The Corporation for Positive Change (www.positivechange.org) is a premier consulting firm using Appreciative Inquiry for transformation and innovation in business, government, and nonprofit organizations around the world, with proven results in change management, leadership development, team building and culture transformation For detailed brochures on each workshop, please e-mail office@positivechange.org, or phone 505.751.1232 (x2). To see a list of the upcoming workshop dates and locations, click on the link below.
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The Citizens’ Health Care Working Group recently announced the start of a
nationwide discussion on health care to find solutions that will lead to health care that works for all Americans. This exciting endeavor is a direct result of the Health Care that Works for All Americans law (Public Law 108-173, section 1014) proposed by Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden and passed by the U.S. Congress. The law mandates the creation of the Working Group and tasks it with organizing a national public debate on ways to improve the health care system so every American has the ability to obtain quality and affordable health care coverage. The feedback generated from this process will be used to develop a citizens’ road map of recommendations which the President is required to respond to and upon which Congress will hold hearings.

The Working Group invites all organizations to participate in this incredible citizen engagement effort by helping to extend its reach to as many Americans as possible. Potential ways to help include hosting community meetings, driving traffic to the website; and highlighting this opportunity in your newsletters and networks. If your organization is interested in helping to spread the word about this unprecedented effort, and especially if you are interested in hosting a community meeting, the Working Group wants to hear from you! Please contact Jessica Federer at 301-443-1521 or jfederer@ahrq.gov

AmericaSpeaks (www.americaspeaks.org) will be partnering with the Working Group to engage thousands of Americans through small and large scale face-to-face meetings, self-initiated community meetings, and web-casts. For more information on this exciting initiative and to download the recently released Health Report to the American People, which provides a
basic set of information to help start a national discussion on health care, visit the Health Care That Works for All Americans website: www.citizenshealthcare.gov

Tokunbo Awoshakin, NCDD member, former Kettering Foundation Fellow and founder and convenor of the new African Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation (www.africancdd.org), has just formally announced the birth of ACDD. Here is Tokunbo’s report:

On October 30, 2005, at the end of the Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation (C2D2) in Ottawa, Canada, the African Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (ACDD) was formed. The formation of this coalition was inspired by participation in an open space forum, convened to explore the possibility of convening dialogue and deliberation practitioners in a summit in Africa while focus on uniting and growing this community of practice. African participants were from Rwanda, Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt. Other participants were from Canada and USA. The African Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation was subsequently formed.

The African Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation brings together people and groups who actively practice, promote and study inclusive conversations. Collectively, we seek to nurture justice, innovation and democracy throughout society through the widespread use of transformational communication methods such as dialogue and deliberation. Convinced that dialogue and deliberation are powerful group processes that help people bridge gaps, make better decisions, take collective non-violent action, resolve conflict and become more active citizens, ACDD will provide resources, networking opportunities and programs for a growing African community of practice dedicated to solving group and societal problems through honest talk, quality thinking and collaborative actions.

Energized by a growing network of African D&D practitioners, the important work of National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation and the success of convening a dialogue and deliberation summit in Africa might provide an opportunity for dialogue and deliberation practitioners to meet together with one another and with decision makers, policy developers, and researchers from the public, voluntary and private sectors including practitioners and researchers from Western countries to learn and share information and skills as well as develop capacity for this practice and contribute to the growth of D&D work in Africa. Opportunities to submit concerns and information on how to complete a “needs assessment” will soon be circulated among D&D networks and also made available online.

To continue this initiative, a database of dialogue and deliberation Practitioners living and/or working in Africa, is now being compiled. If you or your organization is based in an African country or works at least in part in Africa, please send your contact info to Programs@civiclifeint.org

Margaret Holt, Georgia-based D&D practitioner, covered last week’s First Annual American Democracy Conference in Atlanta for the Kettering Foundation’s Friday Letter. Click on the link below to read the full report.
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The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue (www.sustaineddialogue.org) is directed by NCDD Board member Hal Saunders. Recently we got a report from Randa Slim, IISD vice president, on two exciting IISD initiatives in the Middle East. Click on the link below to read about the Arab-American-European Dialogue and the Arab Democracy Barometer Project, both sponsored by IISD.
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Habitat JAM, an unprecedented online global dialogue on urban sustainability, will be held for 72 hours from 1-3 December, 2005. Sponsored by the Government of Canada, in partnership with UN-HABITAT and IBM, the Habitat JAM promises to engage, empower and stimulate tens of thousands of global citizens, rich and less fortunate alike, with the ultimate goal of turning ideas into action on critical issues related to urban sustainability. The Habitat JAM is a preparatory event to the third session of the World Urban Forum being held in Vancouver in June 2006. The World Urban Forum is an initiative of the United Nations Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) held every two years to debate ideas and issues about sustainable development in today’s context of rapid urbanization. Topics for discussion will include improving the lives of people living in slums, access to water, environmental sustainability, safety and security, finance and governance, and the future of our cities. The Habitat JAM will bring together academics and students, planners and builders, politicians, governments, the private sector and ordinary citizens from across the globe in real time, all contributing ideas and expertise during the 72-hour global problem-solving session. Moderators will include government leaders, renowned experts, and key thinkers. To ensure the most inclusive event possible, grass root organizations, institutions, women, youth groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are helping to bring people to the technology who might otherwise not have access or opportunity to share their experiences and ideas with others around the world. To name just a few examples, the Habitat JAM is teaming with the:

* World Bank Institute to offer access to many of their satellite-based Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) to enable people living in regions with inadequate or no Internet access to participate in the Habitat JAM.
* Huairou Commission and GROOTS Canada to bring the voice of non-English speaking women into the Habitat JAM.
* World Urban Forum and Youth Organizing Committee (WUFY) who will hold over a dozen World Urban Cafe JAM Sessions to engage communities in slums and impoverished human settlements in Asia, Africa, India and Latin America.

For additional information on Habitat JAM and to register for the event, visit www.habitatjam.com.

The Institute for Community Research has just announced it will be holding the 2nd International Community-Based Research Conference from June 7 – 9, 2007 in Connecticut, USA. Witht he theme of Beyond the Crossroads: Transformations in Community-Based Research, the conference will bring together those who are committed to using research for social change.
Transformations will build on the themes from our 2004 Crossroads conference addressing critical issues in community-based research partnerships, theory, methodology, methods of dissemination and ethics. (2004 conference program at: www.incommunityresearch.org/news/documents/crossroadsprogram.pdf) The conference will also cover new trends including the democratization of research and the growth of community-based research organizations (CBRO), new movements linking art and research, and the politics surrounding choice of “best practices” in research design and intervention evaluation. Interactive presentations and workshops will cross-cut fields, including health and mental health, education, environment, community development, racial/ ethnic and cultural relations and cultural development. More details to follow soon!

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), with funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has announced a grant opportunity for research on Civic Education at the high school level. Applicants are invited to submit letters of inquiry no later than December 15, 2005. Full details are available at www.civicyouth.org/whats_new/RFP.htm

Last month in New York City, 40 heads of state and almost 1,000 religious, business and nonprofit leaders came together at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) for three days of in-depth discussions in an effort to address and seek solutions for the world’s critical issues: extreme poverty, climate change, problems in governance, and religion as a source of conflict. The talks concluded with the announcement of “commitments” totaling $1.25 billion in pledges for specific initiatives that address these global problems. Clinton singled out the commitment from Nestle to fund Search for Common Ground’s TV drama series in Nigeria, and invited Search For Common Ground (SFCG) President John Marks and Klaus Wachsmuth, Managing Director of Nestle Nigeria PLC, to the stage to recognize this model of corporate and NGO partnership for effecting positive social change. SFCG is currently producing two TV series in Nigeria. Their aim is to promote inter-ethnic tolerance and respect, and to encourage non-violent resolution of conflict. The Station is a 26-part drama about the adventures of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious group of Nigerian TV reporters – Yorubas, Hausas, Ibos, and others – working together as a news team to cover Nigeria’s most pressing problems, such as AIDS and corruption, through the prism of finding common ground. The series focuses on socially relevant themes through entertaining soap opera drama that will appeal to large audiences. The initial production is a 20-part reality series called The Academy, which is intended to build an audience for The Station. The Academy is centered on a nationwide talent search leading to the final selection of the cast for The Station. Over 50,000 applicants answered the open casting call. Both series will be aired on Nigerian national TV, with the direct support of President Obasanjo. To read more about SFCG and the Clinton Global Initiative, visit www.sfcg.org.

Federal officials working for environmental, land-management, and wildlife agencies gathered in August with state, local, and tribal officials; nonprofit conservation organizations; and private landowners and businesses for the fourth-ever White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation. The first such conference was convened by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908 and set a 40-year course for conservation in the United States. This year’s theme, “Strengthening shared governance and citizen stewardship,” sought to celebrate what Interior Secretary Gail Norton called a new chapter built on “communication, consultation, and cooperation, in the name of conservation.” The three-day conference was organized by the Council on Environmental Quality, and co-hosted by the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and the Environmental Protection Agency. A number of facilitators, including PolicyConsensus Director Chris Carlson and NPCC Director Greg Wolf, led discussions around nine key topic areas such as expanding the roles of states, tribes, and local governments in cooperative conservation. In her opening remarks, Interior Secretary Norton described an initiative to develop cooperative conservation legislation to submit to Congress, though few details were offered about what the legislation would contain. Two days later, at the concluding plenary session – after Norton and other cabinet members had been summoned to Washington, D.C., to coordinate the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina – federal officials issued an invitation to conference participants to provide input on the proposed legislation. For updates and more information on the conference, visit PolicyConsensus.org.