NCDD is holding its 2012 national conference in Seattle, Washington.  We’ll be coming together October 12-14 (Friday through Sunday) at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in hipster-approved downtown Seattle. Stay tuned for registration info, presenter opportunities, and many more details.

NCDD conferences bring together hundreds of the most active, thoughtful, and influential people involved in public engagement and group process work across the U.S. and Canada (and even some from outside North America!).

Here are a few quick actions you can take now:

• Complete our Interest Form for NCDD Seattle to let us know if you’re interested in getting involved in the planning process, helping out at the event, sponsoring, publicizing the conference, presenting a workshop, etc.
• Consider supporting this important convening by becoming an All-Star Sponsor, Co-Sponsor or Partner of NCDD Seattle. Learn more about sponsorship options and benefits.
• Share this page with your networks and colleagues.  Use the buttons at the bottom of the page to automatically share on Facebook, Twitter, via email, etc. — or copy some text from this page into an email or blog post.
• Subscribe to conference updates to stay up-to-date on NCDD Seattle news and opportunities.
• Add NCDD Seattle to your calendar!

About Our Events

NCDD conferences provide people who are committed to helping dialogue and deliberation flourish in the world with the opportunity to increase their skills and knowledge in these processes, share their own learnings and innovations with others, and develop supportive, collaborative relationships with their peers. Perhaps most importantly, NCDD conferences leave you feeling more motivated, energized, supported and prepared to do this vital work.

NCDD’s high-energy events bring together practitioners, scholars, public leaders, trainers, artists, activists and students from across this critically important field. Over 2,000 people, from 20 countries, have attended our four national conferences (2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008) and 5 regional events (2010).

The first National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation was held in the Washington DC area in October 2002, and we have  held biennial national conferences in 2004 (Denver), 2006 (San Francisco), and 2008 (Austin) as well. Read up on our member-led 2010 regional events in Denver, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Austin, and Portland.

Why People Love NCDD Events

NCDD gatherings are not your run-of-the-mill conferences. Instead of parading endless speakers in front of you in the hope that you will absorb some of their knowledge, we acknowledge and tap into every participant’s expertise and unique perspectives, and ask them to play an active role in shaping the future of this burgeoning field.

NCDD conferences are known for being innovative and highly participatory. We focus on providing participants with opportunities to network with colleagues, experience innovative group methods, and explore key challenges in our field together.

Here is what Dave Joseph, Director of Project Development at the Public Conversations Project, wrote to us after he attended the 2006 NCDD conference:

“I have gone to many, many, many conferences, workshops etc. over the past 30 years. NCDD was by far the best conference I have ever attended. It was 100% isomorphic and congruent with our practices, with a focus on developing a sense of relationship, connection and community. The activities all contributed to making it extremely easy for participants to get to know each other by focusing on shared purposes, interests and goals. Plus, you had a wonderful mix of people, of course. The structure really contributed greatly to getting to meet a large number of very diverse people and have fun doing it.”

And Avril Orloff, Project Manager for Canada’s Philia Dialogue on Caring Citizenship, had these kind words for us:

“I’m still coming back to earth after the amazing NCDD conference! It was packed so full of wonderful information, ideas, resources and people that I came away utterly inspired and energized. My heartiest congratulations to your team for pulling it off.

What a monumental effort – and what tremendous results! Thank you for every minute…. You’ve created something that’s going to leave a big legacy, and whose effects will just keep rippling further and further out into the world. To say nothing of a great community of practice – one that I’m honoured to associate myself with.”

To get a good sense of what happens at an NCDD conference, check out our report to the Kettering Foundation based on NCDD Austin proceedings and attendee interviews.

We also recommend you look over the Story of the National Conferences on Dialogue & Deliberation and check out the page overviewing The Arts at Our Events.

Get Involved with Our Events!

If you’re interested in attending, exhibiting, sponsoring, or just staying informed as we plan future events, email NCDD’s Office Manager, Joy Garman at joy@ncdd.org and let her know. Our events are planned collaboratively by people with all levels of experience in dialogue & deliberation, and the planning teams are open to your suggestions and ideas. At this point, we’re also welcoming planning team members, so if you’re interested in volunteering some of your time and talents to help ensure NCDD Seattle is a great event, sign up here!