Public engagement practitioners commonly note that it seems easier to garner participation from women in dialogue processes than it is to engage men.  Our friends at the Network for Peace through Dialogue have noticed the same issue, and we wanted to share their recent post highlighting the White Ribbon Campaign, a newly formed movement aimed at getting men involved in crucial conversations around gender, which you can read about below or find here: www.burl.co/241FDC2. We at the Network for Peace through Dialogue are very interested in promoting ... (continue)

This post was written by Jill Miller Zimon of TheCivicCommons.org, a new organizational member of NCDD… Online and offline conversations can differ in some significant ways. For example, you can’t see body language and you can’t hear intonation. But our track record at the Civic Commons has shown us several ways in which we can use an online platform and go where few other dare to tread (including civil digital discourse). This topic becomes particularly relevant as facilitation practitioners, like those who belong to the National ... (continue)

In honor of yesterday’s confab call on mass shootings, we want to highlight a recent blog post by NCDD Board member John Backman, who shares his reflections on the need to make space for reflection in the aftermath of shocking and traumatic national events like Sandy Hook.  John’s original post appeared on the Public Conversations Project’s Doing Dialogue blog. Shortly after the terrible shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the public square filled with a cacophony of voices and, running through them all, a sense of ... (continue)

At the start of the ‘What Would You Do If…?’ Master Class with Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff, you can raise whatever questions you have about real issues when organizing or supervising meetings: What would you do if…? You will learn from yourself, from each other, and from Marvin and Sandra (co-creators of the Future Search method), while discovering new possibilities, alternative strategies and new ways to support groups effectively. A unique 1.5-day first-hand experience of the power of being able to put your trust ... (continue)

This extraordinary post was submitted by NCDD supporting member Janice Thomson. Janice has been working in collaboration with UIC’s Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement to map the D&D terrain in Chicago, an effort which has led to the development of a new Community of Practice for dialogue and deliberation practitioners in the city. NCDD supports the effort and we hope to see other members launching similar efforts!  - Sandy From Janice… I honestly didn’t realize just how ambitious trying to understand the use of dialogue ... (continue)

NCDD member Joan Blades, co-founder of the dialogue program Living Room Conversations, as well as the immensely popular MoveOn.org, contacted us this week about a recent gathering of folks on both sides of the political divide, exemplifying the central goal of Living Room Conversations, bringing people together from both sides of the aisle to talk civilly about hot button issues. Although the gathering included a journalist to help publicize both Living Room Dialogues and the need to encourage conversations to bridge the political divide in ... (continue)

This article is reposted from the Huffington Post site.  It was written by Joan Blades, the co-founder with Amanda Roman of Living Room Conversations, which I’m proud to serve as an Advisor for.  Joan is also well-known for co-founding Moveon.org and MomsRising.  See the Catalysts Awards proposal from Living Room Conversations here. Last year, LivingRoomConversations.org was launched with the goal of “revitalizing the art of conversation among people with diverse views and to remind our fellow Americans of the power and beauty of civil discourse.” ... (continue)

In principle, things are always undone; housecleaning, unpaid bills, pending repairs and amends. Most of us are uncomfortable when things are left untied yet group decision making is always untidy. Meetings never end having achieved everything that every participant wanted to get done. In some cases, things undone can be so overwhelming, confusing and frustrating that it leads to destructive behavior or insanity. Practical Tip: Rather than breed insanity, change your expectations. Don’t expect everything to be all wrapped up by the end of the ... (continue)

In this essay I intentionally subsume the thinking processes of official decision-makers into the thinking processes of the citizenry as a whole. I realize that official decision-makers can and do make decisions independently of the will of the people, unless that public will is united and organized. But elite decisions made independently of the public do not qualify as “public thinking” – at least in any democratic sense – and in this essay I am attempting to explore the nature of public thinking so that ... (continue)

In several interactions today with colleagues I began to see a pattern of modes of engagement with dialogue and deliberation work that seemed to me more usefully complex than merely “theory” and “practice.” The insight was triggered primarily by hearing about “liberating structures” for the first time and learning more about The Art of Hosting. I found my thinking expanding to cover five broad categories of mediums or doorways through which we can engage with this work. These five mediums/doorways are briefly articulated below. I’m ... (continue)