Author Archives: Keiva Hummel

Chill out with this Summer D&D Podcast Compilation!

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It’s been a while since we offered a compilation of podcasts related to dialogue, deliberation, and engagement work. So for your summer enjoyment, we’ve compiled some excellent listens for you to kick back to while on your summer vacation, tune into while you’re at work, or however you enjoy! Let us know which one of these podcasts resonate with you in the comments section below. If we are missing some of your favorite podcasts or standalone episodes – we’d love to hear that as well so we can add them to this growing list!

From NCDD members

  • NCDD members, Erin and David Leaverton launched their new podcast, Hello My Name is America! Their new podcast shares the experiences of the individuals they met along the way on their one-year dialogue tour of the US and seeks to explore the root causes of divisions in the US. Listen here.
  • NCDDers Tim Merry and Tuesday Ryan-Hart host the podcast, The Outside, a joint conversation to bring in the fresh air necessary for large-scale systems change and equity. Listen here.
  • NCDD member Reva Patwardhan hosts the Dialogue Lab podcast and offers conversations to inspire listeners to thrive while making an impact. Listen here.
  • The McCourtney Institute for Democracy, an NCDD member org, has been running their podcast, Democracy Works, with hosts Michael Berkman and Chris Beem on various democracy issues and interview people working in democracy. Listen to it here.
  • NCDD member organization, the National Institute for Civil Discourse, has several podcasts related to dialogue and NICD’s work, which you can listen to by clicking here.

From the NCDD network

  • James Madison Center for Civic Engagement just released their first six episodes of Democracy Matters – “A podcast exploring themes related to civic engagement in order to build a more inclusive, just, and equitable democracy”. Listen here.
  • Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program just started a new podcast, Thanks for Listening, “this podcast will spotlight efforts to bridge the political divide in the U.S. through dialogue and collaborative processes, profiling the important and often courageous work of individuals and organizations who are helping citizens engage with one another on challenging topics”. Listen here.
  • Everyday Conversations on Race for Everyday People, “is a podcast that brings people together across race and culture for open comfortable conversations about race in a casual setting to close the racial divide”. Listen here.
  • Conversations With People Who Hate Me by Dylan Marron, was recommended to us by Sage Snider as their favorite dialogue podcast. Check it out here.
  • Real Democracy Now! is a podcast based out of Australia and has several seasons that you can listen to here:
  • Engaging Local Government Leaders has a podcast about local government called Gov Love, which you can find here, and their goal “is to tell informative and unique stories about the work being done at the local level”.
  • Center for Civic Education has a podcast 60-Second Civics, which is a “daily podcast that provides a quick and convenient way for listeners to learn about our nation’s government, the Constitution, and our history”. Listen here.
  • The Aspen Institute has a podcast which you can listen to here, and is “working across the globe, bringing together people from different backgrounds, experiences, and points of view, to work together and find solutions to our world’s most complex challenges”.
  • The Civil Conversations Project is hosted by Krista Tippett from On Being, and “is a conversation-based, virtues-based resource towards hospitable, trustworthy relationship with and across difference”. Listen here.

Standalone episodes related to D&D:

  • NCDD Board Chair Martin Carcasson spoke with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on “Turning Conflict into Collaboration” about how we can have better conversations and work together on our “wicked problems”. Listen here.
  • NCDD board member Jacob Hess and long-time NCDD member Liz Joyner spoke on the podcast Next Door Stranger about their exciting effort their leading, Respect+Rebellion. Listen to Episode 5: Rebellion on Campus here.
  • NCDDer Lenore Bajare-Dukes helped create, “Left, Right & Center presents: Two Years, Diaries of a Divided Nation”, which is an “audio documentary following six v. different people in the Trump era has to say about polarization, identity, and dialogue”. Listen here.
  • Godcast podcast features “conversations about difficult devotion and restive religion”. Listen here.
  • The Private Side of Public Work featured CEO Matt Crozier of Bang the Table in this episode on their work and how to motivate people to be engaged. Listen here.
  • Conversations that Matter featured Valerie Lemming of NCDD member org, the Kettering Foundation. Via CTM: “In Episode 1 of our 7-part series on Democracy and the Media, Stu sat down with Valerie Lemmie of the Kettering Foundation to explore the current state of citizen engagement, the role that it plays in protecting Democracy, and how it has come under fire as the bombastic politics of the United States bleed over into the political mindsets of other nations.” You can read the article here and listen to the podcast on iTunes.
  • Shared with us via the EngagePhase Weekly newsletter:
    • EngagePhase recently shared the Talking Politics podcast and lifted up the episode on deliberative democracy. What can deliberative democracy add to traditional forms of political representation and how might it actually work in practice? Episode 135: Talking Politics guide to … Deliberative Democracy
    • “The latest episode of the No Jargon podcast features John Gastil, a professor at Penn State, in a discussion about citizen juries and some of the latest research into their inner workings and effectiveness”: Episode 117: The Citizen Expert
    • “A recent episode of the Reasons to Be Cheerful podcast featured guests James Fishkin (Stanford University) and Sarah Allan (Involve UK) in a discussion about various democracy innovations”: Episode 20. Rescuing Democracy: From Ancient Athens to Brexit

Don’t forget to check out the NCDD podcast too!

  • Episode One featured NCDD Managing Director, Courtney Breese and our former Board Chair Barbara Simonetti, on a powerful metaphor she realized which compares the D&D field to a multi-purpose public utility – click here to listen!
  • Episode Two told the story of Conversation Café by stewards of the process, co-creator Susan Partnow, past steward Jacquelyn Pogue, and NCDD staffer Keiva Hummel – click here to listen!
  • Episode Three was on the opportunities for D&D in Congress with Brad Fitch of the Congressional Management Foundation and our own Courtney Breese – click here to listen!
  • Episode Four had  Journalism that Matters Executive Director Peggy Holman and Board President Michelle Ferrier discuss their thoughts about connecting journalists and public engagement practitioners – click here to listen!
  • Episode Five featured Julie Winokur of Bring it to the Table and their work on bridging political divides and healing partisanship – click here to listen!

Stay tuned to the blog as we work to release more NCDD podcasts in the future! We have a lot of great ideas in store that we would love to share with you and we encourage you to consider donating to NCDD in show of support to the larger dialogue and deliberation community or join as a member!

Fourth Annual Civic Institute Hosted by DMC on Aug. 16

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The fourth annual Civic Institute is happening Friday, August 16th, hosted by NCDD member org the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. This will be one of the premier events dedicated to strengthening civic life in Alabama and will be a fantastic opportunity for those doing civic engagement work throughout the state.  DMC recently announced the session line up which you can read more below and on the DMC’s site here.

2019 Civic Institute: Sessions Announced

Join us Friday, August 16th at the American Village in Montevallo, Alabama for an exploration of the forces that pull us closer. 

The 2019 Civic Institute is your chance to connect with civic-minded change-makers and thought leaders from across Alabama in a dialogue on our state’s past, present, and future.

This year’s theme is “Closer to Home” and the day will be packed with engaging speakers and interactive sessions centered around some of the most profound issues we encounter as Alabamians. The Civic Institute is the perfect event to collectively ponder the power of our citizens and our communities to build the kind of Alabama they want to call home. Dr. David Mathews, president and CEO of the Kettering Foundation, will deliver the luncheon keynote address. Breakfast and lunch are provided.

We’ll gather from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM on Friday, August 16th at the American Village in Montevallo for a day of panels, sessions, conversations, and more. View FAQs and save your seat today here!

If you are registering a total of three or more people to attend the day-long event, you are eligible to save 10% per person. Contact the event organizer, Kate Zeliff, at kmauldin@mathewscenter.org with the details and you will receive a promotional code.

Interested in helping to sponsor the Civic Institute? Click here to find out more.

Sessions:
*Each participant will attend two of the six sessions, which run concurrently.

Inside Out: Strategies for Resisting Disconnection and Crafting Civic Identity in Alabama Communities and Prisons

This session will explore the responsibility we all share for welcoming the formerly incarcerated back into the fold of public life. We will deconstruct the core tenants of civiclife (education, participation, socialization, work, etc.) as they serve to define and limit the carceral subject. This session will feature speakers on the front lines of this work who are making investments into the currently and formerly incarcerated; from teaching college courses behind bars to providing housing for women during reentry, we will explore creative strategies for resisting disconnection and isolation through dialogue and deliberation. Read more and register here.

The Benefit of the Doubt: Preparing Ourselves for Authentic Engagement and Productive Disagreement

What does it mean to engage with each other in “good faith”? What does it mean to afford our neighbor “the benefit of the doubt”? What, exactly, is the benefit of assuming the best in a stranger? There are plenty of opportunities to become involved as a formal practitioner of dialogue and deliberation, but far fewer chances for us to examine the ways we interact with friends, neighbors, and strangers interpersonally. This session is about how to act—how to let down our individual and collective defenses to bring strangeness closer and become comfortable living with the ambiguity and uncertainty that characterizes community work and public identity. Read more and register here.

Building a Durable Life: The Impact of Social Infrastructure on Alabama’s Public Health

Often regulated to the realm of professionals, health may be one of the most ubiquitous, yet compartmentalized topics of daily life. And like any other issue of both public and deeply personal concern, expert terms will only ever be a part of its definition. Considering people’s lived experiences, and the spaces, networks, and cultural contexts in which they occur, is vital to understanding the importance of social infrastructure in public health. This session will view health not just as a result of research and medicine, but also as a product of dynamics hidden in plain sight. Read more and register here.

Geographical Imaginations: The Role of Storytelling in Southern Culture and Identity

Stories help us make meaning of the world, and there is perhaps no region of America more storied than the South. But Southern stories, like most, aren’t simple. The stories of home that we tell ourselves and each other are intertwined with history and collective mythmaking. Some stories are passed down from generation to generation, while some stories are lost, forgotten, and/or erased—and must be recuperated. This session will explore some of the groundbreaking work being done to resuscitate the stories of marginalized voices in Southern history, and will examine the narrative structures of feeling that undergird our public and private identities. Read more and register here.

Found in Translation: Engaging Communities Across the Language Barrier

Talking about difficult issues is challenging in any language. In every community there are problems to solve, limited resources, and different perspectives. Cultural and language barriers can make communicating about shared problems and opportunities an even greater challenge. But these barriers represent rich worlds on each side, and sometimes in order to address problems well—and heal divides—it becomes necessary to look at an issue from a broader vantage point. This session will feature community leaders who represent, and often inhabit both worlds daily, working to bring people together across language and cultural barriers in Alabama communities. Read more and register here.

A Public Enterprise: Civic Education and Community Collaboration in Workforce Development

Active citizenship and civic education are rarely the first things that come to mind when discussing workforce development. This panel seeks to change that perception. The dedicated Alabamians featured in this session are working in their communities to create programming that prepares the next generation for a successful career and for active citizenship. Panelists are leaders in Alabama’s workforce development field, who will highlight the essential role of partnership, collaboration, and community engagement in effectively preparing young Alabamians for the jobs of the future. Read more and register here.

View FAQs and save your seat today here! If you have additional questions, contact the event organizer, Kate Zeliff, at kmauldin@mathewscenter.org. We hope to see you on August 16th!

You can find the original version of this announcement on the David Mathews Center blog at www.mathewscenter.org/2019-civic-institute-sessions/.

Summer Webinars on Dialogue, Deliberation, & Engagement!

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Beef up your knowledge over the summer and/or just get some extra D&D goodness with this line-up of webinars coming up. We encourage you to check out these events from NCDD member organizations MetroQuest, National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), Living Room Conversations, and National Civic League, as well as, from the International Association of Facilitators (IAF)

NCDD’s online D&D event roundup is a weekly compilation of the upcoming events happening in the digital world related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, engagement work, and more! Do you have a webinar or other digital event coming up that you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Please let us know in the comments section below or by emailing me at keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org, because we’d love to add it to the list!

Upcoming Online D&D Events: MetroQuest, NIFI, Living Room Conversations, National Civic League, and IAF

MetroQuest webinar – Beyond Fear:
Public Views on Emerging Transportation Technologies

Wednesday, July 17th
11 am Pacific | 12 pm Mountain | 1 pm Central | 2 pm Eastern (1 hour)
Educational Credit Available (APA AICP CM)
Complimentary (FREE)

Technologies are transforming the future of transportation, but are your residents ready for innovations like self-driving vehicles? It’s time to go beyond the hype and fears by uncovering true public priorities. Join NCDOT on July 17th as its forward-thinking team reveals what 10,000+ residents in North Carolina want for the future of their transportation system.

Jamille, Nastasha, and Colin will share the input they captured online. Should tax credits or infrastructure be prioritized to support an electric vehicle boom and achieve zero emissions? Are citizens more concerned with tech failures causing accidents or ensuring equitable access to mobililty innovations? Effective public engagement was critical to getting answers.

REGISTER: http://go.metroquest.com/NCDOT-Beyond-Fear-Public-Views-on-Emerging-Transportation-Technologies.html

July CGA Forum Series: Shaping Our Future

Wednesday, July 17th
5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Wednesday July 17th @ 8pm ET/5p PT on ” Shaping Our Future: How Should Higher Education Help Us Create the Society We Want?” If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF copy at the NIF website: https://www.nifi.org/en/issue-guide/shaping-our-future

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/july-cga-forum-series-shaping-our-future

Online Living Room Conversation: Relationships First – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Q & A with Hosts!

Thursday, July 18th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

How we treat each other is the difference between a great place to live and a bad place to live. We shape our world through relationships. Most people agree we want communities where all people have dignity and respect. Yet respectful interactions are often not what we see modeled in the media and in politics. And far too many people feel disrespected in their lives. What is our role in these dynamics? Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/relationships-first-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

SPECIAL Online Living Room Conversation: Race and Ethnicity Conversation Series

Tuesday, July 23rd
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Please join us for a 3-conversation series on Race & Ethnicity taking place over the course of three weeks (July 16, 23, & 30, 2:00 – 3:30pm ET / 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT). Check out this four-minute video from a previous Race & Ethnicity Conversation Series to get a taste of this conversation! In this series of three in-depth conversations, participants explore the complexities of the concepts of Race, Ethnicity, and their impacts on people from all walks of life. We will cover new questions from the three Race & Ethnicity conversation guides found here.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/special-online-living-room-conversation-race-and-ethnicity-conversation-series-2/

International Association of Facilitators webinar – Becoming a Client Magnet

Wednesday, June 24th
6:30 am Pacific, 9:30 am Eastern

In this webinar, we will explore and expand the following topics: Who are you as a facilitator? Your style makes a difference! Contracting with the client – how to build rapport and high level of trust. Engagement and interaction – your ways of communicating. Assertiveness and its place in the contracting phase. The most important stuff to agree upon. How to follow-up outcomes and deliverables. The returning client – A long-term collaborative process

REGISTER: www.iaf-world.org/site/events/becoming-client-magnet-webinar-malin-cpf

International Association of Facilitators webinar – Becoming a CPF with the IAF

Thursday, July 25th
2 am Pacific, 5 am Eastern

Making the decision to seek the IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator (CPF) accreditation can be hard. Common questions people ask are What’s involved? How much time will it take? Will I meet the requirements? and What if I don’t pass? In response to strong interest from members, we will be exploring these questions at a webinar with hosts that have years of experience as professional facilitators and as IAF Assessors.

REGISTER: www.iaf-world.org/site/events/webinar-becoming-cpf-iaf-10

National Civic League AAC Promising Practices Webinar – Youth Engagement, Embracing the Power of Youth Voice

Thursday, July 25th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Join the National Civic League to learn how local communities can harness the energy and ideas of young people from this year’s John Parr Youth Leadership Award winners and a representative from the Mikva Challenge.

REGISTER: www.nationalcivicleague.org/resource-center/promising-practices/

Online Living Room Conversation: The Future of Work – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Q & A with Hosts!

Thursday, July 25th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

For huge numbers of people, jobs provide income and a sense of purpose. We are fast approaching a time when artificial intelligence and robots will be trusted do a better job than humans at everything from driving to diagnosing medical conditions and more. But our economy is structured to thrive with a robust engaged workforce. What happens when the nature and number of jobs change substantially? Do we have more leisure time to enjoy our families, contribute to our community and deepen our creative and spiritual practices? Do we find a way to share the benefits of these technological advances or does homelessness and poverty grow? If we think together now can we create a future we all want to embrace? Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/the-future-of-work-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

July CGA Forum Series: A Nation in Debt: How Can We Pay the Bills?

Monday, July 29th
3 pm Pacific, 6 pm Eastern

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Monday July 29th @ 6:00pm ET/3:00pm PT on A Nation in Debt: How Can We Pay the Bills? If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF copy at the NIF website: https://www.nifi.org/en/issue-guide/nation-debt

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/july-cga-forum-series-nation-debt-how-can-we-pay-bills

Understanding and Engaging in Challenging Conversations

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While challenging conversations can be hard, they are not impossible, and many in this field have been working to better understand conflict and how to actually have challenging conversations. The article written by Yasmeen Wafai, called “Why Difficult Conversations Can Actually Be a Good Thing” offers several groups working to understand this phenomenon and mentions the work of NCDD member organization National Issues Forums Institute and The Difficult Conversations Lab founded by Peter Coleman. Below you can read the NIFI’s blog post with excerpts of the article (which can be found here) and we encourage you to read the original article here.

Read the Article in “YES! Magazine” – “Why Difficult Conversations Can Actually Be a Good Thing” by Yasmeen Wafai

A July 10, 2019 article in YES! Magazine, by Yasmeen Wafai, describes several examples of methods to help people talk productively about difficult public issues, including The Difficult Conversations Lab founded by Peter Coleman, and the National Issues Forums.

The following are excerpts from the article:

The Difficult Conversations Lab was founded in the early 2000s by Peter Coleman, a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University. He said the lab was created to study deeply rooted, complicated, and hard-to-solve conflicts. He wanted to understand why conflicts in families, communities, and in the international arena get stuck in a destructive pattern…

Contrary to expectation, these conversations do not always go sour and are sometimes constructive, Coleman said. It is not that participants are solving the issues themselves, but they are creating the space to learn something about themselves, the issue, and other viewpoints…

However, Coleman cautions that discussing deeply polarizing issues can backfire. Instead, he suggests finding a group or organization like the National Issues Forums, which are designed to bring people together in a safe space to have wide-ranging, moderated discussions….

Click here to read the full article.

You can find this announcement on the National Issues Forums Institute blog at www.nifi.org/en/read-article-yes-magazine-why-difficult-conversations-can-actually-be-good-thing-yasmeen-wafai.

Essential Partners Awarded Grant for Community-Police Dialogue Series

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We are pleased to share that NCDD sponsor org Essential Partners has recently been awarded a $25,000 grant to support community-police dialogues in the Raleigh-Durham area. The award supports a two-year long dialogue series between communities of color and law enforcement, stemming from an earlier dialogue series pilot. You can read the press release below and find the original version on the EP site here.

PRESS RELEASE: Essential Partners Receives $25,000 Grant for Police / Community Dialogues in Raleigh-Durham

Raleigh, NC – Essential Partners (EP) has been awarded a two-year, $25,000 grant from the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation (AAA-ICDR Foundation) to support dialogues between law enforcement and communities of color in the Raleigh-Durham area.

Essential Partners will train twenty dialogue facilitators based in the local community and equip them with guides to support resident engagement and crisis response. EP will also provide coaching and consultation to support new police-community dialogues in the Raleigh-Durham area, with the goal of involving as many as 500 residents and officers.

Kate Deiter-Maradei, a mediator based in Raleigh, has led this project working with a coalition of area residents and law enforcement officers in collaboration with Essential Partners since 2016, when she first reached out to EP for support.

Essential Partners has since trained 22 local facilitators who engaged residents and officers through a pilot dialogue series.

One participant in that pilot dialogue series said: “As a black mother, I participated because I want to save my son from harm, and I feared for our safety. I no longer have that fear—just a belief that my community is stronger and there are honest police officers who care about me and my son.”

The police officers involved in the pilot dialogues spoke of forging new connections with citizens. They said these EP-designed public dialogues supported stronger community relationships in a new way.

“Kate and her amazing crew of volunteer facilitators are some of the most dedicated and courageous folks I have ever had the honor of working with,” said John Sarrouf, Essential Partners co-Executive Director.

For thirty years, Essential Partners has helped communities address polarized conflicts driven by differences in values, views, and identities. Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, the nonprofit organization works around the globe on issues such as the Syrian refugee crisis, violent extremism, campus free speech, and abortion.

Established in 2015, The American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation funds domestic and international projects. Its goal is to expand the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), improving the process, increasing access to ADR for those who cannot afford it, and sharing knowledge across different cultures.

Press Contact
Daniel Evans Pritchard
Essential Partners
daniel@whatisessential.org
617-923-1216, x 24

You can find the original version of this press release on the Essential Partners’ blog at www.whatisessential.org/blog/press-release-essential-partners-receives-25000-grant-police-community-dialogues-raleigh-durham.

Upcoming D&D Webinars & Ben Franklin Circles Course

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An important skill to have in the work of dialogue and deliberation is the ability to have challenging conversations and stay with the tension. Our wonderful NCDD sponsor org The Courageous Leadership Project, has a free webinar in just a few hours to help build this skill – register ASAP to join! We encourage you to check out these webinars from NCDD member organizations MetroQuest, Living Room Conversations, and National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI). Finally, in case you missed it, Ben Franklin Circles is starting a free 6-session online course on beginning and sustaining a Ben Franklin Circle process. Register by July 19th to participate!

NCDD’s online D&D event roundup is a weekly compilation of the upcoming events happening in the digital world related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, engagement work, and more! Do you have a webinar or other digital event coming up that you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Please let us know in the comments section below or by emailing me at keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org, because we’d love to add it to the list!

Upcoming Online D&D Events: The Courageous Leadership Project, MetroQuest, Living Room Conversations, NIFI, IAP2, Tamarack Institute

The Courageous Leadership Project webinar – Brave, Honest Conversations™

Wednesday, June 10th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Some conversations are hard to have. Fear and discomfort build in your body and you avoid and procrastinate or pretend everything is fine. Sometimes you rush in with urgency, wanting to smooth things over, fix them, and make them better. Sometimes you go to battle stations, positioning the conversation so you have a higher chance of being on the “winning” side. NONE OF THIS WORKS. Instead, it usually makes a hard conversation harder; more divided, polarized, and disconnected from others. The more people involved, the harder the conversation can be. I believe that brave, honest conversations are how we solve the problems we face in our world – together.

In this webinar, we will cover: What is a Brave, Honest Conversation™? Why have one? What can change because of a brave, honest conversation? How do you have one? What do you need to think about and do? How do you prepare yourself for a brave, honest conversation?

REGISTER: www.bravelylead.com/events/bhcfreewebinar

Living Room Conversations Training (free): The Nuts & Bolts of Living Room Conversations

Thursday, July 11th
2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern

Join us for 90 minutes online to learn about Living Room Conversations. We’ll cover what a Living Room Conversation is, why we have them, and everything you need to know to get started hosting and/or participating in Living Room Conversations. This training is not required for participating in our conversations – we simply offer it for people who want to learn more about the Living Room Conversations practice.

Space is limited so that we can offer a more interactive experience. Please only RSVP if you are 100% certain that you can attend. This training will take place using Zoom video conferencing. A link to join the conversation will be sent to participants the day before the training.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/training-free-the-nuts-bolts-of-living-room-conversations-13/

Online Living Room Conversation: Digital Dialogue – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Thursday, July 11th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

We are in an age of wonder and amazement with technology. It can go anywhere with us and we can be reachable at any time. We use technology to order our groceries, navigate our cities, keep up with breaking news, family members living away and in some cases remain connected to our politicians and faith-based communities. So many of us are reachable and can respond immediately to beeping, buzzing, and ringing of texts, emails and phone calls. We like what we feel when our phones ring or ping us with a new message and that makes us want more. Some experts have suggested that technology is controlling us, that we have lost control of it…like an addiction. Is technology our friend, the life-saving tool of the 21st Century or a manipulator of our minds and master of our time? Who is in charge? Hereis the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/tribalism-101-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

SPECIAL Online Living Room Conversation: Race and Ethnicity Conversation Series

Tuesday, July 16th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Please join us for a 3-conversation series on Race & Ethnicity taking place over the course of three weeks (July 16, 23, & 30, 2:00 – 3:30pm ET / 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT). Check out this four-minute video from a previous Race & Ethnicity Conversation Series to get a taste of this conversation! In this series of three in-depth conversations, participants explore the complexities of the concepts of Race, Ethnicity, and their impacts on people from all walks of life. We will cover new questions from the three Race & Ethnicity conversation guides found here.

REGISTER: https://www.livingroomconversations.org/event/special-online-living-room-conversation-race-and-ethnicity-conversation-series-2/

MetroQuest webinar – Beyond Fear: Public Views on Emerging Transportation Technologies

Wednesday, July 17th
11 am Pacific | 12 pm Mountain | 1 pm Central | 2 pm Eastern (1 hour)
Educational Credit Available (APA AICP CM)
Complimentary (FREE)

Technologies are transforming the future of transportation, but are your residents ready for innovations like self-driving vehicles? It’s time to go beyond the hype and fears by uncovering true public priorities. Join NCDOT on July 17th as its forward-thinking team reveals what 10,000+ residents in North Carolina want for the future of their transportation system.

Jamille, Nastasha, and Colin will share the input they captured online. Should tax credits or infrastructure be prioritized to support an electric vehicle boom and achieve zero emissions? Are citizens more concerned with tech failures causing accidents or ensuring equitable access to mobililty innovations? Effective public engagement was critical to getting answers.

REGISTER: http://go.metroquest.com/NCDOT-Beyond-Fear-Public-Views-on-Emerging-Transportation-Technologies.html

July CGA Forum Series: Shaping Our Future

Wednesday, July 17th
5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Wednesday July 17th @ 8pm ET/5p PT on ” Shaping Our Future: How Should Higher Education Help Us Create the Society We Want?”

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Saturday July 6th at 6pm ET/3p PT on the issue of “Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do?” If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF copy at the NIF website: https://www.nifi.org/es/issue-guide/coming-america

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/june-cga-forum-series-climate-choices-how-should-we-meet-challenges-warming-planet

Online Living Room Conversation: Relationships First – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Q & A with Hosts!

Thursday, July 18th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

How we treat each other is the difference between a great place to live and a bad place to live. We shape our world through relationships. Most people agree we want communities where all people have dignity and respect. Yet respectful interactions are often not what we see modeled in the media and in politics. And far too many people feel disrespected in their lives. What is our role in these dynamics? Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/relationships-first-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

New Paper: Participatory Budgeting Improves Civic Voices and Tax Revenues

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NCDD member organization The Participatory Budgeting Project recently shared a new research paper on how participatory budgeting (PB) has been linked to improved civic engagement and increased tax revenue. PB is a process where community members vote on how to spend a portion of public dollars and is increasingly being attributed to bolstering peoples’ faith and practice in local governance. The article written by Loren Peabody shares the research of Michael Touchton, Brian Wampler, and Tiago Peixoto, who found that when people have the opportunity to give input on government spending, they are also more willing to pay their taxes. You can read the article below and find the original on the PBP’s blog here.

New Studies: PB Increases Tax Revenue as it Grows the Number of Voices in Government

New ideas often get a skeptical response, and participatory budgeting (PB) is no exception. One common doubt: while PB may be admirable, unfortunately governments just can’t afford it.

A new World Bank working paper by Michael Touchton, Brian Wampler, and Tiago Peixoto concludes just the opposite — PB and participatory institutions actually improve government balance sheets by boosting residents’ willingness to pay taxes. While most strategies for improving tax compliance rely on tougher enforcement or easier filing processes, these researchers provide evidence that people more readily pay their share of taxes when they feel they have a voice in the policy-making process and when they believe that governments are more transparent and deliver better services.

The study investigates a database of 5,570 Brazilian municipalities over a 13-year period, an ideal setting to see if participatory institutions have an impact on tax collection for several reasons. First, Brazilian cities have more legal autonomy and greater responsibility for delivering public services than municipal governments in the United States. One outcome of this autonomy was participatory budgeting itself–first developed in Porto Alegre in 1989 before spreading across the country. What’s less well known is that Brazil has also been a leader in developing public policy councils, which are co-governance institutions made up of officials and members of the public that formulate policy and oversee government performance.

Finally, Brazilian cities vary widely in the quality of their governance and their ability to collect tax revenue. Some municipalities have received considerable acclaim for their public administration. Curitiba, for example, has won awards for its sustainability and transportation planning. Others display a dynamic that is all-too-common in developing countries: poorly functioning governments lose public legitimacy, making individuals reluctant to pay their taxes and leading to a downward spiral as the government can’t obtain the revenue needed to improve performance.

Touchton, Wampler, and Peixoto find that both forms of participatory institutions — policy councils and participatory budgeting — have a positive and statistically-significant association with collecting more tax revenue. Municipalities with higher-than-average use of policy councils collect 27% more tax revenue than cities without the councils (averaged across different measures of tax collection). The relationship is even stronger with participatory budgeting: “On average, municipalities with PB have tax outcomes that are 34% greater than those without PB… [and] municipalities with PB for over 8 years have tax outcomes that are 39% greater than those without PB.”

Causation? Or Coincidence?

A skeptical reader would wonder exactly how the causation works here. It could be that some unobserved factor improves tax collection practices and simultaneously prompts governments to adopt PB and policy councils — rather than the participatory institutions being the cause of the improvement. To minimize this possibility, the researchers used a statistical technique called matching that pairs up cities that are similar in terms of their local economic and political conditions and in terms of proxy measures for their administrative capacity, but that differ with respect to whether or not they implemented participatory institutions.

In contrast to surveys or lab experiments, a strength of this research design is the ability to show that a link between public participation, good governance, and tax compliance can be observed in the real world. On the other hand, the study’s real-world setting could also mean that the findings only apply to the Brazilian context. To investigate the generalizability of these relationships, Tiago Peixoto teamed up with Fredrik M. Sjoberg, Jonathan Mellon, Johannes Hemker, and Lily L. Tsai for an additional study that performed an online survey experiment involving 65,000 respondents from 50 different countries. It found that across widely disparate contexts, individuals were more likely to report a stronger commitment to tax compliance when they are given an opportunity to voice their preferences about government spending (a simple simulation of taking part in PB).

Of all PB’s positive impacts that researchers have been documenting–including increased public investment in low-income communities, more active civil society, higher voter turnout, improved public health and well-being — improved tax collection may have the most impact of all, by increasing the total revenue available to address public needs. It can also help buttress the argument that deep, equitable democratic participation is valuable in itself by showing it is also a practical solution to some key problems cities face. As Touchton, Wampler, and Peixoto put it, “Governments that adopt participatory institutions make investments in democratic accountability and legitimacy that pay dividends in tax revenue. In turn, more revenue can increase the capacity to deliver better services, which begets still more legitimacy.”

You can find the original version of this article on the Participatory Budgeting Project’s blog at www.participatorybudgeting.org/pb-and-tax-revenue/.

Ben Franklin Circles Announces Free Online Course Series

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Our friends at Ben Franklin Circles shared this announcement with us about an exciting new online course they are launching at the end of July! This free course series will offer the opportunity to learn with a cohort about how to start and convene your own Ben Franklin Circle. Classes will be online every Thursday and registrants will receive a copy of Priya Parker’s book, The Art of Gathering. Registration closes July 19th, so don’t delay! If you do participate, we encourage you to share with us how it goes in the comments section below or by reaching out to keiva@ncdd.org! We’d love to hear about it and potentially share it on the blog. You can learn more about the Circle class in the post below and find the original information on the BFC site here.

Free class helps you start your own Circle

We are excited to announce that we will be kicking off something new this July – an online course in starting a Ben Franklin Circle! (New to Ben Franklin Circles? Visit our homepage.)

Have you considered hosting but first want to familiarize yourself with the format? Or want a little more guidance on how to make it a success? Join us for this opportunity to go through the process with a small cohort of other hosts who are also just beginning. Over six sessions, you’ll assemble your group, plan and hold your first meeting, and get real-time feedback along the way. By the end, you’ll have your Circle up-and-running and have a community of peers to turn to for support and inspiration as you go.

Like everything BFC, you can think of what is offered like an outfit that you try on, keep what you like, let go of the rest, and as always, include your own style.

How will it work? Starting Thursday, July 25th, 6 one-hour zoom video sessions will walk participants through the process of starting a circle. Led by experienced Ben Franklin Circle Host, Kim Crowley, each session is a chance to share your progress, workshop questions and exchange feedback on everything from location to the plan for your first meeting.

Who is it designed for?
This course is for those who:

  • Have decided to start a Ben Franklin Circle.
  • Will organize their Circle as we go.
  • Will host a first meeting in the Fall of 2019. The class will set you up to do this. Those with earlier start dates are also welcome!
  • Plan to attend all 6 sessions.
  • Are open to receiving and giving thoughtful feedback.

Start a Ben Franklin Circle Over six sessions, you’ll assemble your Circle, plan and hold your first meeting, and get real-time feedback along the way. By the end, you’ll have your Circle up-and-running and have a community of peers to turn to for support and inspiration as you go. Led by experienced Ben Franklin Circle Host, Kim Crowley, each session is a chance to share your progress, workshop questions and exchange feedback on everything from location to the plan for your first meeting.

Participants receive a free copy of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters. Author Priya Parker explores how to create a meaningful gathering with helpful tips and a wide range of examples.

Schedule
Every other Thursday from 7:00-8:00 pm EST (6:00 CT, 5:00 MT, 4:00 PT)

  • Session 1: July 25th.                     Talking about BFC and recruiting members
  • Session 2: August 8th                   Outreach and invitations
  • Session 3: August 22nd                 Location, scheduling & engagement
  • Session 4: September 5th             Recruitment check-in
  • Session 5: September 19th           Plan for 1st meeting
  • Session 6: Nov 7th                        Check-in, recap and celebrate!

Registration
Complete an application and sign up HERE

Registration deadline: Friday, July 19th.
Space is limited. This is a free course.

Direct questions or inquiries to Danyel Addes at daddes@92y.org

You can find the original version of this announcement on the BFC blog at www.benfranklincircles.org/tips-advice/online-class.

Wednesday Webinar Roundup for Dialogue & Deliberation

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Summer is a great opportunity to build your skill toolbox and this week’s roundup features many opportunities coming up! We encourage you to check out these events from NCDD sponsor org The Courageous Leadership Project, NCDD member organizations MetroQuest, Living Room Conversations, and National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), as well as, from the International Associate for Public Participation (IAP2) and the Tamarack Institute.

NCDD’s online D&D event roundup is a weekly compilation of the upcoming events happening in the digital world related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, engagement work, and more! Do you have a webinar or other digital event coming up that you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Please let us know in the comments section below or by emailing me at keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org, because we’d love to add it to the list!

Upcoming Online D&D Events: The Courageous Leadership Project, MetroQuest, Living Room Conversations, NIFI, IAP2, Tamarack Institute

Online Living Room Conversation: The America We Want to Be – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Wednesday, July 3rd
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

When the Declaration of Independence was written, not everyone was included in the famous statement about “pursuit of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” And while the aspirations expressed in our founding documents resonate for some more than others, there are many views regarding the degree to which we have advanced these aspirations for everyone. Some focus more on the great strides we have made; others point to how far we still need to go. Some believe that focusing on the past prevents forward progress; others think we still need to come to terms with our shadow side. Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/the-america-we-want-to-be-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

July CGA Forum Series: Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do?

Saturday, July 6th
3 pm Pacific, 6 pm Eastern

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Saturday July 6th at 6pm ET/3p PT on the issue of “Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do?” If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF copy at the NIF website: https://www.nifi.org/es/issue-guide/coming-america

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/july-cga-forum-series-coming-america-who-should-we-welcome-what-should-we-do

Tamarack Webinar – Bridging the Gap: Repairing Relationships for Stronger Community Engagement

Tuesday, July 9th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Can online meetings be as engaging and productive as face-to-face meetings? Maggie Chumbley believes the answer is absolutely yes! Maggie’s experience is that, in fact, online meetings can actually be better than meeting in person if they are designed and hosted skillfully. In this webinar, Maggie will highlight helpful tools and online platforms that she relies on to ensure the virtual meetings she facilitates foster connection, create shared learning and generate results. Participants will learn tactics, tips and advice for overcoming common challenges of engaging everyone; sharing visuals; perceiving subtle social cues and getting real work done together.

REGISTER: http://events.tamarackcommunity.ca/webinar-hosting-great-virtual-meetings

Online Living Room Conversation: Communicating with Care – 90-Minute Conversation w/Optional 30-Minute Q&A w/Hosts!

Tuesday, July 9th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

We may want to communicate with others in such a way that we gain knowledge and bridge divides, but those conversations don’t always come naturally. Most of us struggle to self-evaluate our communication skills and we might be unaware of words and actions that shut down healthy dialogue when discussing divisive issues. In this conversation, we will actively share and explore what works and what doesn’t, and we will reflect on ways that we can improve our interactions with others. Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/communicating-with-care-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-qa-w-hosts/

IAP2 Monthly Webinar: Victoria Encore – “Not Just Dragons”: A Model For Inclusive Engagement With Communities Of Colour

Tuesday, July 9th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Once again, we’re excited to present one of the session presentations at the 2018 IAP2 North American Conference, that attendees told us would make a good Learning Webinar. In this, Miranda Eng, senior consultant at Context Research, will share recent collaborative work with community members from Vancouver’s Chinatown to co-create a model to guide culturally respectful planning and design of engagement processes. Engaging cultural communities is crucial yet complex. When public processes have failed to be inclusive, we’ve seen civic distrust and a loss of community support for projects and plans. So what can inclusive engagement in cultural communities look like? How might we go beyond platitudes of ‘diversity and inclusion’? How might some tactics that we typically rely on be considered disrespectful?

REGISTER: https://iap2usa.org/event-3167679

The Courageous Leadership Project webinar – Brave, Honest Conversations™

Wednesday, June 10th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Some conversations are hard to have. Fear and discomfort build in your body and you avoid and procrastinate or pretend everything is fine. Sometimes you rush in with urgency, wanting to smooth things over, fix them, and make them better. Sometimes you go to battle stations, positioning the conversation so you have a higher chance of being on the “winning” side. NONE OF THIS WORKS. Instead, it usually makes a hard conversation harder; more divided, polarized, and disconnected from others. The more people involved, the harder the conversation can be. I believe that brave, honest conversations are how we solve the problems we face in our world – together.

In this webinar, we will cover: What is a Brave, Honest Conversation™? Why have one? What can change because of a brave, honest conversation? How do you have one? What do you need to think about and do? How do you prepare yourself for a brave, honest conversation?

REGISTER: www.bravelylead.com/events/bhcfreewebinar

Online Living Room Conversation: Digital Dialogue – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Thursday, July 11th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

We are in an age of wonder and amazement with technology. It can go anywhere with us and we can be reachable at any time. We use technology to order our groceries, navigate our cities, keep up with breaking news, family members living away and in some cases remain connected to our politicians and faith-based communities. So many of us are reachable and can respond immediately to beeping, buzzing, and ringing of texts, emails and phone calls. We like what we feel when our phones ring or ping us with a new message and that makes us want more. Some experts have suggested that technology is controlling us, that we have lost control of it…like an addiction. Is technology our friend, the life-saving tool of the 21st Century or a manipulator of our minds and master of our time? Who is in charge? Hereis the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/tribalism-101-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

SPECIAL Online Living Room Conversation: Race and Ethnicity Conversation Series

Tuesday, July 16th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Please join us for a 3-conversation series on Race & Ethnicity taking place over the course of three weeks (July 16, 23, & 30, 2:00 – 3:30pm ET / 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT). Check out this four-minute video from a previous Race & Ethnicity Conversation Series to get a taste of this conversation! In this series of three in-depth conversations, participants explore the complexities of the concepts of Race, Ethnicity, and their impacts on people from all walks of life. We will cover new questions from the three Race & Ethnicity conversation guides found here.

REGISTER: https://www.livingroomconversations.org/event/special-online-living-room-conversation-race-and-ethnicity-conversation-series-2/

MetroQuest webinar – Beyond Fear:
Public Views on Emerging Transportation Technologies

Wednesday, July 17th
11 am Pacific | 12 pm Mountain | 1 pm Central | 2 pm Eastern (1 hour)
Educational Credit Available (APA AICP CM)
Complimentary (FREE)

Technologies are transforming the future of transportation, but are your residents ready for innovations like self-driving vehicles? It’s time to go beyond the hype and fears by uncovering true public priorities. Join NCDOT on July 17th as its forward-thinking team reveals what 10,000+ residents in North Carolina want for the future of their transportation system.

Jamille, Nastasha, and Colin will share the input they captured online. Should tax credits or infrastructure be prioritized to support an electric vehicle boom and achieve zero emissions? Are citizens more concerned with tech failures causing accidents or ensuring equitable access to mobililty innovations? Effective public engagement was critical to getting answers.

REGISTER: http://go.metroquest.com/NCDOT-Beyond-Fear-Public-Views-on-Emerging-Transportation-Technologies.html

July CGA Forum Series: Shaping Our Future

Wednesday, July 17th
5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Wednesday July 17th @ 8pm ET/5p PT on ” Shaping Our Future: How Should Higher Education Help Us Create the Society We Want?”

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Saturday July 6th at 6pm ET/3p PT on the issue of “Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do?” If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF copy at the NIF website: https://www.nifi.org/es/issue-guide/coming-america

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/june-cga-forum-series-climate-choices-how-should-we-meet-challenges-warming-planet

Online D&D Events Coming Up Ft Tamarack, IAP2, & More!

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This week’s roundup features events from NCDD member orgs Living Room Conversations and National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), as well as, from the Tamarack Institute and International Associate for Public Participation (IAP2).

NCDD’s online D&D event roundup is a weekly compilation of the upcoming events happening in the digital world related to dialogue, deliberation, civic tech, engagement work, and more! Do you have a webinar or other digital event coming up that you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Please let us know in the comments section below or by emailing me at keiva[at]ncdd[dot]org, because we’d love to add it to the list!

Upcoming Online D&D Events: Living Room Conversations, NIFI, IAP2, Tamarack Institute

Living Room Conversations Training (free): The Nuts & Bolts of Living Room Conversations

Thursday, June 27th
2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern

Join us for 60 minutes online to learn about Living Room Conversations. We’ll cover what a Living Room Conversation is, why we have them, and everything you need to know to get started hosting and/or participating in Living Room Conversations. This training is not required for participating in our conversations – we simply offer it for people who want to learn more about the Living Room Conversations practice.

Space is limited to 12 people so that we can offer a more interactive experience. Please only RSVP if you are 100% certain that you can attend. This training will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. A link to join the conversation will be sent to participants by the Wednesday before this training.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/free-training-the-nuts-bolts-of-living-room-conversations/

Online Living Room Conversation: Tribalism 101 – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Thursday, June 27th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

Inspired by the podcast Next Door Strangers, this Living Room Conversation begins with a 15-minute podcast: http://www.kuer.org/post/1-tribalism-101-pick-side. We invite you to listen and then begin your Living Room Conversation. Tribalism: the behavior and attitudes that stem from strong loyalty to one’s own tribe or social group. People on the left and right may disagree on many things, but they generally agree that “tribalism” is bad for our politics and our country. Although most people want communities where all people have dignity and respect, respectful interactions are often not what we see modeled in the media and in politics. How do we build strong and unified communities in a divisive time? Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/tribalism-101-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

Online Living Room Conversation: Forgiveness – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Sunday, June 30th
12:30 pm Pacific, 3:30 pm Eastern

For many of us, forgiveness can be very challenging. There are so many ways that we are hurt by others and that we hurt others in our lives. How we manage those hurts is a key part of shaping our lives internally and externally. How can forgiveness help us to become the person we want to be? Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/forgiveness-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

Online Living Room Conversation: The America We Want to Be – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Wednesday, July 3rd
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

When the Declaration of Independence was written, not everyone was included in the famous statement about “pursuit of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” And while the aspirations expressed in our founding documents resonate for some more than others, there are many views regarding the degree to which we have advanced these aspirations for everyone. Some focus more on the great strides we have made; others point to how far we still need to go. Some believe that focusing on the past prevents forward progress; others think we still need to come to terms with our shadow side. Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/the-america-we-want-to-be-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/

July CGA Forum Series: Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do?

Friday, July 6th
3 pm Pacific, 6 pm Eastern

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Saturday July 6th at 6pm ET/3p PT on the issue of “Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do?” If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF copy at the NIF website: https://www.nifi.org/es/issue-guide/coming-america

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/june-cga-forum-series-climate-choices-how-should-we-meet-challenges-warming-planet

IAP2 Monthly Webinar: Victoria Encore – “Not Just Dragons”: A Model For Inclusive Engagement With Communities Of Colour

Tuesday, July 9th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Once again, we’re excited to present one of the session presentations at the 2018 IAP2 North American Conference, that attendees told us would make a good Learning Webinar. In this, Miranda Eng, senior consultant at Context Research, will share recent collaborative work with community members from Vancouver’s Chinatown to co-create a model to guide culturally respectful planning and design of engagement processes. Engaging cultural communities is crucial yet complex. When public processes have failed to be inclusive, we’ve seen civic distrust and a loss of community support for projects and plans. So what can inclusive engagement in cultural communities look like? How might we go beyond platitudes of ‘diversity and inclusion’? How might some tactics that we typically rely on be considered disrespectful?

REGISTER: https://iap2usa.org/event-3167679

Tamarack Webinar – Hosting Great Virtual Meetings

Tuesday, July 9th
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Can online meetings be as engaging and productive as face-to-face meetings? Maggie Chumbley believes the answer is absolutely yes! Maggie’s experience is that, in fact, online meetings can actually be better than meeting in person if they are designed and hosted skillfully. In this webinar, Maggie will highlight helpful tools and online platforms that she relies on to ensure the virtual meetings she facilitates foster connection, create shared learning and generate results. Participants will learn tactics, tips and advice for overcoming common challenges of engaging everyone; sharing visuals; perceiving subtle social cues and getting real work done together.

REGISTER: http://events.tamarackcommunity.ca/webinar-hosting-great-virtual-meetings

Online Living Room Conversation: Digital Dialogue – 90-Minute Conversation w/ Optional 30-Minute Bonus Round!

Thursday, July 11th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

We are in an age of wonder and amazement with technology. It can go anywhere with us and we can be reachable at any time. We use technology to order our groceries, navigate our cities, keep up with breaking news, family members living away and in some cases remain connected to our politicians and faith-based communities. So many of us are reachable and can respond immediately to beeping, buzzing, and ringing of texts, emails and phone calls. We like what we feel when our phones ring or ping us with a new message and that makes us want more. Some experts have suggested that technology is controlling us, that we have lost control of it…like an addiction. Is technology our friend, the life-saving tool of the 21st Century or a manipulator of our minds and master of our time? Who is in charge? Here is the conversation guide.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/tribalism-101-90-minute-conversation-w-optional-30-minute-bonus-round/