Americans Discuss Social Security ?www.network-democracy.org/social-security
In 1999, Information Renaissance collaborated with Americans Discuss Social Security to host a non-partisan electronic discussion and debate on Social Security reform. Thousands of Americans participated in a national discussion with policymakers, experts and each other via the internet. You can browse the archives of this event to learn more about large-scale online discussions.

Appreciative Inquiry Commons? www.appreciativeinquiry.cwru.edu
'AI Commons' is devoted to the sharing of academic resources and practical tools on Appreciative Inquiry and the rapidly growing discipline of positive change. The site is hosted by Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management. Appreciative Inquiry is the coevolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations and the relevant world around them.

Association for Conflict Resolution ?www.acresolution.org
ACR is a professional organization dedicated to enhancing the practice and public understanding of conflict resolution. ACR represents and serves over 7000 mediators, arbitrators, facilitators, educators and others involved in the field of conflict resolution and collaborative decision-making. ACR was launched in January 2001, when the Academy of Family Mediators (AFM), the Conflict Resolution Education Network (CREnet), and the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR) merged into one organization.

At The Table ?www.AtTheTable.org
Connect with others, share information, and help build the worldwide movement for youth participation at this online clearinghouse featuring everything you need to know about effectively involving youth in your organization and community. Hosted by the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development.

A snapshot from one of the large-group sessions at the 2002 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation.

Benton Foundation ?www.benton.org
The Foundation works to realize the social benefits made possible by the public interest use of communications. Provides links to online tools for community organizing and community building.

Better Together ?www.BetterTogether.org
Better Together is the final report of the Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America, an initiative of Professor Robert D. Putnam at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The project focuses on expanding what we know about our levels of trust and community engagement and on developing strategies and efforts to increase this engagement. A signature effort has been a multi-year dialogue held on how we can increasingly build bonds of civic trust among Americans and their communities.

The Center for Democracy and Citizenship ?www.publicwork.org
The Center for Democracy and Citizenship is a University of Minnesota resource based in the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Its mission is to promote democracy and strengthen citizenship and civic education within a variety of settings, with a special emphasis on youth. The Center focuses on developing practice-based theory about how to engage citizens in public life.

TheCivicMind ?www.civicmind.com
TheCivicMind is a gateway to information and resources about civic participation and democracy education. The site is run by Wendy Bay Lewis, a lawyer turned speaker, civics coach and consultant who tracks efforts to engage the public in civic issues and includes this info on the site. The site includes directories to help you locate civic resources by topic (university-based programs, court-based programs, election reform, etc.) or state.

The Civic Network ?www.civic.net
The Civic Network is an evolving collection of online resources dedicated to supporting civic life and citizen participation. The Civic Network is a project of The Center for Civic Networking in collaboration with a growing number of individuals and organizations.

Civic Practices Network (CPN) ?www.cpn.org
CPN's website, although compiled several years ago and not updated, features an array of excellent resources for the 'new citizenship movement.' The Network shares a commitment to bringing practical methods for public problem solving into every community and institutional setting in the U.S.

The Co-Intelligence Institute ?www.co-intelligence.org
CII promotes awareness of co-intelligence (a shared, integrated form of intelligence) and of many tools and ideas that can be used to increase it. Their website is loaded with excellent, useful resources. CII also organizes open space conferences, listening circles and other forums.

Consortium on Peace Research, Education & Development ?www.evergreen.edu/user/copred
COPRED is a community of educators, activists and researchers working on alternatives to violence and war. Founded in 1970 by a small group of teachers and scholars, COPRED has grown to almost 500 institutional and individual members, including K-12 educators, peace activists, conflict resolution practitioners, university professors and clergy. Members of COPRED have access to bibliographies, syllabi collections, curriculum services, a speaker's bureau, an annual conference, a quarterly academic journal Peace & Change, a networking newsletter and materials for the media.

CRInfo ?www.crinfo.org
The Conflict Resolution Information Source (CRInfo) is a cooperative effort to strengthen the conflict field's information infrastructure. The site has catalogued over 8,000 web, hard copy, audio and video resources.

David Bohm Resources ?www.muc.de/~heuvel/bohm
This site provides a plethora of links to articles, books and information about and by David Bohm, a well-respected contemporary physicist whose contributions to science and philosophy include a kind of free-form, sustained dialogue.

Demos ?www.demos-usa.org
Demos was founded in 1999 as a national research and advocacy organization to help create a new long-term vision for American society. Demos works on two of the most urgent challenges facing the U.S. today: strengthening our democracy and creating more broadly shared prosperity. Demos conducts original research and builds networks of civic and economic reformers to help turn ideas into action.

The Dialogue to Action Initiative ?www.thataway.org
Dialogue to Action is a web-based program which aims to keep leaders in dialogue and deliberation informed, involved and inspired. The website offers ever-updated news, resources, ideas and events of interest to dialogue leaders, as well as a popular email discussion list, info about organizing dialogues, and strategies for moving from talk to community action.

Electronic Policy Network (EPN) ?www.epn.org/links/civiclinks.html
A consortium of top public policy organizations and advocacy groups, the Electronic Policy Network provides timely information and leading ideas about the policies and politics that shape our world. The site provides a great list of democracy and civic participation links.

Evaluation of Dialogue Groups ?www.westernjustice.org/stephan_survey.htm
Walter G. Stephan, Ph.D., of New Mexico State University designed this pre- and post-dialogue survey to help dialogue organizers and facilitators assess the effectiveness of their dialogues in transforming people's attitudes and actions.

Global Nonviolent Peace Force ?www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org
A new effort which builds upon the recent experiences of many organizations that have successfully experimented with the application of "Third Party Nonviolent Intervention" techniques in areas of advanced conflict.

Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training ?www.grassrootsinstitute.org
GIFT runs trainings which help strengthen the grassroots fundraising skills of people working for social justice. Created primarily for groups and people of color, the goal of GIFT is to build the capacity of progressive organizations to raise money and to increase the number of people of color in fundraising. GIFT seeks to decrease organizations' dependence on foundation funding by helping them develop a broad base of individual donors to support their work.

GroupJazz ?www.groupjazz.com
GroupJazz supports the work of groups whether they are meeting face to face or on-line. Founder Lisa Kimball, believes that "great groups make great things happen" and utilizes the word Jazz as a metaphor for collaboration.

Information Renaissance ?www.info-ren.org
Founded in 1996, this nonprofit corporation promotes the use of the internet to support the public interest through online dialogue and other processes. Information Renaissance enables citizens to participate more fully in the democratic process by improving access and fostering meaningful, high-level, interactive exchanges between informed members of the public and their government.

International Association of Facilitators ?www.iaf-world.org
The IAF promotes, supports and advances the art and practice of professional facilitation through methods exchange, professional growth, practical research, collegial networking and support services.

International Association for Public Participation ?www.iap2.org
IAP2 is an association of members who seek to promote and improve the practice of public participation in relation to individuals, governments, institutions, and other entities that effect the public interest in nations throughout the world. IAP2 carries out its mission by organizing and conducting activities to: serve the learning needs of members through events, publications, and communication technology; advocate for public participation throughout the world; provide technical assistance to improve public participation through research and programming.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights ?www.civilrights.org
LCCR is a coalition of over 180 organizations which are committed to the protection of civil and human rights in the U.S. LCCR's extensive website includes a civil rights events calendar and a U.S. map of promising practices for improving intergroup relations.

National Association for Community Mediation ?www.nafcm.org
NAFCM is a membership organization comprised of community mediation centers, their staff and volunteer mediators, and other individuals and organizations interested in the community mediation movement.

National Community Building Network ?www.ncbn.org
NCBN was formed in 1993 to facilitate collaboration and mutual sharing among community building efforts in poor communities. These programs enable community members to build on their own strengths and resources to improve their communities.

Network of Alliances Bridging Race & Ethnicity (NABRE) ?www.jointcenter.org/nabre/
A network of community-based organizations working across the country to bridge racial and ethnic divisions, NABRE was designed to cultivate and nurture local leaders as they build and sustain alliances that break down and transcend artificial barriers of race and ethnicity in all sectors of civil society and in communities across our country.

Network of Communities for Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution (NCPCR) ?www.apeacemaker.net
NCPCR was founded in 1981 to provide a forum in which individuals working on and researching conflict resolution practices could gather to exchange ideas. It is a non-membership organization, open to everyone interested in issues of peacemaking, social justice, and conflict resolution. NCPCR provides an international forum for continuing dialogue about the uses of conflict resolution as a tool for social justice and a force for peace.

The Pew Partnership for Civic Change ?www.pew-partnership.org
A civic research organization funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of Richmond, the Partnership identifies and documents promising solutions crucial to strong communities.

The Policy Action Network ?www.movingideas.org
The Policy Action Network is dedicated to explaining and popularizing complex policy ideas to a broader audience. Their goal is to improve collaboration and dialogue between policy and grassroots organizations, and to promote their work to journalists and legislators.

Policy Consensus Initiative ?www.PolicyConsensus.org
The Policy Consensus Initiative is a national nonprofit program working with leaders at the state level - governors, legislators, attorneys general, state agencies and others - to establish and strengthen the use of collaborative practices in states to bring about more effective governance. PCI and its partners provide information on consensus building and conflict resolution, demonstrate the effectiveness of the consensus building processes, support and foster state leaders who champion these approaches, and create and support consensus building capacity, structure and networks in the states.

President Clinton's Initiative on Race ?www.clinton2.nara.gov/Initiatives/OneAmerica/america.html
Although the One America resources (the dialogue guide, the Advisory Board's report to President Clinton, the promising practices, etc.) are no longer accessible on the White House website, they are all archived at this location.

Project Change ?www.projectchange.org
Project Change seeks to empower communities to reduce racial prejudice and improve race relations, to serve as a national clearinghouse for anti-racism information resources and training, and to further the development of an infrastructure for social justice work. Project Change models and promotes much-needed common ground and multicultural partnerships in communities where it is active. Project Change helps run the Anti-Racism Net.

Public Agenda Online ?www.publicagenda.org
A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 1975 to help citizens understand critical policy issues so they can make more informed and thoughtful decisions and to help leaders understand the public's point of view on major policy issues.

Stateline.org ?www.stateline.org
Stateline.org was founded in order to help journalists, policy makers and engaged citizens become better informed about innovative public policies.

Simulation Training Systems ?www.stsintl.com
Distributors of BaF? BaF? and other simulations/games that help people learn and develop in the areas of cross-cultural relations, diversity, empowerment, ethics, etc.

Teaching Tolerance ?www.splcenter.org/teachingtolerance/
Teaching Tolerance is a national education project dedicated to helping teachers foster equity, respect and understanding in the classroom and beyond. In response to an alarming increase in hate crime among youth, the Southern Poverty Law Center began the Teaching Tolerance project in 1991 as an extension of the Center's legal and educational efforts. Through the generous support of Center donors, Teaching Tolerance offers free or low-cost resources to educators at all levels.

The Teledemocracy Action News + Network ?www.frontpage.auburn.edu/tann/
The website of the Global Democracy Movement TAN+N is primarily dedicated to the creative use of modern technologies (ICT) and face-to-face deliberative techniques in all forms that directly empower citizens to have authentic input into political systems at all levels of governance around the world.

Television Race Initiative ?www.pbs.org/pov/tvraceinitiative/
The Television Race Initiative produces high-profile television broadcasts which help stimulate community dialogue and problem solving around the issue of race relations. Schedules and descriptions of upcoming programs and information about obtaining copies of past shows - on such topics as interracial relationships, the digital divide, and the history of slavery in America - are available on the site.

Tolerance.org ?www.tolerance.org
A web project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Tolerance.org aims to create a national community committed to human rights. Along with fabulous sections on instances of intolerance (and what others are doing about it), practical, proven action steps to take, online space for discussing events and issues about tolerance and hate, and an online activity for examining your own level of tolerance, Tolerance.org provides a clickable map of U.S. human rights groups.

The United Nations Year for Dialogue Among Civilizations
www.un.org/Dialogue and www.unesco.org/dialogue2001/en/natcom.htm
In November 1998, the UN General Assembly proclaimed the year 2001 as the "United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations." The resolution GA/RES/53/22, proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and supported by a large number of countries, invited governments and the UN system to plan and implement cultural, educational and social programs to promote the concept of dialogue among civilizations. Also check out the Iran-based International Centre for Dialogue Among Civilizations' site: www.dialoguecentre.org.

We Interrupt This Message ?www.interrupt.org/witm/
This non-profit organization provides media training, technical assistance, materials and consulting to groups with a progressive agenda. For example, they work with community-based groups on re-framing issues they care about, and on campaigns to correct media stereotypes and distortions.

Western Justice Center ?www.westernjustice.org
The Western Justice Center seeks new ways to resolve conflicts and improve the quality of justice. Their website provides an online database (compiled in 1998 but not updated) to help people connect with organizations working to prevent violence, to resolve conflicts and to promote intergroup dialogue and cross-cultural collaboration.

Last Updated:? January 5, 2003.