April update for D&D Leaders from www.Thataway.org

[Sandy]

Update from T H A T A W A Y. O R G - Home of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
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Hi, Folks! This month I?’d like to bring five things to your attention:

1. NCDD?’s line-up of post-conference trainings for our upcoming October conference
2. Announcing a new, first-of-its-kind graduate level certificate program in dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement
3. NCDD is partnering with Preview Forum ?– free resources for You
4. Update and call for your help from the U.S. Consensus Council
5. Headlines of the past month?’s Happenings blog entries


Here are the details?…

1. NCDD 2004?’s Post-Conference Trainings

We?’re excited to announce the twelve trainings we?’ll be offering on October 26th - the day after our 2nd National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation.

Our post-conference lineup features:
- stellar facilitators like Hal Saunders and Jesus Trevino
- leading organizations like National Issues Forums, the Study Circles Resource Center and the Public Conversations Project
- sought-after trainings in Dynamic Facilitation and Bohm Dialogue
- extremely "now" topics like Spiral Dynamics
- and so much more.

Look over the post-conference trainings at http://www.thataway.org/conference/2004/postconf.html
You can also find out who?’s a part of our fabulous Conference Planning Team at http://www.thataway.org/conference/2004/plan_team.html
And we still want your input on conference design ?– please complete our online survey at http://www.thataway.org/conference/2004/needs.html


2. New Graduate Level Certificate Program in Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement

NCDD is thrilled to announce that the much-touted Fielding Graduate Institute is offering an innovative new certificate course on ?“Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement.?” This distinctive new program focuses on recent innovations in dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement and features faculty (including Hal Saunders and Barnett Pearce) who have played key roles in developing these approaches.

The program is being designed and delivered in collaboration with The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue. In addition to an outstanding core faculty of scholar-practitioners, it also features guests [such as Jim Fishkin, Juanita Brown and Carolyn Lukensmeyer] in Master Dialogues who are widely recognized as scholars and as innovative practitioners. The program combines scholarly understanding of different approaches to dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement with practical, hands-on applications. It is designed for mid-career professionals working in local communities as well as national and international organizations, in the public sector, private and not for profit sector.

Fielding Graduate Institute is world renowned for its leadership in networked education for adult professionals. This networked approach consists of face-to-face sessions, on-line learning and phone dialogues. This 16-week course begins in September 2004. An information teleconference and conversation with core faculty will be held on May 17. For more information, check the program website at http://www.fielding.edu/hod/ce/dialog/index.htm


3. NCDD is Partnering with Preview Forum ?– Free Resources for You

We invite you to participate as a local partner in a nationwide media and dialogue initiative called Preview Forum this Spring. The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation has joined Roundtable, Inc. as a national partner in this exciting project bringing together communities and members of the local media for deliberative and forthcoming conversations on vital social issues. Our goal is to use excerpts from recently released films as catalysts for deliberative discussion.

In the spring of 2004, Preview Forum will focus on several PBS national broadcasts, as well as local media?’s coverage of one of the most important and fundamental issues of the 21st century ?– Globalization: Making the Local Connection. Project participants will have access to video excerpts from five high-quality television documentaries and news series to launch local discussions. Short descriptions of these programs may be viewed on the Preview Forum website at http://www.previewforum.com/pdfs/global_flyer.pdf

For more information about this opportunity, email or 781-893-3336 x24. To learn more about Preview Forum, go to www.previewforum.com


4. Update and Call for Your Help from the U.S. Consensus Council

I received an email the other day from Rob Fersh, Director of the National Consensus Initiative ?– the Initiative that is working to create a national U.S. Consensus Council. The legislation to authorize the USCC has been ?“temporarily?” stalled by Congress for quite some time now. In case you haven?’t already heard of the USCC, its goal will be to synthesize the insight and experience of people with differing points of view into policy proposals that reflect "highest common denominator" solutions.

Since there is no natural constituency for the USCC or special interests who can put muscle behind it, Rob and his colleagues are reaching out to the greater conflict resolution community for help. We are needed to write and fax letters of support for the USCC to key members of Congress. There are several Congress members in particular that we should target (Rep. Tom Davis and Senators Susan Collins, Bill Frist and Rick Santorum).

For contact information for these Congress members, and details as to what should be in the faxes, go to the blog entry with Rob?’s entire message in it: http://www.thataway.org/news/archives/000162.html

You can also contact Rob Fersh by emailing or calling 202-777-2229


5. Headlines of the past month?’s Happenings blog entries

Have you visited the dialogue & deliberation community?’s new blog yet? I update the Happenings blog just about every day ?– with the kinds of news, events, opportunities and resources you care about. This really is THE place to go to stay in-the-know about what?’s happening in our field.

Go to http://www.thataway.org/news/index.html to view the blog, but first check out the titles of this month?’s entries.

- Full Graduate Fellowship at Regis University for Student of Dialogue & Deliberation
- 2nd Annual Anti-Bias Ed Conference to be Held in June
- Summer Schedule for Reconciliation Leadership Certificate Program
- Update and Call for Support for the U.S. Consensus Council
- Compassionate Listening Project to Hold First Annual Gathering
- Upcoming Earth Symposium to Address Arts-Based Social Change
- Eight Jewish-Palestinian Peace Camps to be Held in North America this Summer
- If Gandhi and Bin Ladin Were to Engage in Dialogue...
- Taping of A Public Voice set for Next Week in DC
- Democracy In America Convention to Take Place this August
- May Proposal Writing Workshop at GWU
- An Inspirational Report on National Issues Forums Held in Russia
- New Book Shares Learnings from Pew Partnership for Civic Change Research
- Pilot Teleconferencing Dialogue Project a Success
- 5th Nat'l Conference on Digital Gov't Research Coming Up
- New Report Released on Youth Civic Engagement
- New Resource for NVC Research
- Second Int'l Conference on Appreciative Inquiry
- Inaugural Issue of AmericaSpeaks' Newsletter
- California Gathering of Dialogue & Deliberation Leaders to be Held in June
- A New Form of Online Deliberation - Meaning Map is Now Online
- New Rogue Valley Wisdom Council Video Available Online
- NIF Launches Gorgeous New Website
- Preview Forum Invites You to Address Globalization in your Community - and Offers - Free Resources
- Denver Groups Participate in National Chasing Freedom Campaign
- April 9 Discussion on ?“Civil Society?” Book to be held in New York
- Michigan Making Inroads in Interreligious Dialogue & Peacebuilding
- Presentation and Workshop on Jewish-German Reconciliation this June
- Game Used to Increase Citizen Engagement in Queens Spurs Query
- Barcelona Forum's Essay Content Challenges American Youth to ?“Let Their Voices Be Heard?”
- CIVICUS Announces Results of Study on Resisting Repression

I hope this message finds all of you in good spirits. Good luck with all you do!

Warm regards,
Sandy

Sandy Heierbacher
Convenor, The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)
www.thataway.org
802-254-7341



NCDD connects and informs leaders in the dialogue and deliberation community. Dialogue and deliberation help people bridge gaps, make better decisions, take collective action and become more active citizens. Dialogues are powerful personal experiences that often lead to careful deliberation and collaborative action or policy recommendations.

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