A diverse group of 50 advocates, scholars and philanthropists - including many NCDD members - met in Washington, D.C. in late July to develop a democratic engagement agenda for the next administration. Sponsored by Demos, Everyday Democracy and AmericaSpeaks, the conference was unique in bridging the gap that commonly separates the electoral reform, deliberative democracy and community development worlds.

Participants set three primary goals for themselves:

1. Strengthen the democracy movement by identifying shared goals and values across the fields of electoral reform, deliberative democracy and community development
2. Articulate a list of recommendations that the next administration can pursue to strengthen our democracy, as well as a set of actions that we can each take to advance the movement for stronger democracy
3. Develop a strategy to advance the agenda that emerges from the conversation

Final recommendations, now being refined, will be released by October 1. They will call for the establishment of a White House Office of Participation and an executive-level commitment to greater participation; convening a national discussion to provide citizens with a voice in the policymaking process and build capacity for greater participation at all levels of government; and adoption of policy reforms for increasing local participation in public life. Specific action items will include passage of laws that make voting easier, public financing of state and federal elections, and elimination of obstacles preventing federal agencies from using higher quality public participation practices. See Strengthening Democracy doc for more details.

An interesting job opening was posted on the National League of Cities website on July 21st. NLC is looking for a project manager of Democratic Governance - a new 3-year program funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Click “more” for the full job description, pay range and application instructions. (more…)

Yesterday’s e-newsletter from the Annie E. Casey Foundation mentioned a publication some of you may be interested in called “Engaging Youth in Community Change.”  Here’s what they had to say about it:

“Youth programs and organizations have developed a variety of approaches for including young people in decision-making processes that affect them, their peers, and their communities. Despite these efforts, little is known about these approaches. The Annie E. Casey Foundation funded the Finance Project to produce a report on the state of knowledge on financing and sustaining youth engagement programs.”

The November 5th Coalition is asking the D&D community…

“Who should be invited to serve as advisors to the next President on issues of public engagement and democratic governance? What specific issues and challenges should these advisors focus on?”

Please follow this link - www.surveyconsole.com/console/TakeSurvey?id=489582 - to a brief survey that will allow you to tell them what you think.

The November 5th Coalition is an all-partisan alliance (including NCDD!) committed to civic partnerships that address our biggest challenges. The Coalition is named for the day after the 2008 election, when a new chapter of America’s civic history will begin.

NCDD member Matt Leighninger, director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, sent me an announcement about this Florida event, and I confirmed with him that this event is open to everyone…

Democratic Governance at the Neighborhood Level: What Have We Learned?

An event organized by Grassroots Grantmakers and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, with assistance from
the National League of Cities and NeighborWorks America

- November 11th, 2008, 9am-5pm - Orlando, FL -

Thirty years ago, a new democratic experiment began in a handful of American cities. In Portland, Oregon, and a number of other places, local governments created neighborhood council systems as a way of engaging citizens in public decision-making and problem-solving.

What have we learned from these civic experiments? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What lessons do they offer about how to initiate, recruit for, staff, support, and fund neighborhood-level democracy?

Please join us for a stimulating, interactive day-long session in Orlando! The meeting will feature representatives from Portland and other “first wave” cities in the morning, then turn to a broader discussion of lessons and potential innovations in the afternoon.

The cost of the event will be $50 (to cover breakfast, lunch, and coffee). To RSVP, please contact Matt Leighninger at mattleighninger@earthlink.net by October 21st.

NCDD member Nancy Glock-Grueneich just emailed me about this opportunity…

We are seeking an editor to lead, manage and further develop a three-year old online, peer-reviewed journal, with an international audience, the International Journal of Public Participation (IJP2). The mission of the IJP2 is to foster integration and dialogue within the professional field of public participation across its different traditions and related disciplines and to bridge theory and practice.

The Editor of IJP2 provides overall leadership and vision for the Journal as well as content planning and development, consistent with its mission and that of its parent organization, the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). The Editor works with the IJP2 Editorial Board and its Executive Committee, as an ex-officio member, and with current and prospective authors, reviewers and audiences. (This position may also be shared between co-editors, applying together, with complementary qualifications that together cover the requirements of the position.) (more…)

Every October, in honor of National Arts & Humanities Month, Americans for the Arts partners with emerging leaders from across the country to host Creative Conversations. Last year, more than 1,000 emerging arts leaders participated in 41 locally hosted Creative Conversations throughout the country, and those leaders continue to be engaged at the national level.

Want to host a Creative Conversation? Learn more.

The annual European eDemocracy Award honors the most valuable European eDemocracy initiative amongst 50 selected websites in EU, 27 featuring a wide range of eDemocracy tools and content strengthening eParticipation, transparency, representative participatory democracy and citizen participation in the democratic decision-making processes at the European, national or local levels of governance. The “call for candidatures” is open until August 8th.

Sounds like something we should be doing in the U.S. too, no?

Show what democracy means to you in the Looking for Democracy Short Film Contest. Any genre is fair game: documentary, narrative, experimental, music video. Filmmakers are encouraged to unleash their radical imaginations and look for democracy in creative and unusual places. Can you find democracy where you might least expect it?

As the 2008 presidential election heads into its final months, democracy is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. But democracy is defined by more than just electoral politics. Where do you find democracy in your life? Can you find it in your school, church, union, community, or a professional or sports association? How do you see democracy functioning locally, nationally, and globally?

Videos cannot be more than five minutes and must be submitted by Tuesday, September 2, 2008.  For more information, please contact Maggie Berndt at The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council at 312.422.5585 x239 or mkb@prairie.org or visit www.prairie.org/DemocracyFilmContest.

I just read about this cool project in Animating Democracy’s latest e-newsletter…

In 2003, community artists Jean-Marie Mauclet and Gwylene Gallimard sent 56 handmade three-legged stools as gifts to artists around the world, as a proposal to use the arts to generate conversation about globalization and social justice issues. Artists, artisans, and arts collaboratives who agreed to participate were challenged to create an object, installation, performance, or other project in response to the worldwide issues. Thus, artist residencies, workshops, gift exchanges, and other events took place in England, France, India, South Africa, and the United States.

Beginning September 12, the stools and resulting projects will come to Charleston, SC, to be presented as a means to create community dialogue in The Future is on the Table. A multitude of special events—including multidisciplinary performances and dialogue—are planned through September and October.

Learn more at www.fastandfrench.org/Future/Future_index.htm.

I’m proud to announce that NCDD Board member Ambassador John McDonald just published a new book called “The Shifting Grounds of Conflict and Peacebuilding: Stories and Lessons.”

The book brings together the remembrances of Ambassador McDonald, a veteran diplomat whose life serves as a model to those people of vision and action who wish to make a difference in a world that is desperate for the end of conflict. Beginning his career in international diplomacy in post-WWII Berlin under the Marshall Plan, Ambassador McDonald’s 40 years of working with the U.S. government and the United Nations—as well as with various academic institutions and NGOs—offer the reader both inspiration and hope for the future of international peace and cooperation. This international civil servant of extraordinary vision and courage has devoted his life to the successful resolution of conflict through communication.

The Shifting Grounds of Conflict and Peacemaking contains the professional life lessons of Ambassador McDonald and offers his insight into international issues, providing frank and informed discussion on the environment, women’s rights, the global water crisis, sustainable resources, international development, and, above all, peace. Those looking to be inspired into action should read this book to receive guidance about how one person can make all the difference toward building a lasting peace.

Ambassador John W. McDonald is a lawyer, diplomat, former international civil servant, development expert, peacebuilder, and the co-founder and chairman of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy. Order the 360-page hardcover book now from Lexington Books for $80.

The 3rd Annual International Conference on “ENGAGING THE OTHER:” The Power of Compassion will take place September 4-7, 2008 in San Francisco (San Mateo), California, USA. This international, multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary conference examines concepts of “The OTHER” from a universal, cross-cultural perspective to promote wider public dialogue about concepts of “Us and Them.”

NCDD is an official endorsing organization of this important conference.

This extraordinary conference will address the roots of fear-based belief systems and stereotypes, prejudice, polarization, enemy images, and artificial barriers of misunderstanding and distrust that divide us. Join an international list of over 60 presenters and visionaries, and hundreds of concerned individuals, to engage in 3 1/2 days of workshops, roundtables, and focused, facilitated dialogue bridging the divide and cultivating our capacity for reconciliation, appreciation of diversity, and peace.

Registration is open to professionals as well as the general public, and continuing educational credits are available. The conference is sponsored by the Common Bond Institute and is Co-Sponsored by the International Humanistic Psychology Association, Institute of Imaginal Studies and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. It is also supported by a growing international list of over 90 organizations and universities. (more…)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Addendum Added 7/1/08…

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

Call for Sponsorship Applications—Deadline:  July 15, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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