Gregarius

WikiTrust

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 11:37am PDT by Tim

Interesting project by the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Wiki Lab: WikiTrust, a project in studying author repuation and text trust on Wikipedia.

How is the trust computed?

The trust of text is computed in two steps:

First, we compute the reputation of each author by analyzing the author’s contributions. When an author makes a contribution that is preserved in subsequent edits, the author gains reputation. When an author makes a contribution that is undone or reverted quickly, the author loses reputation.

The trust value of a new word is proportional to the reputation of its author. When subsequent authors edit the page, words that are left unchanged gain trust: by leaving them there, the authors implicitly agree with them. Words closer to the edit gain more trust, as the author of the edit is likely to have paid more attention to them. In contrast, text that has been rearranged (new text, text at the border of cut-and-paste, etc) has again a reputation proportional to the author of the edit.

See a demo or learn more on their blog.

Via ReadWriteWeb: WikiTrust Evaluates Wikipedia Text by Author Reputation

Traces of the Trade Premieres June 24th on PBS

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 10:58am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Traces of the Trade Trailer pic I strongly encourage all of you to watch/record Traces of the Trade next Tuesday (June 24th). It premieres on PBS next week, and I especially encourage anyone who’s joining us in Austin for the 2008 NCDD Conference to watch this film. We’ll have representatives from Traces at the conference — showing the film, working with Eastern Mennonite University’s Coming to the Table program on race dialogue-focused workshops, and helping us connect all we’re learning and experiencing related to race, bias and oppression at workshops and plenary sessions at the conference.

Those of you who attended NCDD 2004 in Denver may remember that our friends at Animating Democracy gave conference participants the opportunity to view the rough cut of the film, and played it again during the Open Space because so many people were talking about it that many who missed out demanded another opportunity to see it.

Supported by Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts supported by the Ford Foundation, the film follows director Katrina Browne and nine of her relatives as they retrace the voyage and industry of their ancestors—the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history—from the former mansion and wharf in Bristol, RI, to slave forts in Ghana, to former plantations in Cuba. Step by step, the family uncovers the vast extent of Northern complicity in slavery while also stumbling through the minefield of contemporary race relations. In this bicentennial year of the U.S. abolition of the slave trade, Traces of the Trade offers powerful new perspectives on the black/white divide.

Traces of the Trade will be a catalyst for heart-to-heart dialogue, education and action through screenings in communities and classrooms. There are many steps you can take, on your own or with others. For a full list of these types of opportunities, visit www.tracesofthetrade.org/get-involved.

Check your local listings to see when the film will debut in your area. You can also go to www.tracesofthetrade.org to learn more about this amazing film.

Ameritocracy: new social fact-checking platform

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 9:01am PDT by Tim

I just signed up for Ameritocracy, a new social web app (currently in beta) for collaborative fact-checking.

From their blog:

About Ameritocracy

Ameritocracy is a user generated content site that allows people to rate the credibility of statements made by our leaders and information gatekeepers such as media outlets and businesses. Our reputation system helps to make the information you read more credible, and the succinct nature of the content will help anyone keep up with social and political news.

From the about page:

What is Ameritocracy?

The internet today is pretty neat. It’s given us access to more information than any previous publishing medium, and gives everyone with a connection the tools to broadcast their views to the masses. With so many opinions, we can learn about all sides of any issue, but it still takes a lot of time to do the research. Ameritocracy was born out of this frustration of not knowing who to trust and not having the time to try to figure it out.

Our goal is to help people cut through the noise and gain quick access to the whole picture. We want to encourage a healthy skepticism of all claims, and offer a meaningful way to participate in the dialogue between the people who consume information and the people who own it. We want to give the public a chance to say, “We’re listening”, and demand that we be listened to as well.

How does it work?

The core features of Ameritocracy are adding statements (made by a person or organization) and assessing statements. For example, if you hear Jane Doe say something on tv that you find questionable, you can submit that statement to the site to see what the community has to say about it, or you can add your own assessment. Members can then rate Jane Doe’s statement for credibility and relevancy, add their own assessments, or post a comment.

From this, Jane Doe will develop a reputation based on the community ratings, and you and your sources will develop a positive reputation so long as no one identifies your submission as a misquote or deliberately inaccurate information. The goal is to get a few different perspectives for each statement, so anyone looking to know more about a statement can get a broader picture and make their own assessment.

There will be some really exciting trends to watch during this process, such as what the public feels about certain topics, how public opinion changes over time, and how the government, media and business react to the views of the Ameritocracy community.

Over on the IPDI blog, Julie Germany has an interview with Porter Bayne, one of the co-founders (she’s also giving out invite codes so check it out): Building Ameritocracy one quote at a time

At first glance, this looks very similar to Munich, Germany-based Trupoli (which I looked at briefly back in December).

Youth Innovators at the University of Pennsylvania

Posted: June 17th, 2008, 9:46am PDT by Andy Fluke

In their latest email offering, NCDD members Len and Libby Traubman share the story of University of Pennsylvania sophomore Sam Adelsberg and his work at his school to bring Jewish and Muslim students together…

My freshman year at Penn was marred by controversy between the Jewish and Muslim and Arab communities. Distrust and animosity stood in the way of a provocative dialogue as numerous incidents further exacerbated the already existant isolation between the communities. I could only speak for my own feelings, but I saw many who have since become dear friends as “the other.” A year later, it is not uncommon to see Muslims eating at Hillel or Jews attending MSA events. What happened? An initiative sparked by some student leaders on both sides attempted to “bridge the gap” that we all saw. Are all barriers broken down? Hardly. Through joint musical performances, joint panels, cultural events and a trip together to help rebuild New Orleans together, student leaders from both communities began to see each other as friends and not as others. Though there were times when it got tense, many beautiful friendships formed. While there is a long way to go, this is an exciting first step as many of these students who participated have tremendous potential to take this even further in the coming years.

Along with Sam’s story, they highlight other examples through articles from UPenn’s student newspaper.

Breaking the Ice via Stereotypes by Alex Melamed
Interfaith organization PRISM debunks common religious slurs in first fall meeting.

Mending Their Ties Through Music by Nandanie Khilall
Jews, Arabs and Muslims seek fresh cultural dialogue.

Religion and Rebuilding down South by Lara Seligman
Jewish and Muslim students come together for spring break trip.

Two Unlikely Groups Join Forces To Host An Event by Lara Seligman
“We are not on the West Bank; we are in West Philadelphia.”

Plantjes en Bloemen V

Posted: June 14th, 2008, 7:56pm PDT by Tim

Following a long year of lackluster garden engagement, the time has come to once again green the backyard.

In an effort to fully maximize value, this year will be herbs only (strawberries didn’t yield enough results, and the vegetables were pretty much all eaten by our little friends on four feet).

Sorry, mates, not this time!

Basil, rosemary, Italian parsley have already been added in large quantities. Mint and a few other weeds will follow shortly.

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Fielding’s 5th Certificate Program in DD&PE Coming Up

Posted: June 14th, 2008, 10:34am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Fielding Graduate University’s fifth graduate level Certificate Program in Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement is being held this fall (August 15, 2008 through January 15, 2009). I have heard only great things about this program, and I recommend it highly to anyone who wants to earn some credentials in D&D but isn’t quite ready for a doctorate.

This distinctive program focuses on recent innovations in dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement featuring outstanding faculty who have played key roles in developing these approaches. It strives for the development of mastery in our practice of dialogue and deliberation.

Designed and delivered in collaboration with The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, the Kettering Foundation, and the Public Dialogue Consortium, the program features an outstanding faculty of scholar-practitioners (Hal Saunders, Barnett Pearce, Phil Stewart, Keith Melville, Jan Elliott, John Dedrick, Linda Blong, Kath Fisher). It also features guests in phone dialogues who are widely recognized scholars and innovative practitioners. Previous featured guests have included Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Juanita Brown, Martha McCoy, Bob Stains, Shawn Spano, Frank Barrett, Joe Peters, Janette Hartz-Karp and Jim Fishkin.

Come join us and learn with others from different backgrounds and countries who share your energy and enthusiasm for this work. Learn in two face-to-face workshops, online, and on the phone with world renowned practitioners. To help make it easy for those attending the NCDD conference, the first face-to-face workshop will take place in Austin, Texas immediately after the conference.

Here’s what a few previous participants had to say:

“The DDPE certificate program is exceptional.”
“Altogether an outstanding experience.”
“The Program was extremely valuable.”
“This program has had, and continues to have, a huge impact on my thinking and the way I do my work.”

For a course outline and to check out other testimonials, see www.fielding.edu/hod/ce/dialog/index.html. You can also check on the website to see when the next informational conference call is being held.

Tuition is US $3490 if you register by the early bird deadline of July 15, 2008. NCDD members’ tuition is only US $3,140 (10% discount). Registrants enrolling after July 15 will be charged US $3,740 ($3,390 for NCDD members). Register at [https:].

Addendum Added 7/1/08…

Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement
Certificate Program (DDPE)
August 15, 2008 – January 15, 2009
Developing Mastery in Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement

Call for Sponsorship Applications—Deadline: July 15, 2008

The Institute for Social Innovation at Fielding Graduate University announces $2,500 partial sponsorships for professionals who are interested in improving their practice and beginning a project in the area of dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement. We are particularly interested in partially sponsoring participants who have the opportunity and interest in supporting dialogic, deliberative and engagement practices in their organizations or communities through projects which have the potential to build civic engagement capacity.

With support from the Kellogg Foundation, we are offering partial sponsorships for our 19 week certificate program which provide participants with the opportunity to develop towards mastery of dialogue and deliberation processes by working with a scholar-practitioner model of reflective practice. An exceptional faculty of scholar-practitioners, who do real world work in diverse contexts and cultures, will support your learning and provide coaching for a culminating capstone project. This program uses blended learning: two face to face sessions, online, and phone and is available for academic graduate credit. These sponsorships provide about half of the total cost of the program. (For DDPE info www.fielding.edu/hod/ce/dialog/index.html)

Applicants must have organizational support in the form of commitment to dialogue, deliberation and public engagement. Applicants with financial support from their organization/community will be given preference. Applicants can be from any sector of society: non-profit, government, or for-profit.

The review team is accepting applications until July 15, 2008. If you are interested in submitting an application, please send the following by email to .

Two page description of how you intend to use this certificate in your work; a description of a potential project opportunity which would help to build civic engagement capacity using dialogue and deliberation in your organization or community.
An email letter of support from your organization with an indication of financial contribution.

For questions, please contact: Dr. Katrina Rogers, Fielding Graduate University at (805) 898-2924 or .

Innovation in the Move towards Peaceful Coexistence

Posted: June 14th, 2008, 9:46am PDT by Andy Fluke

The city of Bilbao will be the scene of an international seminar “Innovation in the Move towards Peaceful Coexistence: New Methods for Conflict Management and Social Dialogue” that will be held between the 21st and 24th of July.

This course provides a framework for learning how to establish productive dialogue and to participate in conversations that promote change, inspire innovation, generate supportive and cooperative coordination and enable us to cope with difficult situations or conflicts, channelling them towards creative solutions. It also aims to help participants recognise and expand existing resources and opportunities for peaceful coexistence. The resources provided change the way in which we establish personal, interpersonal, social and political dialogue, and offer new opportunities for joint activities and the communal building of a new future.

It will be led by high representatives of the field such as Kenneth Gergen, Sallyann Roth, Dora Fried Schnitman, Nelson Molina Valencia, Jorge Sanhueza and others. It has been organised by Gizagune Foundation and the Elkargunea Network for Promoting Peaceful Coexistence in Local Government in collaboration with Fundación Interfas and The Taos Institute.

You can request more information at .

Tim Russert

Posted: June 13th, 2008, 2:14pm PDT by Tim

Journalism here in the US suffered a big loss today: NBC’s Tim Russert dead at 58

Of his background as a Democratic political operative, Russert said, “My views are not important.”

“Lawrence Spivak, who founded ‘Meet the Press,’ told me before he died that the job of the host is to learn as much as you can about your guest’s positions and take the other side,” he said in a 2007 interview with Time magazine. “And to do that in a persistent and civil way. And that’s what I try to do every Sunday.”

You did a good job, Tim!

Does Our Brain Impair Our Political Perspective?

Posted: June 12th, 2008, 9:19am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I received Donna Zajonc’s Politics of Hope e-newsletter this morning, and was captivated by Donna’s main article, which is about which parts of the brain are used (and most tellingly, NOT used) when partisans hear negative or contradictory information about the candidates they support. Definite implications for D&D practitioners. Here’s the article…

New brain research is giving us insight in to our political positions and may explain why we have become so politically polarized. Dr. Drew Westen, director of clinical psychology at Emory University, and his colleagues used a MRI brain scan to study a sample of Democrats and Republicans who were strongly committed to their individual candidate.

Democrats and Republicans were asked to evaluate negative information that had been published about their favorite candidate. During the evaluation, participants underwent MRI scans to see what parts of their brains were active. The purpose of the study was to research people who said they strongly identify with their political party (called “partisans”) and evaluate how they respond to contradictory information about their candidate. (more…)

The Visual National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation

Posted: June 11th, 2008, 1:23pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Generated from our “About Us” text using the “word clouds” tool at Wordle (wordle.net)…

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Sandy & Andy’s visit with Marv & Sandra

Posted: June 8th, 2008, 12:23pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

On May 20th, Andy and I drove over to Philadelphia to meet with Marv Weisbord and Sandra Janoff - co-founders of the Future Search Network and co-creators of the future search method. For those of you not familiar with it, future search is a great planning method that allows people to discover a set of shared values or themes (common ground) and build new dynamics such as inclusion and collaboration into their organization or community.

Future search is not trademarked and is not owned by anyone (I can’t tell you how much I respect that!) and all are encouraged to use the process and experiment with it. It is an open system process, which means it considers anyone a necessary participant who can affect, is affected by or has important information or experience related to the task at hand.

We had a great visit with Marv and Sandra (pictured), who are super-nice, intelligent, thoughtful people. We visited at Marv’s beautiful house and then had lunch nearby at an Indian restaurant. We learned about the origins of future search and the underlying philosophy of the process.

I left our meeting with a lot more respect for the future search process, and I recommend that everyone involved in change management become familiar with the process. If you want to learn more about future search, here are some things you can do…

Go to the Future Search Network site
Get trained in future search (they provide great discounts for paid NCDD members!)
Buy Marv and Sandra’s most recent book, Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There! Ten Principles for Leading Meetings that Matter
Check out the resources we have in the Learning Exchange on future search

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NCDDer’s Dialogue Project Featured on Front Page of NY Times!

Posted: June 1st, 2008, 9:32am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Photo of Judith Mowry An article about NCDD member Judith Mowry’s Restorative Listening Project was featured on the front page of Friday’s New York Times. The article by William Yardley, entitled Racial Shift in a Progressive City Spurs Talks, covers how Judith’s Portland, Oregon dialogue project has opened people’s eyes to the pain and hardship caused by the city’s rampant gentrification. Her Restorative Listening Project uses uses dialogue, storytelling and restorative justice to engage the city in race dialogue.

We’ve already posted about the great multimedia coverage Judith got on the Oregonian website. I was impressed with that, but now I’m just floored! Congratulations, Judith!! (Click “more” to see the full article.) (more…)

Sustained Dialogue Campus Network Seeks Executive Director

Posted: May 28th, 2008, 8:54am PDT by Andy Fluke

The Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (sdcampusnetwork.org), a project of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue (sustaineddialogue.org), is currently looking for an Executive Director…

Colleges and universities increasingly pledge an institutional commitment to diversity; yet, relations among diverse student communities are often dominated by racial and cultural tensions. Young people across the country frustrated with campus tensions have been drawn to a process called Sustained Dialogue (SD), first used to improve campus climate at Princeton University in 1999. Formed in 2003, the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN) trains, mentors, and connects students seeking to build more cohesive, diverse, engaged campus communities through dialogue. A project of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, SDCN seeks a passionate self-starter to serve as Executive Director and to lead its expansion nationally while building a strong and sustainable organization.

For more information please visit the SDNC Job Openings page on the SDCN website.

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Co-Creating What’s Next

Posted: May 27th, 2008, 6:42pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Mitch Saunders, a past presenter at our conferences, is presenting a new Learning Lab with Craig Fleck entitled Co-Creating What’s Next at the University of California at Berkeley on July 16-18, 2008 along with guests Rod Bacon and Mathew Frazer, CEO’s from Silicon Valley. At the workshop, you will experience new perspectives on previously hidden forces acting on individuals and the organizations in which they work, engage at a deeper level and learn repeatable ways to influence personal and organizational change. Join fellow leaders and practitioners exploring how the principles of living systems and dynamic, co-creative practices are used for sensing and influencing the development of people, innovations, and organizations. While working on real issues, you will learn principles, practices, and practical tools for discovering and influencing what’s emerging and needed next. Learn more at www.actionlearninglabs.com or register at www.actionlearninglabs.com/about/programs/.

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Im wunderschönen Monat Mai

Posted: May 27th, 2008, 2:12am PDT by Tim

Im wunderschönen Monat Mai,
Als alle Knospen sprangen, Da ist in meinem Herzen
Die Liebe aufgegangen.

Im wunderschönen Monat Mai,
Als alle Vögel sangen, Da hab’ ich ihr gestanden
Mein Sehnen und Verlangen.

Music by Robert Schumann, from his song cycle Dichterliebe, lyrics by Heinrich Heine.

Connecting with Canadians Policy Research and Dialogue Program

Posted: May 26th, 2008, 6:01pm PDT by Andy Fluke

from the Canadian Policy Research Networks (cprn.org) press release…

Connecting with Canadians, a new five-year public policy research and dialogue program that will engage Canadians to address key issues such as citizenship, diversity and skills barriers, has been launched by Canadian Policy Research Networks. A unique feature of Connecting with Canadians is its commitment to greater engagement of young Canadians in policy issues, says Manson Singer. Young people will participate in the research and dialogue. “We want to leave our young leaders with a legacy of skills and interest in Canada’s public affairs.”

Connecting with Canadians draws on a framework of expectations and obligations: what Canadians say they expect from government, business and community organizations and what they believe, as citizens, we should give back to society. Together, this set of expectations and obligations represents a vision of the Canada that Canadians want. CPRN identified from its deliberative dialogues and research five challenges to address in public policy research that are critical to achieving this vision: citizenship; diversity; productivity and skills; health and our aging population; and the environment. Connecting with Canadians will address these challenges to find innovative policy ideas to move Canada forward.

The policy challenges were discussed with leaders from across Canada and reviewed at CPRN’s Leadership Summit 2008 in Ottawa in February. Summit participants, community, business, government and young leaders confirmed their importance and identified key barriers and opportunities to address them.

You can read Connecting with Canadians, Shaping Our Future on the CPRN website, where you can also find more information about the Connecting with Canadians research and dialogue program.

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More on Mobilize.org’s Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Grant Summit

Posted: May 25th, 2008, 2:03pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Mobilize.org

from the latest Mobilize.org press release on the event…

Mobilize.org has announced the application launch for its Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Grant Summit, Money in Politics, to be held July 18-21, 2008, in Denver, Colorado. In partnership with The Sunlight Foundation and Common Cause, Mobilize.org is seeking innovative projects focused towards clean election practices at the local, state, and national level.

Mobilize.org is focusing efforts on empowering members of the Millennial Generation to develop innovative clean elections practices, emphasizing the creation of public finance reforms at the local and state level. These types of reforms are intended to give voters more control over the government by making politicians accountable to voters rather than wealthy campaign contributors. Their Money in Politics Grant Summit presents members of the Millennial Generation with the opportunity to identify a need for clean elections practices, and through the use of interactive key pad voting technology and peer to peer dialogue, develop an idea or solution that would address that need, and present a proposal for funding at the summit in Denver in July 2008.

Their grant summit winners will each receive a grant, between $3,000 and $5,000 and more importantly, will receive the support of Mobilize.org and its extensive partner network to champion their proposal and create systemic and long lasting change in the way elections are run.

Please see the Democracy 2.0 Issues Brief “Money in Politics” and the Grant Summit Rules and Application form (deadline is June 15th) for more information (both pdf files).

You’ll find all relevant information related to the Summit on the Mobilize.org website.

Designing Peacebuilding Programmes

Posted: May 23rd, 2008, 9:38am PDT by Andy Fluke

The International Peace and Development Training Center (www.patrir.ro), working in cooperation with the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and PATRIR, has announced that their Designing Peacebuilding Programmes (DPP), a five day international training program for practitioners, policy makers, international and national agency staff and NGOs working in peacebuilding, gender, development, conflict transformation, violence prevention and post-war recovery, will be held September 22 – 26, 2008 in Cluj - Napoca, Romania. A complete and detailed guide in PDF format is available and more information can be found on their website.

Zen and the Art of Conflict

Posted: May 23rd, 2008, 9:36am PDT by Andy Fluke

We just received a press release for an interesting course offered by Brooklyn Nonviolent Communication (brooklynnvc.org) that I’d like to share (full press release after the break)…

Shifting Conflict to Compassion

Mindful Communication: Zen and the Art of Conflict
A Course in Compassionate Nonviolent Communication (NVC)

Beginning June 1st at the Breathing Project in Manhattan

Who doesn’t encounter conflict at some point? While most of us have found ways to “deal” with conflict, it is truly an art to find the opportunities for connection and compassion hidden within conflict. By learning to listen to our own needs and the core concerns of others we can come up with solutions and strategies that foster a mutual sense of understanding.

This is the focus of an upcoming course, “Zen and the Art of Conflict,” offered by Brooklyn Nonviolent Communication on 3 Sundays beginning June 1st at the Breathing Project in Manhattan.

(more…)

$125,000 Grant Program for Citizen Engagement in California

Posted: May 22nd, 2008, 11:03am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

CSC Logo Here’s some great news for D&Ders in California…

Common Sense California is offering $125,000 total to municipalities, school districts, and non-profits that wish to engage the public in policy decisions through their new “Citizen Engagement Grant Program.” The grants are divided into two levels and will be awarded in two timeframes. CSC is offering four “Common Sense Grants” up to $25,000.00 each for use in developing campaigns that involve the public around issues pertaining to city/regional and/or K12 policy. Applications for these grants will be received through September 12, 2008, with recipients notified in early October. “Catalyst Grants” in amounts up to $7,500.00 will be awarded on a rolling basis, beginning in late June. Click on “more” for the full press release. (more…)

Registration Opens for the August 2008 IAP2 Conference

Posted: May 22nd, 2008, 8:50am PDT by Andy Fluke

IAP2

As previously covered here, this summer’s IAP2 conference in Glascow, UK will be held from August 27th to 29th. Registration is now open, and their early bird rate will be available until May 29th. More details on registration can be found online here.

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) conference will be held in partnership with the Scottish Centre for Sustainable Development (SCSCD) at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Keynote Speakers will address topics such as community empowerment and what it means to government; international law and CSR; oil-peak and community survival; new business models and CSR and ISO 26000. Delegates from 25 different countries will offer 70 presentations on a range of topics associated with CSR, community development, new business models, stakeholder engagement techniques, the very latest research into public engagement, CSR and the UN compact, cyber polling, participation in planning – and many, many more.

Catalogue of Approaches to Peacebuilding Now Online

Posted: May 22nd, 2008, 8:39am PDT by Andy Fluke

Global Peacebuilders

Global Peacebuilders (globalpeacebuilders.org), an international network of conflict resolution, conflict transformation and peacebuilding initiatives, has recently made their Peacebuilding Approaches Catalogue freely available to visitors to their website. The catalogue is “a brief glimpse of the peacebuilding activity currently taking place, and offers an insight into just some of the many important approaches to peacebuilding currently being implemented locally and worldwide, at a grassroots, community, national or international level”. Also available as a full-colour glossy publication (to order email ), the catalogue describes 18 approaches from the fields of conflict resolution, conflict transformation and peacebuilding around the world.

from their website…

In late 2007, we made an open call to individuals and organisations involved in creating the conditions for sustainable peace in their communities to tell us of their approaches to peacebuilding. We wanted to create a publication that might offer peacebuilders working in areas of conflict across the world an opportunity to learn and inform their own work, building up their international networks along the way. We brought together a selection panel of experienced peacebuilders working in Northern Ireland to consider each of the submissions we received, and to select 18 for publication.

Upcoming Events of the Compassionate Listening Project

Posted: May 22nd, 2008, 8:04am PDT by Andy Fluke

The Compassionate Listening Project

Along with several trainings this summer, the Compassionate Listening Project (compassionatelistening.org) has announced their 5th Annual Summer Gathering at Camp Brotherhood, a beautiful 200-acre retreat center one hour north of Seattle, Washington, August 1-3, 2008 beginning Friday at noon and ending Sunday at 3:00. Day rates are available for one or more days for those who cannot attend the whole Gathering or do not need on-site sleeping accommodations. No prior experience with the Compassionate Listening Project is necessary; this is an opportunity to come together, drink from the well of spirit and community, and deepen our practices to cultivate compassion in our daily lives. For more information about the Gathering, please visit the event’s webpage.

The Compassionate Listening Project will also be hosting several trainings over the next few months, including programs in Seattle, Washington, Abiquiu, New Mexico and Ashland, Oregon. Specific details can be found on the Compassionate Listening Project website.

Mobilize.org Reaches Out to Millennial Generation Entrepreneurs

Posted: May 12th, 2008, 9:13am PDT by Andy Fluke

Mobilize.org

from a recent Mobilize.org press release…

National youth civic engagement organization Mobilize.org released the first report in its series of Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Issue Briefs, Money in Politics. The organization, dedicated to Millennial-generated ideas and projects to tackle critical national issues, has adopted a unique strategy to getting Millennial plans into action: give them the information and the financial support necessary to make their ideas a reality.

Mobilize.org is focusing its efforts on empowering members of the Millennial Generation to develop innovative clean election practices, emphasizing the exploration of public finance reforms at the local and state level. While clean election reform benefits our democracy and society as a whole, the Millennial Generation in particular stands to gain considerably from such reform. By changing the system, not only does society have a better ability to reengage young people in politics, but also stands to find solutions to many issues affecting the Millennial Generation that are being inhibited by the current system.

The brief serves as a precursor to the Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Money in Politics Grant Summit, which will take place July 18-21, 2008, in Denver, Colorado, focusing upon the impact of special interest-funded campaigns on citizen-centered democracy. Emphasizing the problem at the national level, Mobilize.org, Sunlight Foundation, and Common Cause will challenge Millennials from across the nation to compete for grant monies to support projects working to promote clean elections practices. The call for projects will address campaign finance reform, focusing particular on clean election practices like the public financing of elections, targeting the eighteen states that Common Cause is currently working on public financing within.

Ellen Miller, Executive Director and co-founder of the Sunlight Foundation, commented on the change potential of the Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Initiative:

“Mobilize.org is involved with the most Internet-savvy, network generation of our time. We cannot wait to learn how these young entrepreneurs use the new technologies, the trillions of bytes of information about lobbying, political contributions, and the spending of our tax dollars, and social networks to confront the power of big money in our democracy.”

Application materials for the Money in Politics Summit were also released today and are available on the Mobilize.org website.

For questions or to request copies of the issue brief, please contact Christina Gagnier, Mobilize.org’s Senior Vice President of Policy & Strategic Communications, via phone at (510) 717-3022 or via email at .

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A “National Peace Academy” In The Works

Posted: May 12th, 2008, 9:02am PDT by Andy Fluke

A consortium comprised of Case Western Reserve University, Peace Partnership International and The Biosophical Institute convened a Vision Meeting, held April 22-23, 2008, at Case, at which a process was launched to design and found a National Peace Academy. Vision Meeting attendees included educators, business leaders, armed services personnel, journalists, community representatives and policy-makers from around the world. A Global Stakeholder Summit is planned for early 2009 as part of an inclusive process to design the National Peace Academy.

The objective of the National Peace Academy is to advance and support: 1. existing peace education and peacebuilding efforts; 2. the study of the phenomena of peace; 3. research, program development, training, and education for professional and citizen practice of peace and peacebuilding; 4. a worldwide network of peace academies; 5. structures and programs in government, military, business, and civil society for a culture of peace. Along with the initial meeting, a website was launched to help further the effort. You can visit it at www.nationalpeaceacademy.us to learn more about future plans.

May Issue of AI Practitioner Now Available

Posted: May 7th, 2008, 7:48am PDT by Andy Fluke

NCDD member, Loretta Donovan, is acting as one of the guest editors of the latest AI Practitioner (www.aipractitioner.com), and just sent me an email letting me know that her issue, May 2008 AI Practitioner: Wired Discovery, New Conversations and Deeper Connections, is now available. From her email…

In this issue we “venture into the domain of technology … the variations of online tools, the ways in which practitioners are using them, and how they are adding rich texture to the experiences and insights gleaned about the best of what is.” Is there a comfortable, authentic fit for online technology for beneficiaries of AI (our clients) and for the AI thought leaders and caretakers (the scholars and practitioners)? The answer is a confident ‘YES’.

Articles explore what new models frame AI in the digital age, how stories and themes were collected online for a research study, how highly energizing provocative propositions were created using web conferencing technology and where online collaboration connects and sustains a community of AI practitioners.

Shades of Youth, A Documentary about Youth and Racism

Posted: May 7th, 2008, 6:12am PDT by Andy Fluke

NCDD member, Lauren Parker Kucera, director of the Soquel, CA based coAction Connection (antracism.com) recently sent us an announcement about their soon to be released film, Shades of Youth.

From their press release: “This remarkable film captures the wisdom of youth as they address issues of race and discrimination. Shades of Youth was filmed at The White Privilege Conference Youth Institute where 100 high school students gathered from across the United States to seriously engage in issues of race, power, identity, oppression and social change. The film offers multiple views and experiences around race and privilege, giving youth and adults entry points to discuss and better understand how institutional racism affects all of our lives. Ideal for use in high school classrooms, teacher education, community and faith-based youth groups.”

NCDD 2008 Note: Lauren will be co-presenting a pre-conference workshop on white privilege with Catherine Orland at the NCDD conference in Austin this October.

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Free “Webinar” on Facilitation Secrets

Posted: May 6th, 2008, 10:06am PDT by Andy Fluke

Leadership Strategies, Inc. (www.leadstrat.com) invites you to join them at 12pm eastern (and then again at 12pm pacific) on May 15 for a free lunchtime “Webinar” entitled An Introduction to Facilitating Groups: The Secrets of Facilitation.

From their mailing…

Your executive team will be holding a two-day, off-site planning meeting and your boss has just asked you to facilitate the session. Now you lead pretty good meetings and have decent presentation skills, but facilitation is a new skill and you have a lot of questions. What do you do to prepare? How do you get them engaged right from the beginning? What process do you take them through? How do you keep them focused on the topic? What do you do if someone goes dysfunctional? What if there is a major disagreement that you can’t get them through? How do you make sure they get the results they are looking for?

In this 90-minute webinar, Richard Smith, Principal with Leadership Strategies, Inc. and former consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), will provide you an overview of the Leadership Strategies facilitation approach and share with you over a dozen tools and techniques that you can use right away. Whether you facilitate focus groups, executive sessions, community gatherings or task forces doing strategy development, issue resolution, requirements analysis, process improvement, or simply action planning, this webinar will give you a comprehensive approach for working with groups.

For more information and an expanded list of their free Webinars, visit their website.

FYI NCDD Members: many of Leadership Strategies, Inc. top-notch trainings are discounted significantly for paid NCDD members.

New Date for the Beyond the Academy Conference

Posted: May 5th, 2008, 11:14am PDT by Andy Fluke

The Beyond the Academy Conference is now scheduled for June 10-11, 2008. It will take place on the Arlington Campus of George Mason University, beginning the evening of the 10th and continuing all day on th 11th. Meeting just outside the nation’s capital in the midst of a presidential campaign year, public scholars from across the country will discuss the ways in which their work is more than “academic,” how it helps strengthen democratic institutions and public life and can bring about civic change. For more information go to [beyondtheacademy.wordpress.com]

TDI Deliberative Democracy Syllabi Repository

Posted: April 30th, 2008, 6:12am PDT by Andy Fluke

NCDD member Mica Stark of the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire just sent us the following…

The Democracy Imperative (www.unh.edu/academic-affairs/democracy) is embarking on an ambitious project to develop a deliberative democracy syllabi repository and they’re asking for public support and contributions. The purpose of this repository is to serve as a database of course syllabi and programs that advance learning in the principles and practices of a deliberative democracy, particularly inclusive dialogue, public reasoning, conflict management and transformation, and social and political policy and decision making. They are interested in courses that teach the theory and/or practice of deliberative democracy, as well as courses in which deliberative democracy may not be the sole focus of the course.

They welcome contributions that reflect a broad range of teaching and learning experiences that are discipline-based, interdisciplinary, associated with a variety of institutional structures such as diversity education, first-year experiences, learning communities, study abroad programs, and capstone courses — and are asking you to please spend some time looking through your own syllabi AND talking with your colleagues on campus and at different campuses, to unearth syllabi for the repository.

Learn more at the TDI Syllabi Repository website.

World Open Space on Open Space 2008

Posted: April 29th, 2008, 7:48am PDT by Andy Fluke

As we reported back in March, the 2008 World Open Space on Open Space is being held in San Francisco, California, USA, July 21 through July 28, 2008 and NCDD member and WOSonOS 2008 Host Team contact Lisa Heft () just emailed us to let us know that the event’s schedule — or as much of a schedule as you can have at an Open Space event — is now available on the event’s website, as well as information about the OpenSpace-Online® event to be held in September. Developed by Gabriela Ender, OpenSpace-Online® is described as an internet-based meeting methodology that gives a real Open Space experience in a virtual environment.

Arsalyn 2008 Looking for Participants

Posted: April 24th, 2008, 7:42am PDT by Andy Fluke

Last summer, NCDD had the pleasure of working with Arsalyn (arsalyn.org) to help with their national youth conference in DC. Its already time for 2008 participants to apply for this summers event! So if you know or are a student between the ages of 16-20, you might want to consider this all expenses paid event. From their press release…

Looking at our past two Presidential elections we seem to be witnessing what could be described as a “deepening” of the “partisan divide.” Public discourse seems to consist less and less of communication between political camps or deliberation, i.e., reasoning together about political issues. Instead we find the various camps busy constructing their own communication networks, increasingly isolated from the pressures of a common “marketplace of ideas.” It seems that the camps are more interested in “mobilizing existing constituencies” than in responding to the “cool and deliberate sense of the community.”

Each year the Arsalyn Program sponsors a national conference devoted to “Bridging the Partisan Divide.” The conference is designed to serve as a respectful, neutral forum where diverse individuals promoting youth civic and political engagement can meet as colleagues. The goal of the conference is to bring young people together so they can discuss how people with differing opinions can deliberate to solve common problems through the political process. The conference also provides great opportunities for networking.

Arsalyn’s national conferences are open to individuals that identify with Arsalyn’s mission and are working to promote youth civic and political engagement. Arsalyn provides funding for participants’ travel, lodging, food, and conference materials. To optimize interaction between participants attendance is usually limited to 150 people.

This year’s national conference will take place in Washington, DC at the 4-H National Conference Center the 24th through 28th of July. The application period for this year’s conference begins on March 15th and continues until April 30th. For more information visit our website.

Why Conservatives Should Support Dialogue & Deliberation…

Posted: April 23rd, 2008, 7:39am PDT by Andy Fluke

Here’s a must-read: Dave Davenport, research fellow at the Hoover Institute and professor of public policy at Pepperdine University, recently wrote a great article for the Hoover Digest titled Why Conservatives should Embrace Deliberative Democracy.

The article refers to some recent deliberative efforts - CaliforniaSpeaks, a European deliberative poll, the Canadian citizens assemblies for electoral reform, etc. - and talks about how, when he describes these experiments to his political and policy friends, he gets more enthusiastic reactions from people on the Left than those on the Right. “Perhaps,” Davenport writes, “this is due to conservatives’ general reputation for skepticism—according to one colorful description, they are the ones who stand astride history, yelling ’stop.’ But the reservations are deeper and more specific than that. Conservatives wonder whether greater citizen engagement might undermine representative democracy or lead to even crazier policy ideas than are now on the table.”

He then outlines why he feels conservatives should look seriously - perhaps even with favor - upon these experiments. An important article for our community, since we struggle to get conservatives to support or get involved in this work!

I’ll post the full article below in case it disappears from the Hoover Digest site. (more…)

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London, UK Conversation Café

Posted: April 22nd, 2008, 7:04am PDT by Andy Fluke

John McDonnell, MP, ministry for peace invites you to participate in a Conversation Café on the theme: How do we transform political violence into constructive cooperation? May 7th 2008, 7 – 9.00, Room E, 7 Millbank, SW1 (NB 7 Millbank is located on St. Margaret’s Street – past the Houses of Parliament towards Tate Britain. 7 Millbank is on the right, just after Great Peter Street.). Hosted by Trish Dickinson, who introduced the café movement to this side to the UK five ago and integrates them into her work as a trainer in Nonviolent Communication, the event will also include two guests who will lead us into the evening by sharing their experiences Rashad Ali and “Umm Mustafa” former members of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Please RSVP if you intend on participating.

Meaningful Conversations for Returning Iraq-Afghanistan Veterans

Posted: April 22nd, 2008, 6:54am PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

Vets4Vets picture Jim Driscoll sent me this announcement to share with the network. Sounds like a fantastic program!

Vets4Vets (www.Vets4Vets.US) offers free weekend workshops all over the country where returning Iraq-Afghanistan veterans get the opportunity to share their stories and their feelings about those experiences with others who have served and learn how to set up similar groups in their home communities after the weekend. V4V is building a nonpartisan, confidential peer support community for these vets. Over the last two years, over 500 Iraq-Afghanistan veterans have taken part in 22 weekend workshops. Local groups are already meeting regularly in eights cities across the U.S. with more forming every month. These groups are generally closed to the vets themselves, so the best thing a non-vet can do to support them is to reach out to vets of this era in your community and direct them to our webpage. For more information, please email or call 520-319-5500.

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Int’l Conference on Youth and Politics in Belgium this July

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 2:29pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

The University of Leuven organizes an international conference on Youth and Politics, in Bruges (Belgium), 3-4 July 2008. Various sessions focus on (the effects of) civic education. Key note speakers include Constance Flanagan, Matt Henn, Murray Print, Brian Loader, Kristin Goss, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Carmen Sirianna and James Sloam.

All information can be found on the website: www.kuleuven.be/citizenship or by emailing .

The Front Porch Forum: Hyperlocal Media

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 9:09am PDT by Lars Hasselblad Torres

There’s an interesting model of neighborhood-based social networking evolving in Vermont called the Front Porch Forum. I was recently struck by its connection to broad, national concern about the loss of local news coverage. But before I go further, I have to confess some skepticism about the recent sense of malaise around the media. Here’s why:

Just about everywhere you turn, you are bound to read omphaloskeptic writing about the sufferance of media - its consolidation, how it is biased, how there has been a turn from the local, and certainly the absence of an “alternative” voice. At its finest, some have even called Viacom-produced shows like the “Colbert Report” “independent” news sources. This all plays up the general state of disarray and incoherence out there - but not, at least to me, a state of crisis. And perhaps part of the equation lies in some of the unique qualities of a state like Vermont: small, northern, rural, inconsequential, largely and often overlooked. Perhaps this has allowed something other than the dominant narratives to play out among our bonny green hills.

One of those is the healthy ecology of small town newspapers. Right here in the northern piedmont we have more than a dozen local papers serving a disbursed population of roughly 70,000. Which are all complemented by the circulation of the larger area papers - the Times Argus, Burlington Free Press as well as out of state ones, including the Boston Globe and the New York Times.

So why the health of so many local papers?

(more…)

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Looking for a “Dispute Resolution” Job?

Posted: April 21st, 2008, 7:04am PDT by Andy Fluke

Emily Menn, Director of Education and Professional Development at the New York State Dispute Resolution Association, manages a great mailing list that shares, on a weekly basis, a long list of current jobs in the dispute resolution field. We’ve posted a few of these lists in the past, but if you want to keep up-to-date, I would highly recommend subscribing. To receive future job listings, you can join the list by emailing her at emily dot menn at gmail dot com with the subject “ADD TO JOBS IN DISPUTE RESOLUTION LIST”

Here’s an example of a current job opportunity… (taken from the Dispute Resolution List)

Assistant Dean of Mediation, Woodbury College, Montpelier, VT

Woodbury College, a dynamic institution offering graduate degrees in mediation and legal studies, and undergraduate degrees in paralegal, pre-law and advocacy studies, seeks an Assistant Dean of Mediation with the capacity, credentials, energy, and wisdom to lead its Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies program to its next level of national prominence. The ideal candidate will hold appropriate academic credentials and be an accomplished mediator, teacher, and established — or emergent — leader in the field. Strategic vision, organizational expertise, and process management skills are essential. Expressions of interest, including a cover letter and vita, and nominations, should be sent to Alison Underhill at . Additional information is available at www.woodbury-college.edu.

University of Michigan Job Openings for Intergroup Dialogue Experts

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 5:48pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

IGR Logo Charles Behling, the Co-Director of the University of Michigan’s Program on Intergroup Relations, emailed me this weekend asking me to share a job announcement with the network. The announcement is actually for two interdependent half-time positions, and you must apply for both:

The University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts seeks a highly motivated and inspired person to serve as Associate Director of the Program on Intergroup Relations. The Program on Intergroup Relations is a joint academic and student affairs program concerning social diversity and social justice. A sequence of at least eight courses is offered, with special attention to Intergroup Dialogue pedagogy (a formal methodology developed at UM and now employed nationally).

The Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR) also invites applications for a position as Adjunct Lecturer to begin September 1, 2008. The successful candidate is likely to have substantial experience in intergroup dialogue pedagogy, social justice education, and experiential teaching. The position will teach three courses each academic year, with at least one course being taught each term [Fall and Winter]. Among the courses to be taught include the processes of intergroup dialogues facilitation; a practicum in facilitating intergroup dialogues, and a first year seminar and/or foundations of intergroup relations.

See the full descriptions for both positions.

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Upcoming “Dialogue Mapping” Workshop

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 1:57pm PDT by Andy Fluke

NCDD member and developer of the Dialogue Mapping facilitation technique, Jeff Conklin, will be running his next Dialogue Mapping workshop May 7th & 8th in Menlo Park, CA at SRI. The two-day CogNexus Fundamentals of Dialogue Mapping workshop introduces managers, project leaders, facilitators, and consultants to the skill of Dialogue Mapping, and a whole new way of helping groups solve problems and move forward. Learn more at the CogNexus Institute website. Jeff recently posted a video on YouTube that might give those new to the Dialogue Mapping technique a better sense of the process.

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Do You Have A “Dotmocracy” Story?

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 1:28pm PDT by Andy Fluke

Jason Diceman

Jason Diceman, NCDD member and the creator of the Advanced Dotmocracy process, is looking for Dotmocracy stories and photos and hopes you can help. Since October 2004, he has been distributing various versions of the Dotmocracy Sheet and instructions he designed to help large groups find agreement. In the past year at least 500 people have downloaded the Dotmocracy Handbook for free from www.dotmocracy.org and countless numbers of groups have received copies of the materials through legal and encouraged duplication.

In 2008 Jason plans to release a new version of the Dotmocracy Handbook and he needs to know:

Have the Dotmocracy Sheets and instructions worked for you?
What worked well and how could the Handbook be improved?

Please email Jason () with your stories and suggestions. He would especially love to see photos of groups using the Dotmocracy Sheets. You are also invited to post comments directly on pages of www.dotmocracy.org, join and start a conversation on the Dotmocracy Facilitators Google group or submit a short case study. If you are really savvy, you could post pictures from your Dotmocracy session on flickr.com, tag it with “Dotmocracy” and it will soon show appear in the gallery.

Jason will use your suggestions, stories, insights and photos to develop version 2.0 of the free Dotmocracy Handbook.

AmericaSpeaks Seeks Communications Coordinator

Posted: April 20th, 2008, 1:13pm PDT by Andy Fluke

AmericaSpeaks (www.americaspeaks.org), an organization that specializes in large scale citizen engagement and public deliberation, is looking for a Communications Coordinator to support their communications and marketing activities and take a role in their mission of reinvigorating American democracy by engaging citizens in the public decision-making that most impacts their lives. The coordinator’s roles will include researching, writing and disseminating key communications documents and supporting the development and implementation of media strategies for AmericaSpeaks’ projects. You can learn more about this position on the AmericaSpeaks website.

Old politics

Posted: April 18th, 2008, 8:25am PDT by Tim

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explains his upcoming endorsement for Senator Obama and hits the nail on the ~~spot~~head:

“I saw the ads” — the negative man-on-street commercials that the Clinton campaign put up in Pennsylvania in the wake of Obama’s bitter/cling comments a week ago — “and I was appalled, frankly. I thought it represented the nadir of mean-spirited, negative politics. And also of the politics of distraction, of gotcha politics. It’s the worst of all worlds. We have three terrible traditions that we’ve developed in American campaigns. One is outright meanness and negativity. The second is taking out of context something your opponent said, maybe inartfully, and blowing it up into something your opponent doesn’t possibly believe and doesn’t possibly represent. And third is a kind of tradition of distraction, of getting off the big subject with sideshows that have nothing to do with what matters. And these three aspects of the old politics I’ve seen growing in Hillary’s campaign. And I’ve come to the point, after seeing those ads, where I can’t in good conscience not say out loud what I believe about who should be president. Those ads are nothing but Republicanism. They’re lending legitimacy to a Republican message that’s wrong to begin with, and they harken back to the past 20 years of demagoguery on guns and religion. It’s old politics at its worst — and old Republican politics, not even old Democratic politics. It’s just so deeply cynical.”

For more commentary on this election cycle, check out his blog. download dell laptop bluetooth software Cheap soft shop

Talking about guns…

Posted: April 16th, 2008, 9:33pm PDT by Tim

When the topic of guns came up at the debate tonight, actually what I wanted to do is twitter the number of annual firearm-related deaths in the US. Instead, I came across these four rules for gun safety, originally proposed by some Colonel Jeff Cooper back in the day.

All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

You know, just in case. Might come in handy next time you find yourself in a situation. prices drywall sheets test

Central Texas D&D Summit Set for Saturday

Posted: April 15th, 2008, 6:58pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

State of Texas shape The Central Texas Team for the 2008 NCDD Conference is co-hosting an innovative gathering at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin this Saturday (April 19th) called the “Central Texas Dialogue & Deliberation Summit: Learning from Practice.” The half-day, highly interactive event will bring together people from Central Texas who use dialogic and deliberative group processes to solve tough problems and build relationships in the region.

The University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development’s Civic Engagement Initiative, The UT Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution, Texas Forums and the NCDD 2008 Central Texas Planning Team are hosting the summit. Their aim is to bring together the talented and diverse array of individuals throughout the community who focus on the “process” side of the equation when working with groups on difficult issues so that they can reflect together on our various experiences with this work, examine key learning, insights and challenges, and strengthen their connections and relationships with each other. The Summit will also provide an opportunity for local D&D leaders explore some of the issues and challenges we will focus on at NCDD Austin this October.

A small group of practitioners has been invited to attend from a range of sectors - civic, government, business, non-profit/NGO, education – with a myriad of expertise and knowledge both on issues and approaches, from smaller-scale group dialogues to large, multi-stakeholder initiatives.

The convening committee consists of the following people:

Patricia Wilson, Director of the Civic Engagement Initiative of the UT Center for Sustainable Development
Taylor Willingham, Coordinator, Texas Forums, an initiative of the LBJ Presidential Library
Jen Meigs, M.P.Aff Candidate 2008, LBJ School of Public Affairs
Diane Miller, Chair, Central Texas 2008 NCDD Conference Planning Team
Steven Fearing, Erin Kreeger, Charles Knickerbocker, and Landon Shultz: members of the Central Texas 2008 NCDD Conference Planning Team
Susan Schultz, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution

Can A Mural Change A School?

Posted: April 14th, 2008, 6:41pm PDT by Lars Hasselblad Torres

Twinfield School Mural During the weekend of April 11-13, more than a dozen Twinfield staff, parents and students helped to sort, record, and mount the more than 450 “Peace Tiles” that would compose a new mural in the school’s cafeteria. The Peace Tiles - individual collages on 8-inch square wood panel - each responded to the question, “What is my place?” This question, asked in a series of discussion forums, was intended to deepen thinking about three aspects of place: the people, institutions, and geographies that shape our experience of place.

Students then used the mental imagery, words, and ideas that they developed in response to the question and their discussions to create their tile. When combined with others into a mural, they produced a single image representing the Central Vermont landscape where they live - a theme selected by the 2008 graduating class.

While the mural represents one of a few large works in the school, there is some concern that students will find the mural a ready target for vandalism. I am not so certain, for two reasons. First is that each student has a piece in the mural: everyone contributed to it, and as a result I would expect that it feels more “owned” by the entire student body. The second reason is that the mural should have some longevity: every student, from pre-K up to the graduating class, contributed to the mural - which means it could be up to 12 years before that bit of school history graduates. In my mind, that’s a pretty lengthy bit of time for a story to circulate. Both aspects of the mural I hope will garner students’ delight and respect for many years to come. (more…)

Pegasus Communications Seeks New President

Posted: March 31st, 2008, 2:52pm PDT by Sandy Heierbacher

I just got an email from Sarah DeChick at Pegasus Communications, Inc. Pegasus is a leader in Organization Development (OD) and Systems Thinking, and they run events and publish a variety of books and newsletters.

After more than a decade as president of Pegasus, Ginny Wiley has chosen to step aside by the end of 2008. This decision comes after much deliberation and consultation with the Pegasus staff and board. As much as she treasures Pegasus’s mission and her dear colleagues, both inside and outside of our office, Ginny is ready to transition to a role that offers more flexibility and personal time. She will stay “in the loop,” though, by serving in an advisory role in any way that meets her and Pegasus’s needs.

Sarah asked me to help spread the word of this job opening. A complete description of the position and of the hiring process is available at www.pegasuscom.com/president.html.

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Introducing “NCDD Headlines”

Posted: March 31st, 2008, 10:49am PDT by Andy Fluke

NCDD

NCDD Headlines is our new, regularly updated collection of dialogue and deliberation news headlines, announcements from the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation and useful links to online resources served via Email, RSS or Twitter from the co-founders of NCDD, Sandy Heierbacher & Andy Fluke.

As part of its initiative to highlight useful web tools for the dialogue and deliberation community, NCDD has set up an online “stream of d&d news headlines” leveraging the power of the web tools Twitter (a micro-blogging tool) and Del.icio.us (a social bookmarking tool) to quickly and easily serve the latest news and announcements to the dialogue and deliberation community in short, accessible headlines.

NCDD Headlines can be subscribed to in several ways. Twitter users simple need to follow our Twitter stream. However, if you don’t use Twitter, you can subscribe to NCDD Headlines by email. Finally, if you use an rss feed reader, you can use the NCDD Headlines feed.

UPDATE: I posted a short essay on why I set this up over on my personal site, Thirteen Pennies.

Sixth Annual Conference in Citizenship Studies

Posted: March 31st, 2008, 6:35am PDT by Andy Fluke

The Center for the Study of Citizenship at Wayne State University (clas.wayne.edu/citizenship) has announce its Sixth Annual Conference in Citizenship Studies. The conference will be held at Wayne State’s Detroit campus on 26 – 28 March 2009, and will focus on the Center’s theme for the 2008-2009 academic year, Representing Citizenship. Distinguished philosopher Wil Kymlicka (Queens University, Ontario, Canada), author of Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights, will serve as the conference’s keynote speaker. The Center invites proposals for papers, panels, poster sessions, artistic displays and performances that examine citizenship and representation in many senses, from the political and legal to the literary and artistic. Topics may include but are not limited to the representation of political or legal interests by proxies such as legislators, political parties, interest groups, or lawyers; the representation of citizens in novels, plays, or print, broadcast, or digital media and the cultural consequences of this “embodiment”; and the circulation of depictions and descriptions of citizenship in school texts, government films, or other media meant to model or critique civic behavior. The Center plans to publish a volume of papers from the conference. Proposals should be submitted using the Center’s online form, available 15 August by the submission deadline of Friday, 14 November 2008. Both panel proposals and individual submissions are welcome. Questions should be directed to Marc W. Kruman at .

An Extra Special Thank You

Posted: March 31st, 2008, 6:06am PDT by Andy Fluke

Amy Lang

For the past 500 posts or so, NCDD and its News & Perspectives blog has been privileged to have the assistance of Amy Lang as blogger extraordinaire. But all good things must eventually come to an end and Amy is moving on to work on a book comparing the British Columbia and Ontario Citizens’ Assemblies and teaching a political science seminar on new models of public engagement at the UBC Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions (democracy.ubc.ca). She’s particularly excited about the course she’s teaching because her students will be partnering with a Vancouver nonprofit called Think City (thinkcity.ca) to help expand the public consultation process on the Vancouver municipal budget. She’s also helping start a new company called MASS (masslbp.com) that wants to make Citizens’ Assemblies a widespread model of public engagement, along with training for half marathons (how did she ever have time to blog for us?). We wish her the best of luck!

YouthActionNet Global Fellowship Program

Posted: March 31st, 2008, 5:40am PDT by Andy Fluke

Young people working to bring about positive societal change in their communities are invited to apply for the YouthActionNet (youthactionnet.org) Global Fellows Program. Each year, twenty exceptional young social entrepreneurs are selected as YouthActionNet Global Fellows. The year-long fellowship program provides opportunities in skill-building, networking, and advocacy, including a seven-day, all-expenses paid, capacity-building retreat in Washington, D.C.; development of a customized learning plan based on individual leadership learning needs; networking with international and national aid agencies, NGOs, and corporate partners; peer-to-peer networking throughout the year; training in communications and media outreach; public relations technical assistance; and access to global advocacy platforms and media coverage as well as access to potential funding opportunities. The program is open to all young people between the ages of 18 and 29. Applicants should be founders of existing projects/organizations or leading a project within an organization. Proficiency in English is required; applications must be submitted in English. Applicants also must be available to attend the full retreat, November 1-8, 2008, in Washington, D.C. Visit the YouthActionNet web site for complete program information and application procedures. Deadline: May 15, 2008.