PEACEMAKERS: Palestinians & Jews Together at Camp

Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group & Camp Tawonga, California, USA, 2007.

This 83-minute film shows how a Palestinian-Jewish Dialogue and an 85-year-old camp bought together in the California mountains 140 Muslims, Jews and Christians of all ages, including some from Israel and Palestine. They discover one another and their ability to communicate and cooperate in new ways. Back down the mountain, they hold a public event in San Francisco to tell the community about their struggles and breakthroughs. Len and Libby Traubman are distributing DVDs of their films ?“Dialogue at Washington High?” and ?“PEACEMAKERS: Palestinians & Jews Together at Camp?” at no charge to whoever will use them.

Resource Link: http://traubman.igc.org/vidcamp.htm

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Paulo Freire.

The thought and work of Paulo Freire has had a fundamental impact in the field of education and on the overall struggle for national development in the South. In this landmark account, first published over 20 years ago, Paulo Freire argues that the ignorance and lethargy of the poor are the direct result of the systems of economic, social and political domination.

People & Participation: How to put citizens at the heart of decision-making

Involve, 2005.

This 116-page guide was developed for public bodies such as local authorities, government departments or other statutory agencies who commission or deliver participatory processes; those with similar roles in the voluntary and private sectors; and people who want to know what to expect when they get involved in decision-making processes. This document is the first publication from UK-based Involve. It is based on research funded by the Home Office Civil Renewal Unit during 2004/5. Involve aims to create new systems that enable people to influence decisions and get involved in actions that affect their lives.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/People_Participation.pdf

Pioneers of Change

Pioneers of Change is a global learning network of young people, in their 20's and 30's, who have committed to be themselves, do what matters, start now, engage with others, and never stop asking questions. The "pioneers" include social entrepreneurs, corporate and NGO professionals, civil servants, artists, teachers, and free agents from a variety of cultural and social backgrounds. Founded in 1999, Pioneers of Change today engages over 2000 participants in over 70 countries.

Resource Link: http://www.pioneersofchange.net

Planning Public Forums: Questions to Guide Local Officials

Terry Amsler (Primary Contributor). The Institute for Local Government of the Collaborative Governance Initiative, 2007.

This 21-page guidebook outlines practical steps to help local agencies build their capacity to use public forums effectively. While there are many approaches to involving the broader community in public decision-making, this guide focuses on designing appropriate forums for public deliberation. Typically in such forums, members of the public participate in reasoned discussions that result in new ideas, visions, general preferences, or detailed recommendations. In turn, these results are considered by policymakers and help shape public decisions and actions. Each community has its own unique conditions and interests when confronting a challenging issue or controversy.

Resource Link: http://www.cacities.org/resource_files/25304.ILG_PlanPubForums.pdf

Podcasting: A New Tool to Plant and Sow the Seeds of Negotiation and Mediation

Joshua N. Weiss, Ph.D., Global Negotiation Project at Harvard?’s Program on Negotiation, Associate Director.

We live in a world of instant information. We live in a world of simplicity. We live in a world that desparately needs negotiation and mediation skills and processes. Podcasting enables practitioners and scholars of negotiation and mediation to extend our reach and explain concepts simply, in an unfiltered manner, to a large number of people around the globe. If 3,800 people have downloaded my Podcasts over the past four months alone, imagine what would happen if we had legions of Podcasters spreading the message that negotiation and mediation are invaluable tools to have in your toolbox. I am hard pressed to think of something that would help our field more...aren?’t you?

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Weiss_Podcasting.doc

Politalk

Politalk is a nonpartisan forum for moderated email discussions on important social and political topics of the day. Politalk was founded in 1999 as a response to the often shallow ranting that seems to dominate so many internet discussions. Politalk hoped to distinguish itself in three ways: by focusing on only one topic at a time for a limited period of time (2-4 weeks); by having an active moderator to keep the discussion on topic and civil; and by inviting guest commentators to add depth to the discussions. Politalk plans and hosts online events and forums, and provides consultation, workshops and training sessions.

Resource Link: http://www.politalk.org

Politics for People: Finding a Responsible Public Voice (Second Edition)

David Mathews, Kettering Foundation. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1999.

Americans make no secret of their disenchantment with the political system. This book is about Americans who are looking for ways to build civic communities and generate the political energy necessary to define and express the public will. This second edition contains compelling new material on the National Issues Forums convened in libraries, churches, prisons, and schools across the country. 275 pages.

Power to the Edges: Trends and Opportunities in Online Civic Engagement

Jillaine Smith, Martin Kearns and Allison Fine. The E-Volve Foundation and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, 2005.

This 43-page report is a snapshot of the current state of online democracy in the age of connectivity brought about by the Internet and other digital information technologies. The implications for nonprofit organizations are significant and challenging. The authors urge nonprofits and the funders who support them to integrate online and offline activities, leverage and strengthen networks of activists and brandish a new set of leadership skills that are facilitative and inclusive.

Resource Link: http://www.pacefunders.org/pdf/05.06.05%20Final%20Version%201.0.pdf

Public Conversations Project

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 and downloadable resources to help you organize and facilitate a dialogue.

Resource Link: http://www.publicconversations.org

Public Conversations Project - various workshops

The Public Conversations Project offers workshops to help participants experience and understand the values, principles and premises that guide their work and practices. These workshops invite practitioners to develop a 'reflective dialogic mindset' in which alignment is sought between belief, intention and action. Two of PCP's popular workshops are The Power of Dialogue and Inquiry as Intervention.

Resource Link: http://www.publicconversations.org

Public Conversations Project's Approach

PCP's mission is to foster a more inclusive, empathic and collaborative society by promoting constructive conversations and relationships among those who have differing values, world views, and positions about divisive public issues. Since 1990, PCP has convened, designed, and facilitated numerous dialogues on a variety of controversial public issues, including abortion, the environment, population and development, sexual orientation and religion, and economic difference.

Public Deliberation: A Manager's Guide to Citizen Engagement

Carolyn Lukensmeyer and Lars Hasselblad Torres, AmericaSpeaks. IBM Center for the Business of Government.

This report documents a spectrum of tools and techniques developed largely in the nonprofit world in recent years to increase citizens' involvement in their communities and government. It also highlights ways in which public managers can develop an active approach to increasing citizens' involvement in government at all levels. This report will be useful and informative to managers across the nation seeking new, innovative ways to engage citizens.

Resource Link: http://www.businessofgovernment.org/pdfs/LukensmeyerReport.pdf

Public Dialogue and Participatory Democracy: The Cupertino Community Project

Shawn Spano. Cresskill, N.J.: Hampton Press, 2001.

The Cupertino Community dialogues, the Public Dialogue Consortium's flagship project, began in March of 1996. Over a five-year period, community members became involved in numerous processes to explore a wide spectrum of issues affecting quality of life in the community.

Resource Link: http://www.publicdialogue.org/projects/cupertino.html

Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza (PEPPPI)

In one of the most exemplary recent US government efforts to engage the public around an urgent issue, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened a series of public consultations on pandemic flu in the last quarter of 2005. The purpose of the Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza (PEPPPI) was to inform decision-makers about the public's priorities for the use of pandemic influenza vaccine during a period of anticipated shortage. This information is intended to lead to a sounder, more supportable decision and to demonstrate that citizens can be productively engaged in informing vaccine related policy decisions thereby leading to more public engagement in the future.

Resource Link: http://www.keystone.org/spp/health-pandemic.html

Public Forum Institute

The Public Forum Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization committed to developing the most advanced and effective means of fostering public discourse. The Forum tailors projects that advance the exchange of information and ideas by combining issue expertise with advanced program development and communications skills. By offering unfiltered access to all sides of an issue, and through partnerships with foundations, print and broadcast media, policymakers, opinion leaders and corporate philanthropy, the Public Forum Institute serves local communities across the nation, contributing to a more informed public.

Resource Link: http://www.publicforuminstitute.org

Putting "Public" Back in Public Health Work

Doug Thompson and Don Greenstein. The Keystone Center, 2007.

Experts say chances of a deadly worldwide outbreak of pandemic flu are increasing. In order to involve the public in developing plans for how the government would react to such an outbreak, the CDC held four public meetings to hear public views about possible community control measures that could limit the outbreak. This report outlines and evaluates this award-winning project, which sought to put the "public" in public health by effectively allowing people to participate in policy development.

Reaching Across Boundaries: Talk to Create Change (2nd Edition)

The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Study Circles Resource Center, 2003.

This free guidebook was developed for teens who are interested in discussing the cliques and social boundaries in their schools. It's part of the Mix It Up program, a partnership between the Study Circles Resource Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Helps young people identify, question, and cross social boundaries in their schools and communities with a Mix It Up Dialogue.

Resource Link: http://www.mixitup.org

Reclaiming Public Education By Reclaiming Our Democracy

David Mathews. Kettering Foundation Press.

This book considers what citizens and educators alike want from public education and how they might come closer to getting it. It is also about the obstacles that block them, beginning with significant differences in the ways that citizens see problems in the schools and how professional educators and policymakers talk about them. This book offers ideas about the work citizens can do to reverse this trend and improve education.

Resource Link: http://www.reclaimingeducation.org

Reconciliation, Justice, and Coexistence: Theory and Practice

Mohammed Abu-Nimer. Lexington Books, 2001.

Abu-Nimer provides lessons and insights for post-settlement peacebuilders. Essays focus on the conflict dynamics in regions such as Northern Ireland, Israel-Palestine, South Africa and Rwanda.