Community Events Addressing Katrina

[Leah Lamb]

Greetings!
The following announcement was posted on the NCDD listserv by Rosemary Gun. Please post other events that you are aware of in your area.

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Thursday, September 15, 2005, which is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S. W., Washington, D.C. The Meeting will focus on presentations regarding the effects of
Hurricane Katrina on communications services in the Gulf Coast states.

Open captioning will be provided for this event. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Include a description of the accommodation you will need
including as much detail as you can. Also include a way we can contact you if we need more information. Make your request as early as possible; please allow at least 5 days advance notice. Last minute requests will be accepted, but may be impossible to fill. Send
an e-mail to: or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty).

Additional information concerning this meeting may be obtained from Audrey Spivack or David Fiske, Office of Media Relations, (202) 418-0500; TTY 1-888-835-5322. Audio/Video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast live over the Internet from the FCC's Audio/Video Events web page at www.fcc.gov/realaudio.

For a fee this meeting can be viewed live over George Mason University's Capitol Connection. The Capitol Connection also will carry the meeting live via the Internet. To purchase these services call (703)
993-3100 or go to www.capitolconnection.gmu.edu.


-Leah Lamb
Berkeley, CA
NCDD Listserv Moderator

[Guest]

Katrina stormed into lives, communities, and our collective psyche, shaking business as usual and opening space for potential changes, from the most horrendous to the most hopeful. We are in the middle of one of America's greatest internal diasporas, and one of our greatest potential societal teaching moments. When "containers"* are mindfully created, conversations can heal, open hearts and minds, solve problems, bring forth visions, and help people create life newly together. We in the field of "dialogue and deliberation" (D&D) know a tremendous amount about crafting such containers for convening, hosting and supporting strategic conversations. By acting together, we have a chance not only to help, but to build collective capacity for handling future crises; and, beyond that, to catalyze the conscious, wholesome transformation of society.

We invite you to join us on:
Monday, September 13th at 2:00 pm PST, 5:00 pm EST and/or
Monday, September 19th at 1:00 pm PST, 4:00 pm EST, 9:00 pm GMT
for a 60-90 minute conference call among D&D thought leaders.
Conference call information: 413-461-0333 access code 408
Our purpose:
To determine what collective responses from the
Dialogue and Deliberation community could
facilitate deep listening and wise action to
serve both the short-term needs of those
directly affected and the long-term well-being
of society and the world.
To learn more about our thinking to date, visit
>KatrinaCrisis

[Leah Lamb]

Forum- Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Athens, GA

Hosted by Corner Talk
When: September 20, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Hot Corner Coffee, at the corner of Hull and Washington Streets, Athens, Georgia
Contact: Melvin Hines, Jr., Phone: 706-357-1103, E-mail:

A new University of Georgia student organization called Corner Talk will host a public forum to discuss the effectiveness of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Corner Talk was organized by Melvin Hines Jr., a senior economics and political science major, and Vineet Reddy, a senior Spanish and pre-med major, to create dialogue between the university community and the Athens community on important national and local issues.

For more information about Corner Talk click on the link accompanying this posting.



The following is a media release from the University of Georgia Public Affairs News Bureau.

New UGA student organization, Corner Talk, holds public forum on Hurricane Katrina relief efforts on September 20
Writer: Joelle Prine, 706/583-0727,
Contact: Melvin Hines Jr., 706/357-1103,
Sep 12, 2005, 14:15

Athens, Ga. â?€?“â?€?“ A new University of Georgia student organization called Corner Talk will host a public forum to discuss the effectiveness of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at Hot Corner Coffee, located on the corner of Hull and Washington streets in downtown Athens.

Corner Talk was organized by Melvin Hines Jr., a senior economics and political science major, and Vineet Reddy, a senior Spanish and pre-med major, to create dialogue between the university community and the Athens community on important national and local issues.

Participating in the forum on Katrina relief efforts will be UGA faculty members Pamela Kleiber and Fred Bateman, both of whom have family ties to the New Orleans area. Hines said some of the Louisiana students displaced by the hurricane and now enrolled at UGA also will share their stories. Donations for relief efforts also will be accepted at the forum.

Hines has experience moderating forums on difficult issues from his participation in the National Issue Forum program as a research apprentice with UGAâ?€?™s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO). He has been involved in the local community through work with a mentoring program at the Thomas Lay Center.

â?€?œWorking with the Thomas Lay Center coordinating committee last year, I saw firsthand the kind of action that can abound when people with different ideas and problems come together, and these situations helped create this idea for an organization that combines the two,â?€? said Hines. â?€?œEven if we are only a student organization, hopefully Corner Talk can spark the flame for discussion and dialogue that we feel is so important on campus and off.â?€?

Hines and Reddy plan to hold Corner Talk meetings every other Tuesday at Hot Corner Coffee and hope to expand the membership base to include existing multicultural student organizations.

David Williams, director of UGAâ?€?™s Honors program, is serving as the faculty sponsor of the organization. â?€?œI am very pleased to be associated with Corner Talk. It is especially meaningful to me to support a student initiative that will link students with not only faculty members on campus, but also with the local community,â?€? said Williams. â?€?œAs an extension of the National Issues Forums that the Honors Program has been sponsoring for the past few years, Corner Talk will provide an opportunity for substantive dialogue and will further student engagement with important issues of the day."

For more information on membership or Corner Talk events, contact Hines at or 706/357-1103.

[leilanihenry]

Date: February 03 2006
Subject: Mardi Gras dialogue party
From: Julianna Padgett (Reply ONLY to Sender)
Back to: NCDD Discussion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Folks -
Early on, members of this listserve expressed concern about the post
Hurricane situation and wanted to do something. It's an important time down in New
Orleans and I hope that you'll consider these ideas :

One, would you please contact your U.S. senators and representatives and
make sure they have visited the post-hurricane Gulf South? It is critical that
those in Congress see the immense devastation that we still live with. At
this point, we're feeling the weight of unfulfilled promises from Bush - and
need much more help.

Two, would you throw a Mardi Gras dialogue on February 28th and celebrate
New Orleans with us?


This beloved city needs help - but this disaster only magnified issues faced
across the country. Here are some possibilities for dialogue - please make
other suggestions:
Federal responsibility after disasters
Poverty, race and implications for safety
Music and culture of oppressed people
Media responses in crises
Environmental vs cultural concerns
The meaning of life changing/society changing events


If you want to bring in some N.O. spirit, Mardi Gras parties usually have
most of these:
* costumes
* a traditional king cake
* a king and queen
* New Orleans music
* jambalaya, gumbo, etc.
* some beads to throw around
* purple, green and gold decorations

_http://entertaining.about.com/cs/mardigras/a/mardiparty.htm_
(http://entertaining.about.com/cs/mardigras/a/mardiparty.htm)
_http://mardigras.neworleans.com/party.shtml_
(http://mardigras.neworleans.com/party.shtml)
_http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/mardigras/mardigrasfaq.html_
(http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/mardigras/mardigrasfaq.html)
_http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-20-mardi-gras_x.htm_
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-20-mardi-gras_x.htm)



Thanks for helping to bring awareness. Also, please think of coming to visit
down here - there is a profound balance of loss and life to experience. If
you can't come to Mardi Gras, then plan to come down for Jazz Fest (April 28
- May7) or any other time you feel like dancing (or helping). It will help
us get back on our feet, hopefully with more strength than before. Let me know.

May all be very safe.

Many thanks,
Julianna Padgett
New Orleans







---------------------------------------------
Julianna D. Padgett, LCSW, Ph.D.
504-865-7143 (home)
225-284-0418 (cell)
My friend, Mark Morris, wrote this....
"send us your hearts, send us your poet laureate, send us every last
compassionate conservative, help us rebuild our levees - get the Dutch!, help us
protect our coast and restore our wetlands, help us rebuild our housing stock
without exploiting us, help us clean our land, give us phone service, mail
service, stoplights, notice our power company declared bankruptcy, bring in
planners, listen to our visionaries ?ƒ¢â?‚¬â?€?œ not just the official ones, ignore media
misinformation, be our friend, feel our tears, be our family, be our nation.
Please, hold us in your prayers."




This EdGateway community is sponsored by the WestEd Web Dialogue project.

about us. contact us. faq. press info. link to us. ans. see below

[leilanihenry]

Date: February 03 2006
Subject: Mardi Gras dialogue party
From: Julianna Padgett (Reply ONLY to Sender)
Back to: NCDD Discussion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Folks -
would you throw a Mardi Gras dialogue on February 28th and celebrate
New Orleans with us?


This beloved city needs help - but this disaster only magnified issues faced
across the country. Here are some possibilities for dialogue - please make
other suggestions:
Federal responsibility after disasters
Poverty, race and implications for safety
Music and culture of oppressed people
Media responses in crises
Environmental vs cultural concerns
The meaning of life changing/society changing events


If you want to bring in some N.O. spirit, Mardi Gras parties usually have
most of these:
* costumes
* a traditional king cake
* a king and queen
* New Orleans music
* jambalaya, gumbo, etc.
* some beads to throw around
* purple, green and gold decorations

_http://entertaining.about.com/cs/mardigras/a/mardiparty.htm_
(http://entertaining.about.com/cs/mardigras/a/mardiparty.htm)
_http://mardigras.neworleans.com/party.shtml_
(http://mardigras.neworleans.com/party.shtml)
_http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/mardigras/mardigrasfaq.html_
(http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/mardigras/mardigrasfaq.html)
_http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-20-mardi-gras_x.htm_
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-20-mardi-gras_x.htm)



Thanks for helping to bring awareness. Also, please think of coming to visit
down here - there is a profound balance of loss and life to experience. If
you can't come to Mardi Gras, then plan to come down for Jazz Fest (April 28
- May7) or any other time you feel like dancing (or helping). It will help
us get back on our feet, hopefully with more strength than before. Let me know.

May all be very safe.

Many thanks,
Julianna Padgett
New Orleans







---------------------------------------------
Julianna D. Padgett, LCSW, Ph.D.
504-865-7143 (home)
225-284-0418 (cell)
My friend, Mark Morris, wrote this....
"send us your hearts, send us your poet laureate, send us every last
compassionate conservative, help us rebuild our levees - get the Dutch!, help us
protect our coast and restore our wetlands, help us rebuild our housing stock
without exploiting us, help us clean our land, give us phone service, mail
service, stoplights, notice our power company declared bankruptcy, bring in
planners, listen to our visionaries ?ƒ¢â?‚¬â?€?œ not just the official ones, ignore media
misinformation, be our friend, feel our tears, be our family, be our nation.
Please, hold us in your prayers."




This EdGateway community is sponsored by the WestEd Web Dialogue project.

about us. contact us. faq. press info. link to us. ans. see below

[kgerwitz]

I am a graduate student at the University of Colorado and am planning an interdisciplinary conference involving sectors as diverse as urban planning, engineering, education, environmentalism, economics, commerce, and victims of catastrophes. The Natural Hazards Center is a partner in the conference, which is now scheduled for late September. I'm writing my thesis (which is due next month) on various methods of dialogue that would best be suited for an interdisciplinary conference like the one I am planning. I have posted a brief questionnaire under the research section of the NCDD Thataway Forum. If you are interested in sharing your ideas and best practices with someone who is pretty new to this field, I would certainly be grateful. I would be willing to call you to conduct an interview, or you could just answer the questions I have posted under research. Thank you for all of your postings. I have found them to be quite inspiring.

Karen Gerwitz
_________________
Karen Gerwitz
Graduate Student
c: 303-888-8113