.
Best Peace and Conflict Transformation Links
Ariga www.ariga.com
This site provides invaluable information about organizations that promote cooperation between Israelis/Jews/Zionists and Palestinians/Muslims/Arabs. Opened to the public in 1995, Ariga was the first web-based source of news from Israel emphasizing the peace process. Ariga is an open platform, unaffiliated with any specific group.
Association for Conflict Resolution http://acresolution.org
ACR is a professional organization dedicated to enhancing the practice and public understanding of conflict resolution. ACR represents and serves over 7000 mediators, arbitrators, facilitators, educators, and others involved in the field of conflict resolution and collaborative decision-making. ACR was launched in January 2001, when the Academy of Family Mediators (AFM), the Conflict Resolution Education Network (CREnet), and the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR) merged into one organization.
CRInfo www.crinfo.org
The Conflict Resolution Information Source (CRInfo) is a cooperative effort to strengthen the conflict field's information infrastructure. The site has catalogued over 8,000 web, hard copy, audio and video resources.
Community Relations Service www.usdoj.gov/crs/
CRS, an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, is a specialized Federal conciliation service available to State and local officials to help resolve and prevent racial and ethnic conflict, violence and civil disorders. CRS helps local officials and residents tailor locally defined resolutions when conflict and violence threaten community stability and well-being.
Consortium on Peace Research, Education & Development www.evergreen.edu/user/copred/
COPRED is a community of educators, activists and researchers working on alternatives to violence and war. Founded in 1970 by a small group of teachers and scholars, COPRED has grown to almost 500 institutional and individual members, including K-12 educators, peace activists, conflict resolution practitioners, university professors and clergy. Members of COPRED have access to bibliographies, syllabi collections, curriculum services, a speaker's bureau, an annual conference, a quarterly academic journal Peace & Change, a networking newsletter The Peace Chronicle, and materials for the media.
Desktop Guide to Alternative Dispute Resolution www.firstmediation.com/desktopguide/index.htm
This online guide provides clear and concise definitions for the most common dispute resolution terms and procedures.
Global Nonviolent Peace Force www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org
A new effort which builds upon the recent experiences of many organizations that have successfully experimented with the application of "Third Party Nonviolent Intervention" techniques in areas of advanced conflict.
The Institute of World Affairs www.iwa.org
IWA was founded in 1924 as a non-profit international organization devoted to international understanding and the peaceful resolution of conflict. The Institute provides training programs designed to enhance professional skills in conflict resolution and infrastructure development. Institute projects address the full range of peace enhancing activities, from preventive action to post-conflict reconciliation and peace building.
PeaceWomen Database www.peacewomen.org
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) provides a great database of organizations that are working internationally on issues concerning women and peacebuilding and conflict transformation on the PeaceWomen site.
The United States Institute of Peace www.usip.org
The USIP is an independent, nonpartisan federal institution created and funded by Congress to strengthen the nation's capacity to promote the peaceful resolution of international conflict. Established in 1984, the Institute provides an array of programs, including grants, fellowships, conferences and workshops, library services, publications, and other educational activities.
Best Links to Higher Ed. Resources & Dialogue Programs
Association of American Colleges & Universities www.aacu-edu.org
AAC&U runs a number of excellent programs having to do with diversity-related issues, and has initiated dialogue programs on many campuses.
Diversity Web www.diversityweb.org
An electronic hub linking nearly 300 institutions' work on diversity; includes connections to campus-based diversity home pages.
Multicultural Pavilion www.edchange.org/multicultural/
Designed and maintained by Paul Gorsky, this extensive website on multicultural education provides resources for educators, students, and activists to explore and discuss multicultural education. Includes a discussion board and email discussion forum on multicultural issues and education.
The University of Michigan's Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR) www.umich.edu/~igrc
IGR is a social justice education program which works proactively to promote understanding of intergroup relations throughout the student community. It assists students as they explore models of intergroup understanding and cooperation while acknowledging differences between and within groups. IGR provides students with opportunities to learn, experience, and work constructively with one another through structured dialogues and experiential activities across social group boundaries and through social conflict. A number of other universities have used IGR as a model for developing similar programs.
Casey Family Programs www.caseylifeskills.org/
This site provides resources to help prepare youths for living on their own. Includes a tool for assessing youth life skills, a life skills guidebook which provides activities and exercises for developing important life skills, and much more. A strong focus is social development, which includes personal development, social identity, cultural awareness, communication, and relationships.
Educators for Social Responsibility www.esrnational.org
ESR's mission is to make teaching social responsibility a core practice in education so that young people develop the convictions and skills needed to shape a safe, sustainable, democratic, and just world. ESR's largest program, the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) is a comprehensive, K-12 school-based program in conflict resolution and intergroup relations that provides a model for preventing violence and creating caring learning communities.
Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Inc. www.facing.org/
Based in Brookline, Massachusetts and with branches in six U.S. cities, Facing History and Ourselves provides a range of resources (printed, network-based, speakers?’ bureaus, videotapes) to confront racism, prejudice and anti-Semitism in schools and the wider society.
Multicultural Supersite www.mhhe.com/multicultural
McGraw-Hill's Multicultural Supersite provides info and resources on multicultural education theory and practice for in-service teachers, pre-service teachers and teacher educators.
National Coalition of Education Activists (NCEA) http://members.aol.com/nceaweb
NCEA is a multiracial network of families, school staff, union and community activists, and others organizing for equity and fundamental changes in local school districts. Its purpose is to support activists in their efforts to develop, promote, and implement progressive school reforms, to provide a counter to the right, and to fight racism and other forms of institutional bias.
Network of Educators on the Americas (NECA/Teaching for Change)
http://208.55.33.58/index.html
NECA is a Washington, DC-based organization which promotes social and economic justice through public education. Teaching for Change provides a great online catalog with hundreds of multicultural, anti-racist books, videos, posters and other classroom resources.
Public Schools: Are They Making The Grade? 2000. National Issues Forum. Download or order this deliberation guide at www.nifi.org.
School Disruptions: Tips for Educators and Police
www.usdoj.gov/crs/publist.html
The U.S. Department of Justice?’s Community Relations Service, which assists communities with crisis management and violence reduction, developed this handbook. Also available: Police Use of Excessive Force: A Conciliation Handbook for the Police and the Community, Preventing Youth Hate Crime, and Police and Urban Youth Relations: An Antidote to Racial Violence.
Violent Kids: Can We Change The Trend? 2000. National Issues Forum. Download or order this deliberation guide at www.nifi.org.
Workable Peace www.workablepeace.org
Workable Peace is an innovative curriculum on history and conflict management for high school classes. It aims to help teenagers understand conflict and build negotiation and conflict management skills. The curriculum is developed by educators and conflict resolution practitioners at the Consensus Building Institute.
Best Community Change and Activism Links
The Center for Third World Organizing www.ctwo.org
CTWO (pronounced 'C-2') links communities of color with organizing skills, political education, and visions of a just society. The Center's programs include training of new and experienced organizers, establishing model multi-racial community organizations, and building an active network of organizations and activists of color to achieve racial justice in its fullest dimensions.
Changemakers www.changemakers.net
Changemakers, an initiative of Ashoka - Innovators for the Public, focuses on the rapidly growing world of social entrepreneurship by providing inspiration, resources, and opportunities for those interested in social change throughout the world. Includes the vast Changemakers Library, which offers a plethora of social change tools and resources, categorized under such topics as Effective Governance, Children/Youth and Conflict Mediation & Resolution.
IGC Internet www.igc.org
The nonprofit Institute for Global Communications (IGC) offers activists in the areas of peace, environmentalism, feminism, and anti-racism a place on the Internet to learn, meet, and organize. Click here to go directly to the AntiRacismNet.
National Organizers Alliance www.noacentral.org
NOA's mission is to advance progressive organizing for social, economic and environmental justice and to sustain, support and nurture the people of all ages who do it. Their members are organizers who are responsible to a defined constituency and who help build that constituency through leadership development, collective action and the development of democratic structures.
Southern Catalyst Network www.southerncatalyst.org
SCN is a regional alliance devoted to combating prejudice and bigotry in the Deep South. SCN links activists and organizations working to promote democratic values and organizing against prejudice and hatred. Their website is designed as an information clearinghouse for activists and provides a wide range of material that can be used by progressive non-profits to strengthen their work for social justice.
Alliance for National Renewal www.ncl.org/anr
Organized by the National Civic League, the Alliance for National Renewal is a collaborative effort of many local and national organizations. This is an excellent site for linking to organizations throughout the country and examining local stories that exemplify community building.
TheCivicMind http://www.civicmind.com
TheCivicMind is a gateway to information and resources about civic participation and democracy education. The site is run by Wendy Bay Lewis, a lawyer turned speaker, civics coach and consultant who tracks efforts to engage the public in civic issues and includes this info on the site. The site includes directories to help you locate civic resources by topic (university-based programs, court-based programs, election reform, etc.) or state.
Civic Practices Network www.cpn.org
Born of the movement for a 'new citizenship' and 'civic revitalization,' CPN is a collaborative and nonpartisan project dedicated to bringing practical tools for public problem solving into community and institutional settings across America. CPN produces training manuals, best practice guides, and evaluative tools, and maps innovative projects around the country.
Community Building Resource Exchange www.commbuild.org
This site provides a broad array of resources and information about innovative community building efforts to revitalize poor neighborhoods and improve the life circumstances of residents and their families.
Community Builder's Tool Kit www.race-democracy.org
This new (2000/2001) primer for revitalizing democracy from the ground up can be downloaded for free or ordered for $1.50 per copy. The Tool Kit was developed through the Anti-Racism Initiative of the Institute for Democratic Renewal and Project Change.
National Community Building Network www.ncbn.org
NCBN was formed in 1993 to facilitate collaboration and mutual sharing among community building efforts in poor communities. These programs enable community members to build on their own strengths and resources to improve their communities.
