educational opportunities

Thought some of you would be interested in looking over the Society for Organizational Learning’s 2010 program schedule.  According to Sherry Immediato, SoL will be offering a variety of workshops for individuals and teams in 2010. “Our intention is to help those with unconscious competence – that is, all of us – develop greater capacity for organizational learning, and to make these practices the rule rather than the exception in business, government and civil society.” Please contact Frank Schneider at 1-617-300-9535 or by email if you need help with registration, have questions or would like to know more about the value these programs offer. (more…)

Are you interested in increasing your Leadership Currency? Are you motivated to access the connective power within yourself, your organization and your networks? Led by four experts in personal transformation, group dynamics and organizational development, the Leadership Currency experience is designed for leaders and high-level managers. If you want to boost your collaborative performance, this is for you!

The group will meet four times over the course of 2010. The process includes monthly interaction by phone and online with facilitators from the Institute on the Common Good at Regis University and your peers. Our quarterly gatherings for 2010 are January 26th-29th, May 11th-14th, September 21st-24th, and December 7th-10th. The January experience is set to take place at The Nature Place, located on 6,000 acres of private land deep in the heart of Colorado’s mountain ecosystem.

If you are looking to:

• Integrate your passion in to your everyday work.
• Learn ways to inspire a new level of teamwork, focus and energy in your team and your networks.
• Recognize the emerging future and create strategies that move you forward with intention rather than in reaction.
• Bring a new found inspiration to your career and your business that results in a significantly higher level of prosperity and success.
• Develop a highly functioning team that works together as a self-correcting system.

Join this group experience. The cost of the experience is $3,150 for NCDD members (this reflects a 10 percent discount), payable in various installment plans. Don’t hesitate to call 303-458-4967 and we will connect you with one of our four coach/facilitators so you can talk one to one and have your questions answered. Call 303-458-4967 to sign up. More information is at www.leadershipcurrency.com.

Amanda Ruthven asked us to let NCDDers know that Georgetown University’s M.A. program in Conflict Resolution is accepting applications for the 2010-2001 academic year.  Applications are due January 15, 2010.

Georgetown University’s two-year M.A. program in Conflict Resolution is a multidisciplinary course of study that combines world class research and practice. Core courses are offered in the Government Department, Psychology Department, and the McDonough School of Business. Electives may be taken across graduate programs on campus, including Georgetown’s international relations programs which are ranked #1 in America by Foreign Policy magazine.

Graduates of the program are represented in a variety of government agencies and NGOs throughout the world and are prepared to pursue doctoral studies.  Learn more at http://conflictresolution.georgetown.edu or email [email protected].

NCDD member Sharon Almerigi wants to let everyone know that the first Caribbean Conference of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) will take place in Barbados September 23-25, 2009. Sharon is the IAF Regional Representative for Latin America & the Caribbean.

Visit www.iaf-latamcarib.org to see the conference program.

Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver, BC (Canada) just launched a new program.  The Certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement is aimed at those interested in the design and implementation of community and/or civic engagement methods and practices.  The certificate includes courses on the principles and practice of civic engagement, citizens engaging citizens, and civic engagement around public issues. Courses start in September. More at www.sfu.ca/dialog/study+practice/certificate.html.

NCDD member PublicDecisions is offering a 3-part live, online course this October on “Effective Techniques for Engagement.” Dues-paying NCDD members save 20% on PublicDecisions trainings. Email Paul Coelus at [email protected] for details on registering at the discounted rate. (More members discounts.)

John Stephens, another NCDD member, is the instructor for this course.  John is Associate Professor of Public Administration and Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The course will be taught in three 90-minute sessions on October 6th, 7th, and 8th. Each class is held from 1:00 to 2:30 pm Eastern. High-speed internet and long-distance telephone service is required to participate. (more…)

If you have been thinking about participating in Fielding Graduate Institute’s extraordinary Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement Certificate Program (DDPE), now’s the time to apply.  The early bird registration deadline has been extended to the 25th, so you can still save $250 in tuition.  Plus – dues-paying NCDD members are eligible for an additional 10% discount!

Tuition is $3,740 if you register before July 25, 2009. NCDD members’ tuition is $3,365 (a 10% discount of $375).

This year’s graduate certificate program runs from August 10, 2009 through January 20, 2010.  NCDD Board member Taylor Willingham, Director of Texas Forums at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum, says this about the program:

“What an amazing faculty! I was interacting on a regular basis with people I had only known previously through their writing. Who would have ever thought that I would not only get to know them, but get to take advantage of their wisdom! It was an incredible experience.”

Learn more about the program at www.fielding.edu/programs/ce/ddpe.

The 4th Annual International Conference on “Engaging The Other:” The Power of Compassion is taking place November 12-15 in San Mateo, California (outside San Francisco), and we encourage all NCDDers interested in conflict resolution and intergroup relations to attend! NCDD is co-sponsoring this event with the Common Bond Institute and the International Humanistic Psychology Association, and registration will be discounted for NCDD members ($290 rather than $350 for the early rate).

Engaging The Other (ETO) is an innovative interdisciplinary conference examining concepts of “The Other” from a universal, cross-cultural perspective to promote wider public dialogue about concepts of “Us and Them.”

Now is the time to submit your proposal for a concurrent session (workshop), and/or to sign up as a dialogue group facilitator. Participation in either role saves you 50% on the regular registration rate! (more…)

I wanted to post a reminder that the 4-part webinar series, the “Transition from Crisis 2 Resilience Webinar” is holding its first one-hour webinar tonight at 7 pm Eastern.  Regular tuition is $110, which includes a Transition Crisis 2 Resilience Handbook, but fee-paying NCDD members can register for $88 at http://crisis2resilience.com/ncdd.

A Crisis Doesn’t Have to Become A Disaster

Position yourself, your clients, your community facing natural and human-generated crises, for immediate survival through building long-term resilience.

For: Facilitators, Mediators, Consultants, Business & Community Leaders, Emergency Service Providers, Citizens

Upcoming weekly 4 one-hour webinars:  June 2, 9, 15, and 23, 4 – 5PM Pacific Time; 7 – 8PM Eastern Time 12PM GMT

Us Partners and the Global Facilitators Service Corps are teaming up to expand the corps of leaders knowledgeable in crisis management and building resilience. We educate people to be able to facilitate communities, organizations, business, and individuals to emerge from the trauma of crisis to becoming self-reliant, self-organizing, innovative and resilient.

Special discount link for fee-paying NCDD members: http://crisis2resilience.com/ncdd

Questions?  Email Hina Pendle at [email protected]

Dr. Sheila Marsh asked me to mention a training in Open Space facilitation that’s being offered June 17-19, 2009 in Little Venice, London.  She said the training is a “great value and diverse group led by 2 experienced open space practitioners.” Contact Sue Strachan, programme administrator at [email protected] or visit www.healthdirections.org/openspace.htm.  The cost with all materials and refreshments is £495. Some ‘bursaries’ are available.

Betty Gilmore at the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution at the University of Texas School of Law asked us to post about an upcoming training in Austin that sounds great. The theme for this summer’s Skills Enrichment Institute is “Innovations in Collaboration and Conflict Resolution,” and it will take place July 29-31, 2009 at the Lakeway Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas.

This dynamic skill building program allows participants to choose among six two-day sessions, all representing the latest advances in the field. Spending two days in one session contributes to a deeper and more focused experience. In addition, the program fosters opportunities for a variety of connections through topical discussion groups that occur during off hours. The selected session topics showcase prominent trainers and fresh contributions to the field. The sessions will help participants integrate innovative techniques into their work. The private, lakeside setting provides a congenial atmosphere for deliberate thought and dialogue among colleagues and recognized leaders in the field. We look forward to seeing you this summer!

The plenary speaker is Susan Collin Marks, Senior Vice President of Search for Common Ground, and the trainings sessions are:

* Creating Value through Negotiation – Melissa Manwaring, J.D., M.Ed.
* The Role of Apology, Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Collaborative Processes – Lee Taft, J.D., M.Div.
* Power and Impasse – Nina Meierding, M.S., J.D.
* Staying with Conflict: Working with Ongoing Disputes – Bernie Mayer, Ph.D.
* The Public Policy Facilitator’s Toolbox: Designing Processes for Multi-Stage Initiatives – Bill Potapchuk, M.A., M.S.
* The Next Generation of ADR: Utilizing Technology to Effectively Resolve Disputes – Colin Rule, M.A.

The standard registration fee including all program materials and meals is $895. Early-bird registrations received prior to June 29, 2009 will be $795. Government and non-profit employees will receive a reduced rate of $695. Rates do not include hotel room costs.

Visit www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/cppdr/training/skills_enrichment.php for more details or to register.

I hope to see many NCDDers at the Network for Peace through Dialogue conference this summer in New York City.  I’ll be there, speaking during the opening evening plenary (along with Geraldine Ferraro!) and giving a workshop the next day on moving from dialogue to action.

The conference, which takes place June 12th and 13th at Marymount Manhattan College, is designed for community groups, peace workers, practitioners, researchers, teachers, students and anyone who struggles to bring people with different viewpoints together. Registration is now open, and there is a special $150 registration rate for NCDD members (the regular rate is $200). Students with valid ID’s pay only $75.

Click here for more info on the conference or to register.  You can also call 212-426-5818 or email [email protected] if you have questions.

This year’s conference theme is “Dialogue In/As Action,” and the event will focus on the rich intersections of the methods, processes, and actions of dialogue that lead to change. The 2009 conference will explore the ground rules for practicing good dialogue, as well as the parameters for putting constructive dialogue into action. The goals of the 2009 conference are to provide a forum for addressing and discussing the following issues:

• Change generated through dialogue
• The preconditions of dialogue and how they can be fostered
• Cases of dialogue IN ACTION, AS ACTION
• Cases of dialogue across ethnicities, nationalities, and religious beliefs
• Using technology to facilitate dialogue
• Voices of youth making change (presentations by youth)

Let me know if you plan to attend!  We’ll plan a little NCDD gathering if a good number of members plan to be there.

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in New Hampshire this July for the No Better Time conference!  I wanted to make sure people know that the registration rate increases from $250 to $300 on April 30th.  The student rate is only $200 until April 30th.

Co-hosted by NCDD members The Democracy Imperative and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, the national conference, “No Better Time: Promising Opportunities in Deliberative Democracy for Educators and Practitioners” will take place this July 8-11 at the University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH).

The conference will be centered around “Learning Exchanges” – thoughtful discussions about key challenges in deliberative democracy hosted by leading scholars and practitioners (it’s a VERY exciting list, both of topics and presenters; take a look). I’ll be co-hosting a Learning Exchange with Martin Carcasson and Jim Fishkin on choosing, mixing, and adapting deliberation models and methods. 

Here’s how the conference is described on the website:

Deliberative democracy has reached a critical point in its development. Over the last fifteen years, shifts in citizen capacities and attitudes have led to a dramatic proliferation of citizen participation and deliberative practices, and in 2008 they helped to produce an historic presidential election. On the heels of these changes, new opportunities for educators and practitioners are emerging in communities, in government, and on campuses. The primary goal of No Better Time is to take stock of these developments and to consider future directions for educators and practitioners in teaching, research, and in citizen-centered initiatives.

This Sunday, April 19, there will be a one-day eDemocracyCamp with a particular focus on e-participation (using the internet to support public participation) at George Washington University, The Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (IPDI) and The Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM), Media and Public Affairs Building, 805 21st Street, NW / Washington, DC 20052 (USA). The goal of the gathering is to connect government officials, researchers, developers, practitioners, and regular citizens for a day of intense collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Co-sponsored by NCDD, this event is free to attend, but the organizers request an RSVP prior to the event (which you can do at the event’s wiki page at http://barcamp.org/eDemocracyCamp2). Sandy and I will be attending, and we hope to see a lot of NCDD members there!

Here are a few of the topics that may be addressed at eDemocracyCamp2…

• Use of online tools for public involvement, citizen participation or citizen engagement in government planning and decision making (e-participation)
• E-participation (using technology — especially the Internet — to broaden and deepen political participation by helping citizens to connect with one another and with their elected representatives and governments)
• Collaborative problem solving, consensus building and decision making
• Online voting or e-voting
• Online dialogue, deliberation and debate
• etc…

Sign up or learn more…

Sign up on the wiki: http://barcamp.org/eDemocracyCamp2
Spread the word on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=58034912834
Join the mailing list: http://groups.google.com/group/edemocracycamp/
Follow eDemocracyCamp on Twitter: http://twitter.com/edemocracycamp

The Shambhala Institute recently changed its name to the ALIA Institute (Authentic Leadership In Action), and asked us to share some info about their upcoming trainings with you. Their Leading Profound Innovation training with Otto Scharmer, a 3-day exploration of the U Process, will take place April 5-8 in Kingbridge, Ontario. Their long-running Authentic Leadership in Action program will be held in June in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the Shambhala Summer Institute, and the ALIA West will be held in May in Victoria. (more…)