Category Archives: online & hi-tech

Check out the Digital Events Happening This Week in D&D

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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! This week’s roundup features webinars from NCDD member orgs Living Room Conversations and National Issues Forums Institute, and from The International Association of Facilitators (IAF), Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and the new webinar series #ThisIsGovtech by CivicMakers and GovTech Fund.

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!

Online Roundup: IAF, PACE, Zehr, GPPAC, #ThisIsGovtech, NIFI, LRC

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

Wednesday, March 20th
9:30 am Pacific, 1:30 pm 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-6

Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement Webinar – Health Equity & Community Safety: How Funders Can Embrace the Power of Youth Civic Engagement

Wednesday, March 20th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Foundations and funders committed to building healthier, safer, and more equitable communities may be overlooking or undervaluing a key strategy: youth civic engagement. In light of recent findings from PACE’s Health & Safety working group, this webinar will highlight why and how investments in youth civic engagement can be key to improving community health and safety. The event will illustrate specific ways funders can support youth civic engagement, share stories and case studies of successful health and safety initiatives involving youth, and explore how incorporating youth into health and safety strategies can have an impact on equity in community outcomes.

REGISTER: www.pacefunders.org/webinar-health-equity-community-safety-how-funders-can-embrace-the-power-of-youth-civic-engagement/

Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice – Restorative Circles for Health: RJ as an Approach to Health Justice

Wednesday, March 20th
1:30pm Pacific, 4:30pm Eastern
Guest: Ivelyse Andino and Jason Walsh
Host: Johonna Turner

Join Ivelyse Andino and Jason Walsh for a discussion on the use of restorative practices to achieve health justice for marginalized communities. Andino, the CEO of Radical Health, and Walsh, who facilitated “Circle of Knowledge,” are on the cutting edge of this burgeoning application of RJ.

REGISTER: http://zehr-institute.org/webinars/restorative-circles-for-health.html

Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) webinar – Peace Education: Culture of Good Neighbourhood and 15 years of Multicultural education in school; how can I be recognized in my school if I’m a minority?

Wednesday, March 20th
5 am Pacific, 8 am Eastern

In this webinar, expert Dr. Iryna Brunova-Kalisetska will present an example of system work from kindergarten to university levels of education for the multicultural societies, both as a preventive tool and post-conflict peacebuilding measure. Main principles of the “Culture of Good Neighbourhood” inclusive approach for various levels of education and multicultural contexts will be presented and discussed at the webinar.

REGISTER: www.gppac.net/peace-education-webinar-series?fbclid=IwAR371vw1Gxi_tpRI3NZsCMRgbf7Rd_IlD1keNf2KuT30iUwHzMDCiw6t1541

#ThisIsGovtech Webinar – Access & Accessibility for All! *this webinar is free for gov’t  employees and requires a gov’t email

Thursday, March 21st
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

What is govtech? It is new technologies that empower government employees, improve public services, and make a real difference in everything from the housing crisis to climate change. It is a growing market worth over $400 billion that is attracting a new generation of technologists, designers and mission-driven entrepreneurs who are collaborating with government partners to help drive a movement. As paper processes shift to digital workflows full of big data, governments are gaining new visibility and actionable insights into sticky problems and seeing their role evolve to become dedicated enablers of change. #ThisIsGovtech is a new webinar series exploring the govtech movement. If you work in government, join us to be inspired by the passion, creativity and impact of this growing field.

REGISTER: www.eventbrite.com/e/thisisgovtech-webinar-series-access-accessibility-for-all-registration-41804299786?mc_eid=6347eb7d50&mc_cid=71f141c3f8

National Issues Forums Institute – March CGA Forum Series: America’s Energy Future

Thursday, March 21st
9:30 am Pacific, 12:30 pm Eastern

Join us in March for a Common Ground for Action forum on “America’s Energy Future” We’ll be talking about how to fix our broken political system in three different options: (1) Produce the Energy We Need to Maintain Our Way of Life: We must produce more of the energy we need, while making sure that as much imported energy as possible comes from stable, friendly countries, such as Canada; (2) Put More Renewables and Clean Energy Sources into the Mix: We need to find and use more sources of renewable energy. And, because we will inevitably have to move to renewables at some point, we should start down that path now; and (3) Find Ways to Use Less Energy: Energy produced by fossil fuels will, eventually, run out and, in the meantime, we continue to do great damage to the air, water, and earth that sustain us. If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF here.

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/march-cga-forum-series-america%E2%80%99s-energy-future-0

Living Room Conversations webinar – Climate Change

Saturday, March 23th
1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Climate Change. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: Do you believe that climate change is a natural cycle of the earth, man-made or both? Are you concerned about climate change? Share your views. Are you frustrated by the amount of attention given to climate change? Share your views

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-climate-change/

Living Room Conversations webinar – Free Speech, Hate Speech and Campus Life

Wednesday, March 27th
1:30 pm Pacific, 4:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Free Speech, Hate Speech and Campus Life. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: What norms do you follow when expressing your opinion? I.e. do you hold back, attempt to persuade others, “let it fly” or ??? What do you consider hate speech? What rules or norms should there be at colleges and universities?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-free-speech-hate-speech-and-campus-life/

Online D&D Event Weekly Roundup & NCDD Confab TODAY

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We’re excited for our March Confab call TODAY from 3-4 pm Eastern, 12-1 pm Pacific, in collaboration with Net Impact, National Issues Forums Institute, and the National Conversation Project! This free 1-hour webinar will be an opportunity to learn more about Net Impact’s youth engagement work, the new national debt issue guide they created with NIFI, information on a paid opportunity to host forums, and more about the upcoming National Week of Conversation. Register ASAP to save your spot on this dynamic and informational call here.

Please also check out the webinars below from NCDD partner org National Civic League, NCDD member orgs Living Room Conversations, Bridge Alliance, and National Issues Forums Institute, and from Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and the new webinar series #ThisIsGovtech by CivicMakers and GovTech Fund.

Do you have a webinar or other 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!

Online Roundup: NCDD March Confab, Living Room Conversations, Bridge Alliance, NIFI, PACE, Zehr, GPPAC, and #ThisIsGovtech

NCDD March Confab with Net Impact, NIFI, and National Conversation Project

Confab bubble image

Wednesday, March 13th
12 pm Pacific, 3 pm Eastern

This free one-hour webinar will be a great opportunity for anyone passionate about cultivating the next generation of leaders, those interested in learning how to apply for the microgrant to host forums, more about the new national debt issue guide, and/or hosting a conversation during the upcoming National Week of Conversation. You won’t want to miss out on this discussion – register today!

REGISTER: http://ncdd.org/29225

Living Room Conversations webinar – Tribalism 101: Next Door Strangers

Wednesday, March 13th
12:30 pm Pacific, 3:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Tribalism. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: Name one or more groups you feel at home or strongly identify with (where you find a sense of belonging and/or feel stronger together)What generalizations do you make about other groups? How do you evaluate or check the validity of your generalizations, if at all? How important is it to you that your generalizations are accurate? Some groups come together based on sharing a common culture, vision, or enemy. What is the commonality for your group? What need does your group fulfill in your life?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-tribalism-101-next-door-strangers-4/

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

Thursday, March 14th
12 pm Pacific, 3 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 Wednesday 10am (PT) / 1pm (ET).

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/training-free-the-nuts-bolts-of-living-room-conversations-3/

Living Room Conversations webinar – American Culture: Melting pot or salad bowl or something else?

Saturday, March 16th
11:30 am Pacific, 2:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of American Culture: Melting pot or salad bowl or something else?. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: What is your cultural heritage? Have you experienced cultures other than your own? What did you appreciate? What made you uncomfortable? What value do you see in having a single, shared American culture? What would that culture look like?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-american-culture-melting-pot-or-salad-bowl-or-something-else/

Bridge Alliance webinar – Peer Learning Session: Get to Know the 116th Congress with the Congressional Management Foundation *this webinar is for Bridge Alliance members only – learn more here

Monday, March 18th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

A new Congress means new committee and subcommittee chairs, new alliances, and significant changes in the political terrain on Capitol Hill. With the shift in power, and term limits for committee chairs in the House and Senate, an advocate who may have been represented by an anonymous back-bencher last year might now be the conduit to the most important legislator for your cause. This webinar will offering a snapshot of the 116th Congress, offering participants a window into how to build relationships with lawmakers. The presentation will be conducted by Bradford Fitch, President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF).

RSVP: www.bridgealliancefund.us/cmf_peer_learning_session

National Civic League AAC Promising Practices Webinar – Community Collaborations to Improve Student Health

Tuesday, March 19th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Join the National Civic League to learn more about how two All-America Cities are bringing their communities together to address student health with in-school interventions. Susan Witkowski, CHCQM, CEO of Community Medical Clinic of Kershaw County will discuss the offerings of their school-based health center. Lisa Campbell, CEO of Create a Change in Las Vegas, NV will discuss their Healthy School, Healthy Life Program.

REGISTER: www.eventbrite.com/e/aac-promising-practices-webinar-community-collaborations-to-improve-student-health-tickets-54558819899

Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement Webinar – Health Equity & Community Safety: How Funders Can Embrace the Power of Youth Civic Engagement

Wednesday, March 20th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Foundations and funders committed to building healthier, safer, and more equitable communities may be overlooking or undervaluing a key strategy: youth civic engagement. In light of recent findings from PACE’s Health & Safety working group, this webinar will highlight why and how investments in youth civic engagement can be key to improving community health and safety. The event will illustrate specific ways funders can support youth civic engagement, share stories and case studies of successful health and safety initiatives involving youth, and explore how incorporating youth into health and safety strategies can have an impact on equity in community outcomes..

REGISTER: www.pacefunders.org/webinar-health-equity-community-safety-how-funders-can-embrace-the-power-of-youth-civic-engagement/

Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice – Restorative Circles for Health: RJ as an Approach to Health Justice

Wednesday, March 20th
1:30pm Pacific, 4:30pm Eastern
Guest: Ivelyse Andino and Jason Walsh
Host: Johonna Turner

Join Ivelyse Andino and Jason Walsh for a discussion on the use of restorative practices to achieve health justice for marginalized communities. Andino, the CEO of Radical Health, and Walsh, who facilitated “Circle of Knowledge,” are on the cutting edge of this burgeoning application of RJ.

REGISTER: http://zehr-institute.org/webinars/restorative-circles-for-health.html

Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) webinar – Peace Education: Culture of Good Neighbourhood and 15 years of Multicultural education in school; how can I be recognized in my school if I’m a minority?

Wednesday, March 20th
5 am Pacific, 8 am Eastern

In this webinar, expert Dr. Iryna Brunova-Kalisetska will present an example of system work from kindergarten to university levels of education for the multicultural societies, both as a preventive tool and post-conflict peacebuilding measure. Main principles of the “Culture of Good Neighbourhood” inclusive approach for various levels of education and multicultural contexts will be presented and discussed at the webinar.

REGISTER: www.gppac.net/peace-education-webinar-series?fbclid=IwAR371vw1Gxi_tpRI3NZsCMRgbf7Rd_IlD1keNf2KuT30iUwHzMDCiw6t1541

#ThisIsGovtech Webinar – Access & Accessibility for All! *this webinar is free for gov’t  employees and requires a gov’t email

Thursday, March 21st
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

What is govtech? It is new technologies that empower government employees, improve public services, and make a real difference in everything from the housing crisis to climate change. It is a growing market worth over $400 billion that is attracting a new generation of technologists, designers and mission-driven entrepreneurs who are collaborating with government partners to help drive a movement. As paper processes shift to digital workflows full of big data, governments are gaining new visibility and actionable insights into sticky problems and seeing their role evolve to become dedicated enablers of change. #ThisIsGovtech is a new webinar series exploring the govtech movement. If you work in government, join us to be inspired by the passion, creativity and impact of this growing field.

REGISTER: www.eventbrite.com/e/thisisgovtech-webinar-series-access-accessibility-for-all-registration-41804299786?mc_eid=6347eb7d50&mc_cid=71f141c3f8

National Issues Forums Institute – March CGA Forum Series: America’s Energy Future

Thursday, March 21st
9:30 am Pacific, 12:30 pm Eastern

Join us in March for a Common Ground for Action forum on “America’s Energy Future” We’ll be talking about how to fix our broken political system in three different options: (1) Produce the Energy We Need to Maintain Our Way of Life: We must produce more of the energy we need, while making sure that as much imported energy as possible comes from stable, friendly countries, such as Canada; (2) Put More Renewables and Clean Energy Sources into the Mix: We need to find and use more sources of renewable energy. And, because we will inevitably have to move to renewables at some point, we should start down that path now; and (3) Find Ways to Use Less Energy: Energy produced by fossil fuels will, eventually, run out and, in the meantime, we continue to do great damage to the air, water, and earth that sustain us. If you haven’t had a chance to review the issue guide, you can find a downloadable PDF here.

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/march-cga-forum-series-america%E2%80%99s-energy-future-0

National Week of Conversation Happening April 5th-13th

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The next National Week of Conversation (NWOC) is April 5th – 13th! For the second year in a row, NWOC will be a week of intentional conversation, where folks around the country will be hosting or joining conversations, in hopes to better address the intense divisions in our society through dialogue, deepening understanding, and building relationships. We have a special Confab call happening this Weds where you can learn more about NWOC, how to join a conversation already going on and/or start your own. This free call will be on Wednesday, March 13th from 3-4 pm Eastern, 12-1 pm Pacific and we encourage you to register ASAP to save your spot on the call. (Spoiler: we will also be sharing about a paid opportunity to host discussions around the new national debt issue guide, so you won’t want to miss out!) You can read more about NWOC in the post below and on the NCP site here.

National Week of Conversation: April 5th – 13th

Today, seemingly more than ever before, it is important that we as American citizens of all stripes, take a step back followed by a step forward. Step back from our comfort zone and routine, step away from our smartphone screens and social media scrolling and step forward towards someone new, engaging and connecting with genuine curiosity. This is how we grow both as individuals and as a society. This is how we better understand the hurt we might actually be able to help heal. This is how we understand American struggles beyond simply those we experience within invisible border walls of our own communities or those we learn about in the echo chambers of our like-minded social media connections. This is the only way we understand our best way forward, together.

These uncommon steps are far from easy. So an entire movement has formed where we, hand-in-hand, walk each other into greater connection and understanding. Republicans and Democrats. Jews and Muslims. Majority and minority. In the middle of the chaos, we enter into difficult yet rewarding conversations where we #ListenFirst to understand each other. And somewhere within that, we see behind the angry social media posts and opposing votes and comments taken out of context and realize we are all human. We realize we all have stories worth open ears and struggles worth another helping hand.

This year, April 5th – 13th, this #ListenFirst movement is joining together during National Week of Conversation to rally Americans to take these steps together.

National Week of Conversation is a bold annual occasion when people with diverse perspectives #ListenFirst to understand. Through in-person and virtual conversations exploring any topic of interest, people of all stripes intentionally convene with the goal of mending our frayed social fabric and revitalizing America together. We are encouraging everyone and anyone to reach out to neighbors, family and friends, and form your own conversations.

To connect with this sweeping cross country movement, you can host or join a conversation during NWOC 2019, April 5-13. Use the #ListenFirst hashtag to invite others!

One week. One week to step back from routine work schedules and routine interactions. One week to step away from excuses and prioritize your concerns about our future. One week when we can step forward – towards each other, with each other and for each other. What is your excuse for standing back or standing still? Please join us for National Week of Conversation and practice what it means to #ListenFirst.

You can learn more about the National Week of Conversation at www.nationalconversationproject.org/.

Weekly Online D&D Roundup – March Confab Announced!

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As part of this week’s roundup of online D&D events, we’re excited to include the announcement we shared yesterday for the upcoming NCDD March Confab call on Wednesday, March 13th in collaboration with Net Impact, National Issues Forums Institute, and the National Conversation Project. This free 1-hour webinar will be from 3-4 pm Eastern, 12-1 pm Pacific, and will be an opportunity to learn more about Net Impact’s youth engagement work, the new national debt issue guide they created with NIFI, information on a paid opportunity to host forums, and more about the upcoming National Week of Conversation. Register ASAP to save your spot on this dynamic and informational call here. We encourage you to check out the webinars below from the following NCDD member orgs Living Room Conversations, Bridge Alliance, and IAP2.

Do you have a webinar or other 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!

Online Roundup: NCDD March Confab, Living Room Conversations, IAP2, Bridge Alliance

Living Room Conversations webinar – Police-community Relations

Thursday, March 7th
2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Police-community Relations. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: What has been your personal response to instances of police-citizen shootings, if any? What do you think is contributing to the police-citizen shootings right now? What role, if any, do you see racism playing in our current attention to law enforcement?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-men-victims-perpetrators-and-allies/

Living Room Conversations webinar – Mental Health

Saturday, March 9th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Mental Health. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: What experiences in your life, your work or your family inform your thinking about mental health? Is mental health an important issue in your community, and if so, why? In your experience, how are mental health issues affecting young people? (If you are a young person, how do mental health issues affect you and your peers?)

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-mental-health-3/

IAP2 Monthly Webinar – Visual Engagement

Tuesday, March 12th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Encouraging members of the public to take part in an engagement process is challenging. How do you provide them with the information they need to make an informed decision without bogging them down with data, policy and jargon? For that matter, how do you attract their attention in the first place?

The Visual Engagement Awards — a new Core Values Award presented by IAP2 Canada in conjunction with the Dazzling Notice Awards — rewards public entities which have made that extra effort to get people’s attention and make sure their many voices are heard. In 2018, the first awards went to the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, for its Biosolids Strategy, and the District of Squamish, BC, for its Official Community Plan Update. Watch the Waterloo video here. Watch the Squamish video here.

REGISTER: www.iap2canada.ca/event-3093147

NCDD March Confab with Net Impact, NIFI, and National Conversation Project

Confab bubble image

Wednesday, March 13th
12 pm Pacific, 3 pm Eastern

This free one-hour webinar will be a great opportunity for anyone passionate about cultivating the next generation of leaders, those interested in learning how to apply for the microgrant to host forums, more about the new national debt issue guide, and/or hosting a conversation during the upcoming National Week of Conversation. You won’t want to miss out on this discussion – register today!

REGISTER: http://ncdd.org/29225

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

Thursday, March 14th
12 pm Pacific, 3 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 Wednesday 10am (PT) / 1pm (ET).

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/training-free-the-nuts-bolts-of-living-room-conversations-3/

Living Room Conversations webinar – American Culture: Melting pot or salad bowl or something else?

Saturday, March 16th
11:30 am Pacific, 2:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of American Culture: Melting pot or salad bowl or something else?. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: What is your cultural heritage? Have you experienced cultures other than your own? What did you appreciate? What made you uncomfortable? What value do you see in having a single, shared American culture? What would that culture look like?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-american-culture-melting-pot-or-salad-bowl-or-something-else/

Bridge Alliance webinar – Peer Learning Session: Get to Know the 116th Congress with the Congressional Management Foundation *this webinar is for Bridge Alliance members only – learn more here

Monday, March 18th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

A new Congress means new committee and subcommittee chairs, new alliances, and significant changes in the political terrain on Capitol Hill. With the shift in power, and term limits for committee chairs in the House and Senate, an advocate who may have been represented by an anonymous back-bencher last year might now be the conduit to the most important legislator for your cause. This webinar will offering a snapshot of the 116th Congress, offering participants a window into how to build relationships with lawmakers. The presentation will be conducted by Bradford Fitch, President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF).

RSVP: www.bridgealliancefund.us/cmf_peer_learning_session

Who Will You Invite? An Exploration of Stakeholder Selection in Dialogue and Deliberation

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A NCDD Listserv synopsis of the conversation entitled: How to pick stakeholders for a stakeholder dialogue

Listserv Contributors: Tom Altee, Adrian Segar, Peter Jones, Marjo Curgus, Peggy Holmes, Chris Santos-Lang, Betsy Morris, Eric Simley, and Sally Theilacker

Synopsis by: Annie Rappeport, NCDD Intern

“The approach to stakeholder selection is the most critical step in the design of fair and inclusive dialogues that reflect a community’s contributions and perspectives” ~ Peter Jones, NCDD Member

In your dialogue and deliberation work do you find yourself struggling as much about who to invite to a dialogue as how to set the agenda? Are you wanting to include many but worried about sacrificing the needed intimacy of the conversation?  If so, you are not alone.

In September 2018, NCDD member Tom Altee began a conversation with an inquiry to the greater NCDD community about the different considerations for and ways to select community stakeholders gathering because they all care about a particular issue.  Although Tom Altee’s questions were for a specific project related to community transit and the varying interests of bicyclists, walkers, and drivers, the responses quickly broadened this important conversation about dialogue. Tackling who will be included in a dialogue has valuable impacts on what will be discussed as will the overall size of the group and any present uneven power dynamics.

Our NCDD community responded with resources and ideas aplenty. Here are some contributions we believe may serve others well as they craft an approach for their specific local needs and contexts.

  1. Peter Jones has dedicated much of his work and scholarship to the importance of stakeholder selection. He recommends a technique entitled “evolutionary stakeholder discovery” whereby there are multiple waves of invitation and a creation of optimal criteria that the participating stakeholders may represent. This is a time-consuming and worthwhile approach. Marjo Curgus also uses a specific technique that combines network analysis and stakeholder analysis to craft a preferred list of included stakeholders. Marjo notes the importance of conducting this process with a committee and to prioritize levels of influence.
  2. Peggy Holmes mentions different models including the diversity promoting “faultlines” conceptual framework from The Maynard Institute. A handy guide to the faultlines approach is provided on the Society for Professional Journalists website (2019). She also mentions the work of Sandra Janoff and Marv Weisbord as providing useful criteria considerations.
  3. Chris Santos-Lang illustrates impossibility of creating the perfect gathering of stakeholders and the significant issue in dialogue and deliberation work to include stakeholder representation when the needed stakeholder may be physically, mentally or technically (i.e. language barriers) unable to participate at the needed level themselves.
  4. Adrian Segar recommends the 2013 John Forester book Planning in the Face of Conflict. This book features a dozen profiles of planning practitioners that serve as exemplary cases of stakeholder selection for practical problem solving in communities.

What we can continue to take from this discussion overall is the importance of questioning how we invite and who we invite in community discussions. The tools and approaches vary, but many times our goals remain constant–to have high quality and effective dialogues that are so because they are diverse, inclusive, and a size that enables everyone to contribute.

We hope this discussion may continue! Please post your thoughts and ideas for stakeholder selection in your work.

Explore D&D Future in New Cosmopolis2045 Website

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Imagine a world in which communication practices are centered in social interactions and the way society operates, where the whole community lives dialogue and deliberation practices every day?

This is the vision for the exciting new website that just officially launched – Cosmopolis2045, which offers a vision of a future communication-centric society in the year 2045. This project has been an on-going, multi-year collaborative effort between scholars, practitioners, and community members; you may remember we announced this endeavor several years back on the blog and it’s wonderful to see this come to fruition. Thanks to NCDD member Kim Pearce for sharing this update with us! We encourage you to read more in the post below and especially to explore the future vision of the Cosmopolis2045 website here.

Cosmopolis2045: Imagining a better social world in which communicating matters

What if a whole community treated relationships with other people as if they really mattered? What if a whole community took dialogue and deliberation seriously? And what if that community tried with all their hearts to bring about a better social world in all the myriad of ways we engage in communication with others in our world?

These were the questions asked by a group of scholars and practitioners sponsored by the CMM Institute, a NCDD member organization. The Cosmopolis2045 website is their answer, visit https://cosmopolis2045.com/

The Cosmopolis2045 website depicts an imagined community set in the future (circa 2045) in which residents and leaders of the community have adopted a communication-centric view of how their own and other social worlds function. This website offers an intriguing look at a possible near future in which dialogue and deliberation are an integral part of everyday community events and are at the heart of city functioning. The website is also an information-rich resource for teaching classes on communication, especially cosmopolitan communication and for exploring the implications of a communication-centric view for a range of educational, legal, governance, and associated community practices.

Behind the scenes

How might we, as scholars, practitioners, citizens and all those concerned with the quality of our social life, respond to such an invitation?

What might it take to act wisely, if only for the moment, in our response?

What resources, stories and other experiences do we have to draw on to respond?

What can we share with others that might enhance all our capacities to act wisely in the making of better social worlds?

Those are the questions we asked ourselves as we set about imagining a community where a new social fabric could emerge out of treating communicating seriously.

In this section, we give you behind-the-scenes information which addresses the above questions. Our starting vision and guiding theory are described in Inspiration for the Cosmopolis2045 project. Here we also outline the futurist research we drew upon; elaborate at greater length on our “non-utopian” attempts at being visionaries; and describe what we mean by cosmopolitan communication.

The Cosmopolis2045 project is a collaborative thought experiment that has involved an international group of scholars and sponsors. These people and organisations are described in Collaborators and sponsors.

If any particular topic or underlying theory attracts your attention please go to Want to know more? Here we offer introductory background material on the Coordinated Management of Meaning, our guiding theory. We also include references and websites to a range of supporting material from futurist research to pedagogy, to sustainable food practices and procedural justice, and more. You can also find links to like-minded websites, scholars and practitioners. All these references and links show the breadth and depth of social change going on now and how much our vision for the near future is possible and not far removed from reality.

Inspiration for Cosmopolis2045

The Cosmopolis2045 project has been a collaborative thought experiment involving many people and taking place over a number of years. It is, in fact, still on-going.

The website depicting our vision of Cosmopolis is one, but not all, manifestation of our response to the challenge of how do you envision better social worlds, knowing that there is no “best” goal outside of the very process of communicating itself.

Here we offer some of the behind-the-scenes material that, hopefully, explains how we responded to the challenge we set ourselves. We lay this out under three themes:

What we are trying to achieve

 Our goal with this website is to create and maintain a virtual depiction of a community set in the future (circa 2045) in which residents and leaders of the community have adopted a communication-centric view of how their own and other social worlds function. It is our belief, and one that can be substantiated, that this communication-centric view is what we need for the evolution of better social worlds.

However, we have found, as scholars, practitioners and involved citizens, that this communication-centric view is not one commonly shared. Mainstream communication theories, both formal and implicit, narrowly focus on the content and quality of messages, along with an implicit assumption that successful communication is the receipt of an unsullied message or the creation of shared understanding.

Our primary challenge, then, in creating the imaginary world of Cosmopolis2045, has been to depict ways of living in communicating that many have not imagined and others only in part. On the other hand, we also know from our collective experiences that there are many social change initiatives happening around the world that point the ways to meet this challenge.

In our imagination we have drawn together many of the social change initiatives and woven them within a communication perspective“loom”. And in doing this, we have created new imaginings of what can happen if we treat communicating seriously.

The stories, the new social institutions and the dialogic practices of the citizens and leaders in our imagined community have been developed to point to new ways and new possibilities for personal and social evolution. Given the local and global challenges we all face in the 21stcentury, we hope our new imaginings offer some hope and some new directions to explore.

Our guiding theory

The Theory of the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) is the primary impetus behind the Cosmopolis 2045 Project. Barnett Pearce and Vernon Cronen at the University of Massachusetts developed CMM theory in the late 1970s. The seminal expressions of the theory can be found in Pearce and Cronen’s Communication, Action and Meaning: The Creation of Social Realities (Praeger, 1980), Pearce’s Communication and the Human Condition (Southern Illinois University Press, 1989), Pearce and Littlejohn’s Moral Conflict: When Social Worlds Collide (Sage, 1997), and Pearce’s Making Social Worlds: A Communication Perspective (Blackwell, 2009).

A more comprehensive account and further references on CMM can be found in Want to know more?

CMM is premised on the belief that the social worlds we inhabit are constructed in the many diverse forms of everyday communication we engage in. Put simply, we live in communication. CMM, which can perhaps best be described as a “practical theory,” provides heuristic tools for understanding the ways in which we do this living-in-communication. The same tools and broader communication perspective can also guide mindful practice in communicating.

We believe that the communication perspective offered by CMM has greater potential to meet the challenges of the contemporary global environment than narrower, instrumental beliefs in which the process of communication is taken to be immaterial or insignificant. The latter views of communication are, in particular, unable to address the many challenges arising from distinct, if not colliding, cultural values and patterns of behavior that abound in our contemporary world. From our CMM perspective, these cultural challenges need to be coordinated and navigated rather than subjected to efforts at persuasion or clarity of meaning (i.e., as reflected in the dominant Western paradigm for theorizing about communication).

CMM proposes that creating and sustaining a cosmopolitan form of cultural communication is a better model for communicating with diverse others than extant models such as monocultural, ethnocentric, or modernistic forms of communication (see Want to know more?). The Cosmopolis 2045 website is designed to render one expression of what cosmopolitan cultural patterns might look like in the everyday life of a community.

By definition, cosmopolitan cultural patterns bring about an environment in which humans thrive, both in terms of personal and social evolution. This culture is characterized by one in which the members:

  • hold a communication-centric view of social worlds, recognizing that their social worlds (i.e., relationships, selves, groups, episodes, and culture itself) are “made” and “remade” in everyday communication patterns
  • value their own cultural traditions, beliefs and values yet recognize that, except for the accident of birth, they would likely hold some other set of beliefs and values (thus are profoundly open to the value of other traditions)
  • treat “others” (strangers, non-members of their community) with engaged curiosity, seeing them simultaneously as “different from us” (in that may they have different values or social practices), and yet “like us” (in that both of our beliefs and practices are socially made). In this way, each of our “ways of being” are treated as partial expressions of what it means to be human
  • understand that they live in multiple social worlds and are able to draw resources from several social worlds in constructing new ones
  • are able to make conscious choices about what forms of life they wish to enact in given situations
  • work collectively as citizens to make their social worlds better places to live—they see designing their public life together as an indication of “conscious evolution”
  • believe that patterns of life that are not productive or helpful can be altered through conscious collective effort.
  • have developed skills for “making better social worlds,” including: framing and reframing; identifying and choosing wisely how to act into (as well as out of) contexts; sensing the flow and rhythms of “logical forces” (deontic logic of should/ought); identifying/creating “bifurcation points” and acting wisely into them.

Projecting futures and making better social worlds

Cosmopolis 2045 is a collaborative thought-experiment, a partnership in imagining a plausible version of a future social world(s), particularly if we act wisely in dealing with the trends and counter-trends already happening around us.

“Futurists” have been projecting worlds of tomorrow for ages. In developing Cosmopolis, we consulted many sources on future trends in technology, medicine, work and economics, politics, education, and many other aspects of social life. In our Research the Future topic in Want to know more? we share some of that research, identify books you can read, or connect you to websites that summarize future trends.

In using this research, we wanted to make sure that how we depict a fictional future in 2045 is plausible, according to the best research and projections. Among other things, that research suggested that dialogic communication—that found in cosmopolitan cultures—could be an important driver of change; where the change is to what one future scenario group called a “transformed world”. For a fascinating review of this research, see Barnett Pearce’s essay “Reflections on the role of dialogic communication in transforming the world”.

In this “transformed world” there is a vision of shared power in which grassroots organisations co-operate effectively and in which sustainable development, socially, economically and environmentally, is a collective goal.  And while we have drawn on the ideas projected for such a transformed world we have also consciously tried to avoid making Cosmopolis an unrealistic or impossibly utopian vision.

You can find the original version of this information on the Cosmopolis2045 site at www.cosmopolis2045.com/.

Many Great D&D Online Events Happening This Week

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We are excited to share this roundup of the online D&D events happening over the next week! There is a wide offering of topics and most of these events are free to join, so we encourage you to utilize these opportunities to build skills and deepen connections. We’re proud to feature many events from the NCDD Coalition – check out events from NCDD member orgs New Directions Collaborative, MetroQuest, Bridge Alliance, and Living Room Conversations, as well as, International Association of Facilitators and At the Table Colorado.

Do you have a webinar or other 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!

Online Roundup: Living Room Conversations, MetroQuest, Bridge Alliance, At the Table Colorado, IAF

Living Room Conversations Inspired Event – Men & Women in Relationships: Building Trust & Intimacy by Honoring Boundaries

Tuesday, February 26th
10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern

Join us for a free, online (using Zoom), two-hour special event inspired by Living Room Conversations! The topic will be Men & Women in Relationships: Building Trust & Intimacy by Honoring Boundaries. This event has been designed and will be hosted by two of our talented, long-time hosts, Lewis & Sushila. This Living Room Conversations format has been adapted to include Empathy Circles( that will give participants a chance to further reflect on what was discussed.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-inspired-event-men-women-in-relationships-building-trust-intimacy-by-honoring-boundaries/

Living Room Conversations webinar (2 sessions!) – Tribalism 101

Tuesday, February 26th
11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern and again at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern

Inspired by the podcast Next Door Strangers (KUER, Utah) this Living Room Conversation begins with a 15-minute podcast: http://www.kuer.org/post/1-tribalism-101-pick-side. Please listen to this podcast prior to your 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?

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Tribalism. Please see the conversation guide for this topic.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-2-sessions-tribalism-101/

At the Table Colorado – Civic Conversation in Libraries

Tuesday, February 26th
11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern

At the Table Colorado (ATTC) brings people from all walks of life together, during the same month, to participate in a series of free community-wide conversations about what makes their neighborhoods, communities, and regions great and what can be done to make them even better — more sustainable, stronger and vibrant. The next statewide ATTC will take place in April 2019, and will bring focus to conversations about: water, mental health, healthcare, affordable housing, equity, and immigration. Join us for an update on ATTC for an overview of the program and to learn how your library can participate by hosting community forums for civic conversation.

REGISTER: https://create.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/calendar/civic-conversation-in-libraries-at-the-table-colorado/

International Association of Facilitators webinar – IAF Methods Library

Thursday, February 28th
10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern

Come and join us to learn more about one of the most practical resources the IAF has to offer: The IAF Methods Library. This library is a compilation of methods, activities and exercises curated and carefully reviewed. You will be able to see how to access this wealth of information and make use of SessionLab the facilitation event planning platform.

REGISTER: www.iaf-world.org/site/events/webinars

Living Room Conversations Inspired Event – Gillette’s Ad “The Best Men Can Be”

Thursday, February 28th
10:30 am Pacific, 1:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free, online (using Zoom), special event inspired by Living Room Conversations! This event has been designed and will be hosted by two of our talented, long-time hosts, Lewis & Sushila. This conversation will be following a traditional Living Room Conversations format and will discuss the controversial Gillette AD, “The Best Men Can Be”.

You can view the ad by clicking here. The complete conversation guide will be shared via email before the event.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-inspired-event-gillettes-ad-the-best-men-can-be/

Living Room Conversations webinar – Power in Relationships

Thursday, February 28th
12 pm Pacific, 3 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Power in Relationships. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: How do you know you are respected? How do we treat boys and men differently from girls and women? How do power and status impact seduction and dating? What should the signals be from women? From men? How are power dynamics expressed in relationships? at home? at work? What makes for a healthy exchange of power between any two people?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-power-in-relationships/

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

Thursday, February 28th
12 pm Pacific, 3 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 Wednesday 10am (PT) / 1pm (ET).

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/training-free-the-nuts-bolts-of-living-room-conversations-4/

Living Room Conversations webinar – The Search for Purpose

Friday, March 1st
2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of The Search for Purpose. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: Where did you learn about your personal values and develop self esteem? How has money or “keeping up with the Jones’s” played a role in defining you? Where did you learn about the relationship between individuals and community?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-the-search-for-purpose-2/

Bridge Alliance #DemocracyChat [on Twitter]

Tuesday, March 5th
2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern

On March 5th, @BrdgAllianceUS will ask supporters questions on Bridging Divides. The event, titled #DemocracyChat, will give you and anybody else who is interested in the revitalization field the opportunity to connect with Bridge Alliance leaders and become part of the conversation. So make sure to follow @BrdgAllianceUS and use the hashtag #DemocracyChat once the questions are revealed next Tuesday.

Living Room Conversations webinar – History & Society

Tuesday, March 5th
1:30 pm Pacific, 4:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Free Speech, Fighting Words and Violence. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: Have you seen any examples of history that conveys a certain overarching “story” in a way that felt either positive or negative to you? If so, please share. When you were taught history of your country or the larger world, were you presented with multiple views of historical events? (Ex: winning and losing stories of a conflict) What role do historical monuments play in sharing our history?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-history-society/

New Directions Collaborative webinar  – Working in Collaborative Ways

Wednesday, March 6
9 am Pacific, 12 pm Eastern

Given the complex inter-related challenges our communities and organizations face, it is becoming imperative to work across disciplines, organizations, and cultures to develop workable solutions.

This on-line workshop will build your understanding and skills participating in and leading collaborative work. You will learn: Core personal and collective leadership qualities that support collaboration, what is means to practice “collective sensemaking”, how to enable people and groups to do their best thinking and experience the benefits of networked ways of working together, and several participatory methods that can also work online.

REGISTER: www.ndcollaborative.com/events/

MetroQuest webinar – Celebrating Women | Balanced Engagement for Equitable Plans 

Wednesday, March 6th
11 am Pacific | 12 pm Mountain | 1 pm Central | 2 pm Eastern (1 hour)
Educational Credit Available (APA AICP CM)
Complimentary (FREE)

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is #BalanceforBetter. On March 6th, let’s have a candid conversation about how to achieve balanced and equitable public engagement in planning for better mobility and livability. Women in transportation, urban planning, and public participation are doing outstanding work in this area – join us to celebrate their success!

REGISTER: http://go.metroquest.com/Celebrating-Women-Balanced-Engagement-for-Equitable-Plans.html

Living Room Conversations webinar – Police-community Relations

Thursday, March 7th
2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Police-community Relations. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include: What has been your personal response to instances of police-citizen shootings, if any? What do you think is contributing to the police-citizen shootings right now? What role, if any, do you see racism playing in our current attention to law enforcement?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-men-victims-perpetrators-and-allies/

Special Valentine’s Day Roundup on D&D Online Events

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We are sending some extra love your way with this robust roundup of dialogue and deliberation goodness! Check out the webinars being offered over the next week, let us know in the comment section below which ones you joined and if you have some exciting takeaways- we’d love to hear how people are connecting with these D&D practices! Below are events from NCDD member orgs Living Room Conversations,  National Issues Forums Institute, and from the International Associate for Public Participation, Zehr Institute and Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC).

Do you have a webinar or other 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!

Living Room Conversations: Special Opportunity – Ongoing All-Women’s Cohort

We are a group of 5 women from around the country who meet online every month to have Living Room Conversations. We have 4 women who call ourselves “liberal” (whatever we mean by that). One of our two “conservative” women had to drop out for personal reasons even though she enjoyed our group. A really nice group. We’re looking for one more “conservative” woman. Learn more about Living Room Conversations at https://www.livingroomconversations.org/. If you think you might be interested, contact Cobie deLespinasse, cdeles@peak.org.

Living Room Conversations webinar – Men: Victims, Perpetrators and Allies

Friday, February 15th
10:30am Pacific, 1:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Men: Victims, Perpetrators and Allies. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include:

  • In response to the “#MeToo” movement, what are your initial thoughts about personal experiences you have had (including your own actions or conduct), situations you have witnessed, and/or the recent public disclosures?
  • Role as a Man — What do you consider your role to be? What has informed your perception of your role (e.g., society, family, religion, education, etc.).

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-men-victims-perpetrators-and-allies/

National Issues Forums Institute – February CGA Forum Series: Coming To America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do?

Saturday, February 16th
2-4 pm Pacific, 5-7 pm Eastern

Please join us for a Common Ground for Action (CGA) online deliberative forum on Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome? What Should We Do? If you’ve never participated in a CGA forum, please watch the “How To Participate” video before joining. You can find the video link here: https://vimeo.com/99290801

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

If you’d like to watch the starter video before registering, you can view it here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/comingtoamerica/256884446

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

Living Room Conversations webinar – Social Equity

Wednesday, February 19th
4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Status & Privilege. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include:

  • What does the concept of “social equity” mean to you?
  • Are there “social equity” concerns in your community? If so, what are they? If not, should there be?
  • Is the idea of social equity on your top 10 list of concerns? Why or why not?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-social-equity/

Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice webinar – RJ work in Korea and NE Asia – a case study in implementation, innovation and adaptation

Wednesday, February 20th
1:30pm – 3pm Pacific, 4:30pm – 6pm Eastern
Guest: Hannah Kim, Jae Young Lee
Host: Howard Zehr

What does restorative justice look like in a context such as South Korea and Northeast Asia?  How was it introduced and spread, and what can we learn from these initiatives? Growing interest in RJ has been emerging in South Korea among scholars, law practitioners, and civil society group since as early as the late 1990s. The practice of RJ, however, didn’t begin until late 2000s after the Seoul Juvenile Court established a victim-offender reconciliation program.

On the other hand, RJ approaches began to be adapted among school teachers as alternative measures to school discipline after corporal punishment was officially banned in all schools in 2011. Restorative Discipline (RD) trainings were widely spread and number of teachers implementing RD in their classes was gradually growing during 2012-2015. Since 2015 RD has increasingly been adopted by Provincial Offices of Education as an official approach to school discipline.   Recently, the interest in RJ has also spread beyond the legal system and the school to hospitals, companies, and even apartment resident communities. Over the past 3 years, Korea Peacebuilding Institute conducted more than 1500 lectures and workshops on RJ annually. In addition, Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute (NARPI) has offered a RJ course every year since 2011. NARPI has been a platform for people in the region to learn about the concept and practice of RJ. And also, how to apply RJ in historical conflict in Northeast Asia is another area NARPI aims to initiate, including the conflict between the North and South Koreas.

Jae Young Lee and Hannah Kim, who have been part of these initiatives, will provide an overview of developments as well as reflections that will be useful to those implementing restorative in other parts of the world.

REGISTER: http://zehr-institute.org/webinars/rj-in-korea-and-NE%20asia.html

Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) webinar –  Peace Education: School mediation in multiethnic communities in Serbia

Wednesday, February 20th
6 am Pacific, 9 am Eastern

In this webinar, peace education expert Tatjana Popovic will talk about the benefits and challenges of implementing School mediation in multi-ethnic communities in Serbia. Examples will be presented from schools on how school mediation became mechanism for prevention of violence among peers

REGISTER: https://www.gppac.net/peace-education-webinar-series?fbclid=IwAR371vw1Gxi_tpRI3NZsCMRgbf7Rd_IlD1keNf2KuT30iUwHzMDCiw6t154

Living Room Conversations webinar – Status & Privilege

Thursday, February 21st
1:30 pm Pacific, 4:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Status & Privilege. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include:

  • Where did you learn about your personal values and develop self esteem?
  • How has money or “keeping up with the Jones’s” played a role in defining you?
  • Where did you learn about the relationship between individuals and community?

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-the-search-for-purpose/

IAP2 Taster Series: Reconciliation & Public Participation

Thursday, February 21st
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Reconciliation between Indigenous and all Canadians is a frequent topic in news headlines, political speeches, and communities across the country. Through their 94 Calls to Action, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered a roadmap to Canadians on the way forward to a more inclusive, productive, and engaged society. So where do public participation professionals and the practice of P2 fit in this reconciliation journey? Join Indigenous Engagement specialists Teneya Gwin and Anne Harding to explore the intersection between reconciliation and public participation and advance your own reconciliation journey in the process.

REGISTER: https://iap2usa.org/event-3102052

NCDD Confab with NCL and the Weekly Roundup!

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We have a special announcement to add to the list of great events happening over the next week! On Wednesday February 13th, we are co-hosting our next NCDD Confab call with the National Civic League. This free call will be an opportunity to learn more about the All-American City Awards, hear from past awardees, and learn how to win this prestigious award. We encourage you to check these webinars happening earlier in the week from NCDD member orgs, National Issues Forums Institute, New Directions Collaborative, Living Room Conversations, International Associate for Public Participation, and National Civic League.

Do you have a webinar or other 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!

Online Roundup: the February NCDD-NCL Confab, NIFI, New Directions, Living Room Conversations, IAP2, National Civic League

National Issues Forums Institute – February CGA Moderator Training

Tues, Feb 5th and Weds, Feb 6th
9:30 am Pacific, 12:30 pm Eastern

Join this workshop on how to moderate a Common Ground for Action (CGA) deliberative forum.
Part one of the workshop is: Tuesday February 5th @ 12:30p ET/9:30am PDT; Part two is February 6th @ 12:30p ET/9:30am PDT. Please plan to attend both sessions.

In session one (February 5th) we will participate in our own CGA forum to get the participant experience. We will debrief when we meet again on Wednesday Feb 6th.

In session two (February 6th), we will discuss how to set up a CGA, what the responsibilities of a CGA moderator are, and hacks and tricks for moderating. We will then work in partners to set up and moderate a forum. We will conclude with a questions and answers about how to integrate CGA into your practice, classroom, and/or community work. For this session, we will use Zoom.

REGISTER: www.nifi.org/en/events/february-cga-moderator-training-workshop

New Directions Collaborative webinar  – Meetings That Do More

Wednesday, February 6
12 pm – 2 pm Eastern

Imagine leaving a meeting feeling inspired, energized by new ideas, with enhanced goodwill toward your colleagues and a shared sense of clarity on where to go next. In this interactive on-line workshop, you will learn practical tools for creating meetings that deliver multiple benefits. Key topics include:

  • How to clarify the strategic context and range of outcomes for a meeting
  • How to frame strategic questions for the group to explore
  • An introduction to, and experience of, participatory meeting methods that can also work on-line
  • How to structure an agenda with samples of agenda designs

The workshop will be held on Zoom video conferencing where you will experience how to host effective meetings virtually, including with small group conversations. You will receive several handouts full of resources and guidance to help you design and facilitate future meetings.

Beth Tener of New Directions Collaborative will facilitate, sharing methods she has practiced in work with over 150 organizations and collaborative initiatives, concerning socially responsible business, sustainability, local food systems, education, climate action, racial equity, and transportation.

This workshop is the first in a series. You can attend one or the series.

Workshop fee is $70. Please click below to register.

If this fee is a barrier to participating, please contact Beth at btener@ndcollaborative.com – discounts are available to make this accessible to all interested.

REGISTER: www.ndcollaborative.com/events/

Living Room Conversations webinar – Free Speech, Fighting Words, and Violence

Wednesday, February 6th
4:30-6 pm Pacific, 4-5:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Free Speech, Fighting Words, & Violence. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include:

  • How do we protect free speech and ensure public safety despite ongoing threats of violence?
  • Have you had a personal experience where free speech was inhibited? Or have you ever felt harmed by the speech of others?
  • How do we decide what our collective, social morality is? What is the federal government’s role?

You will need a device with a webcam to participate (preferably a computer or tablet rather than a cell phone).

Please only sign up for a place in this conversation if you are 100% certain that you can join – and thank you – we have many folks waiting to have Living Room Conversations and hope to have 100% attendance. If you need to cancel please return to Eventbrite to cancel your ticket so someone on the waitlist may attend.

A link to join the conversation and additional details will be sent to you by no later than the day before the conversation. The conversation host is Beth R.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-free-speech-fighting-words-and-violence-2/

Living Room Conversations webinar – Status & Privilege

Thursday, February 7th
2-3:30 pm Pacific, 5-7:30 pm Eastern

Join us for a free online (using Zoom) Living Room Conversation on the topic of Status & Privilege. Please see the conversation guide for this topic. Some of the questions explored include:

  • What are the privileges of your status?
  • What do you value and how is that connected to your status or privilege?
  • How does status, or lack of status, affect your sense of personal dignity? How have you noticed it impacting others?

You will need a device with a webcam to participate (preferably a computer or tablet rather than a cell phone).

Please only sign up for a place in this conversation if you are 100% certain that you can join – and thank you – we have many folks waiting to have Living Room Conversations and hope to have 100% attendance. If you need to cancel please return to Eventbrite to cancel your ticket.

A link to join the conversation and additional details will be sent to you by no later than the day before the conversation. Lewis will be hosting.

REGISTER: www.livingroomconversations.org/event/online-living-room-conversation-status-privilege-4/

IAP2 Monthly Webinar – Large Scale P2 for Large Scale Projects

Tuesday, February 12th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Revamping an entire country’s criminal justice system … building an energy pipeline through 10 counties … huge scenarios with the potential to disrupt thousands – millions – of lives. In both cases, the proponents recognized the many ways people would be affected, and determined to engage the public at every stage, in order to achieve the best results all around.

In Canada, the Federal Department of Justice received over 10,000 contributions in a three-month period on the question, “How would you change our criminal justice system to better serve Canadians?” Two months after the public dialogue ended, the government announced a series of changes to the system that addressed some of the concerns raised in that dialogue.

In the USA, Williams Energy and Outreach Experts launched a huge public engagement campaign surrounding the building of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project. Since ten counties in Eastern Pennsylvania were in the path of the pipeline, Williams set out to make sure all interests were considered and addressed; dozens of route changes were made as a result of the consultations, and numerous grassroots organizations were part of the conversation.

IAP2 Members: Free
Non-IAP2 Members: $50

REGISTER: www.iap2canada.ca/event-3093140

National Civic League AAC Promising Practices Webinar –  Leveraging Education to Achieve Equity and Improve Futures

Wednesday, February 13th
11 am Pacific, 2 pm Eastern

Join the National Civic League to learn more about how two All-America Cities are utilizing education programs to achieve equity and improve economic and community futures.

Dillon Delvo, Executive Director, of Little Manila Rising in Stockton, CA will discuss Us History, an ethnic studies-based after school program that was wildly popular and has been incorporated into the local school district’s curriculum. Mark Pumphrey, Director of Libraries, in El Paso, TX will talk about the public library’s reimagined approach to adult education and economic development.

Us History- Stockton, CA:
In Stockton, like many cities, the legacies, histories, contributions and cultures of people of color have frequently been forgotten and marginalized. To combat this problem, in 2016, the Little Manila Rising started the ethnic studies-based “Us History” after school program. The goal was: “Putting ‘us’ back into U.S. History.” The program met once a week through the 2016-2017 school year and focused on Mexican American, African American, and Filipino American histories and cultures.

The program included discussions of the Chicano Movement, Black Feminist Theory, redlining, issues facing the undocumented community, among other topics. In April 2017, the Stockton school district discussed adopting Ethnic Studies as an elective. “Us History” students attended the meeting and spoke about what Ethnic Studies meant to them and what it could mean for their community if it was part of their school’s curriculum.

Career and Adult Education Opportunities- El Paso, TX:
Through its public libraries, the City of El Paso is working to provide basic educational and entrepreneurial services to traditionally underserved communities. Technology tools are available for business use, including copy machines with faxing, printing, and scanning capabilities, sound equipment, microphones, headphones, telephones and a SmartScreen accessible during all library hours of operation. Alternative work spaces are made available in library auditoriums, atriums, conference rooms and other spaces. The goals of these programs and service enhancements are to support the economic development efforts of the City of El Paso, give emerging workforces places to engage their customers and to sharpen their business and entrepreneurial skills and improve the quality of life of residents by providing skills and training.

REGISTER: www.eventbrite.com/e/aac-promising-practices-webinar-addressing-addiction-on-a-community-wide-level-tickets-53746857297

NCDD Confab Co-Hosted with National Civic League on the All-America City Awards

Confab bubble imageWednesday, February 13th
12 pm Pacific, 3 pm Eastern

This free call will offer space to learn more about the award, hear from past awardees, and ask questions. The award deadline is March 6th, so make sure you take advantage of this opportunity and register today to secure your spot on the call!

Since 1949, the National Civic League has recognized and celebrated the best in American civic innovation with the All-America City Award. The Award, bestowed yearly on 10 communities (more than 500 in all) recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stronger connections among residents, businesses and nonprofit and government leaders. The 2019 All-America City theme is “Creating Healthy Communities Through Inclusive Civic Engagement”. The 2019 All-America City Award is focused on celebrating examples of civic engagement practices that advance health equity in local communities.

Representatives from the award-winning city, Las Vegas, NV will join us on the call to speak about their experiences winning the All-America City Award in 2018. Las Vegas was recognized as an All-America City because they provide residents, stakeholders, staff and elected officials with a collective vision for a future of income equality and economic mobility, building programs and services that remove barriers and address challenges faced by their most vulnerable youth.

REGISTER: http://ncdd.org/29019

Opportunity to Test Mismatch Spring 2019 Pilot, Grades 6-12

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In case you missed it, NCDD member org Living Room Conversations and AllSides recently announced an opportunity to test out the Spring 2019 Pilot of Mismatch for grades 6-12! Mismatch is a platform that digitally connects classrooms with each other and facilitates structured conversation between students via video conferencing using Living Room Conversation topic guides. Last year, we featured Mismatch during one of our Tech Tuesday events and you can listen to the recording here! Read the details in the post below and find the original information on the LRC newsletter here.

Calling All Parents, Educators, and Students

We are excited to announce the Spring 2019 Pilot of Mismatch! And your (child’s) grade 6-12 classroom is invited to join!

AllSides for Schools is our joint project with the news site AllSides.com. Mismatch is a platform that pairs students from different schools around the U.S. and facilitates structured online video conversations between these students using Living Room Conversation topic Guides. You can learn more about Mismatch in the video you’ll find here.

Our goal is to make the Mismatch platform available for anyone interested in civil discussions with someone who thinks differently. We are looking forward to this and bet you are too!

How to join the Mismatch pilot? The AllSides for Schools team is currently looking for grade 6-12 educators in government, social studies, history, and related fields who would like to sign up their classrooms for our Spring 2019 Mismatch pilot. Joining the pilot entails these activities:

  • Completing a short pre-survey about your classroom
  • Providing feedback on our matching criteria, conversation guides, and web platform
  • Matching with another classroom and orchestrating realtime, F2F video conversations between students in your two classrooms (with our help)

92% of students surveyed after using Mismatch reported a positive shift in attitude after just one conversation, citing “great appreciation for the other perspective or other person.” 99% of students found the experience somewhat or extremely valuable.

Once the AllSides for Schools team receives your inquiry, you’ll be contacted for a 1:1 exploratory call to answer questions and describe the pilot program in more detail.  (Note: While every request to participate may not be able to be accommodated, due to matching constraints, the AllSides for Schools team will do its very best!)

Sign Up for FREE Here!

P.S. Do you know someone that would enjoy hearing from us? Please forward this email to friends and colleagues and encourage them to join our community.”

You can find the original version of this announcement on the Living Room Conversations newsletter at https://mailchi.mp/d44c68e7edd2/calling-all-parents-educators-and-students.