Program for NCDD Austin    

Below is the schedule for the 4th National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, which took place in Austin, Texas October 2nd through 5th, 2008. This page links to more details about the sessions offered, the leaders we featured during plenary sessions and sub-plenaries, the pre- and post-conference activities, and more.

Thursday, October 2nd

Full-Day Pre-Conference Workshops (approx. 9 am to 5 pm – only $95)…

1. Managing Difficult Conversations (a great workshop for the newbies, and for local folks who want to learn more about this work)
2. Choosing Deliberation and Dialogue Techniques that Work (for those who want to learn about a number of D&D processes, and when to use which)
3. Creating “We the People” in our Groups, Organizations, Communities & Society (for those who want to learn more about Dynamic Facilitation and the Wisdom Council)
4. The Whiteness Learning Lab (for white folks who want to develop a better understanding of racism and white privilege)
5. Deliberative Democracy and Higher Education (for those affiliated with colleges and universities who want to see this work advance at various levels in the academy)
6. The Underlying Dynamics of Conversations that Matter (for folks who are thoughtful about this work and would like to help create a “pattern language” for it)

Half-Day Pre-Conference Workshop (2 pm to 5 pm – only $55)…

1. Taking Dialogue to Work: Leading from the Heart (for those dealing with divisions and differences in the workplace)

Free Conversation Cafe Host Training – 6:15 – 7:30 pm, Ballroom B

• Learn how to facilitate (or “host”) Conversation Cafes at this FREE training that is open to the public and conference participants alike! Facilitated by Susan Partnow.

Conversation Cafe – 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, Ballroom B

• Experience a Conversation Cafe with members of the public as well as conference participants. Facilitated by Susan Partnow. (Also free!)

“Traces of the Trade” Viewing – 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm, Wedgwood

• View the powerful new documentary film Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, in which filmmaker Katrina Browne discovers that their New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. The film shows how she and nine cousins retrace the Triangle Trade and gain a powerful new perspective on the black/white divide. Presented by Harold Fields and Holly Fulton (one of the cousins in the film).

Informal “Tech-at-the-Conference” Gathering – with Pizza Hosted by Texas Forums – 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Nueces

• Come learn how to use technology (blogs, flickr, twitter, etc.) to connect with others while at the conference, and to share your reflections on the conference with others who could not attend in person.  Email Charles Knickerbocker at if you have questions, or if you’d like to be part of the conference Tech Team.

Friday, October 3rd – first day of the conference

8:00 am – 10:00 am, Atrium

• Registration, continental breakfast, and mingling
  

10:00 am, Ballroom A

• The Opening Session will set the context for our three days together. Sitting with others who share your interests, you will talk about your hopes and goals for the conference, learn about the 5 challenges we’ll be addressing at NCDD Austin, hear about the innovative arts programs you can get involved in (like with our 5-person Graphic Recording Team and the unique musical composition that will be created at the conference by musician/educator Eric Haltmeier), and gain a transatlantic perspective on the field from German civic entrepreneur Hans-Peter Meister. There are still openings if you’d like to host a table during the opening session on a topic you want to network with others around.

12:00 noon, Ballroom B

• Lunch (provided)

1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

• Your choice of 10 exciting concurrent workshops

4:00 – 5:30 pm, Ballroom A

• D&D Marketplace – participants will stroll around the ballroom, talking with presenters who want to tell others about a tool, concept or case they’re excited about. Some marketplace presenters will be presenting posters which will be on display throughout the whole three days of the conference. Are you a Marketplace presenter? Get logistical details here.

5:30 pm, Atrium

• Reception (enjoy some food, explore exhibits, possible book signing, continue checking out posters)

7:00 pm, Ballroom B

• Early showing of soon-to-be-released documentary Europe in One Room, followed by Q&A with Jim Fishkin and Bob Luskin. This Emmy Award winning documentary by Paladin-Invision (London) tells the story of the first European Wide Deliberative Poll. A scientific sample of all of Europe gathered in the Parliament Building in Brussels in October 2007 to deliberate for three days about the future of Europe on the eve of the Lisbon summit. All 27 countries were represented and discussed the issues in 22 languages. The story of this effort is told through the eyes of participants and organizers. It is an unprecedented experiment in trans-national democracy that shows how dialogue across differences of language and nationality are possible.

Saturday, October 4th – 2nd day of the conference

8:30 – 9:00 am, Ballroom A

• Community Time (check in with fellow conference attendees and planners in the main ballroom, hear an overview of the day, and enjoy some music)

9:00 – 10:30 am

• Your choice of 10 exciting concurrent workshops

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

• Your choice of 10 exciting concurrent workshops

12:30 – 2:00 pm, Ballroom B

• Lunch (provided) and a performance by Austin City-Wide Youth Poetry Slam (sponsored by the Texas Youth Word Collective)

2:15 – 4:00 pm

• Your choice of two dynamic “Sub-Plenary Sessions” (2 large concurrent sessions) – a panel of conservatives who support public engagement (Ballroom A) and a Trans-Generational Dialogue (Wedgwood).

4:30 – 6:15, Ballroom A

• Day 2 Plenary: NCDD’s signature Reflective Panel with David Campt, Bill Isaacs, Carolyn Lukensmeyer and Najeeba Syeed-Miller. Using the Inquiry Circle method, the panelists will address major challenges facing the D&D community. Unlike traditional “talking head” panel presentations, conversation in this space flows among the panelists without long monologues. Learn more.

6:15 pm – whenever

• Free time to see some of Austin, eat dinner with some of your new and not-so-new colleagues, and self-organize some activities.

One option (coordinated by UT professor Patricia Wilson) is dinner at Casa de Luz, Austin’s only non-profit vegetarian (macrobiotic) community center and campus for integral living. Meet at the conference hotel entrance at 6:30 for ride or carpool to Casa de Luz. See the eco-friendly Casa campus; dine at the community tables with locally grown organic food; and meet the members of Casa’s new and non-traditiona College for Integral Living (CoIL). Walk to downtown for the Sixth Street night scene or stay at Casa for spirited east-west world beat entertainment. Learn more about Casa del Luz at www.casadeluz.org. Cost for dinner is $12. No reservation needed.

Sunday, October 5th – final day of the conference

8:30 – 9:00 am, Ballroom A

• Community Time (check in with fellow conference attendees and planners in the main ballroom, hear an overview of the day, and enjoy some music)

9:00 – 10:30 am

• Your choice of 10 exciting concurrent workshops

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

• Your choice of 10 exciting concurrent workshops

12:30 – 2:00, Ballroom A

• Lunch (provided)

2:00 – 3:30, Ballroom A

• Closing Session – including small-group dialogue and report-outs from our Challenge Leaders and Graphic Recording Team about what was learned about the 5 challenges. We’ll also hear the unique musical composition that was created at the conference (featuring your voices!) by Eric Haltmeier, and Harold Saunders will leave you inspired to continue your vital work back home.

Monday and Tuesday, October 6th and 7th, Concho

2-day Post-Conference Disaster and Crisis Intervention Training

• Facilitative Disaster & Crisis Intervention (DCI): Building Community Resilience & Self-Reliance (a great in-depth training opportunity for practitioners)