Art can be a powerful catalyst for and component of dialogue. Visual and performing arts can bring meaning or elicit feeling that can’t always be easily expressed in words, bringing us to a deeper level more quickly than discussion alone. Since our first conference in 2002, NCDD has experimented with the arts at our events, and our attendees have thanked us for the experiences and new ideas they have gained because of it. NCDD is now looking for artists, arts groups, and arts organizations who […] (continue)

The text and images below were originally posted to the Texas Forums blog by Taylor Willingham, and can also be found here. I wanted to include them on the conference blog as well since the main organizers of this gathering are members of the 2008 conference planning team and, in part, they held this meeting to raise awareness of NCDD Austin. I also wanted to show off these fabulous graphic recordings by Sunni Brown and summit participants! The “Central Texas D&D Summit” held last Saturday […] (continue)

Please Note:  The following information dates back to the planning stage of our wonderful 2008 event in Austin, TX.  We’ve kept it on our website for reference.  Most links, specifically those with the domain “thataway.org” will no longer work. You can learn more about our Austin events at www.ncdd.org/events/ncdd2008 or www.ncdd.org/events/ncdd2010/austin. Below are a bunch of different email “templates” you can use to help get the word out about the conference. Just pick the one that works best for the person, group, listserv, etc. you’re […] (continue)

The Central Texas Team for the 2008 NCDD Conference is co-hosting an innovative gathering at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin this Saturday (April 19th) called the “Central Texas Dialogue & Deliberation Summit: Learning from Practice.” The half-day, highly interactive event will bring together people from Central Texas who use dialogic and deliberative group processes to solve tough problems and build relationships in the region. The University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development’s Civic Engagement Initiative, The UT Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution, Texas […] (continue)

Have you found an innovative way to address one of our field’s major challenges, like moving from D&D to action or policy change, or embedding D&D in organizations, schools, or government?  Have you addressed a specific issue area, like climate change, racism, political polarization, or gentrification in an innovative way? If so, we invite you to submit a description of your innovative project, program or strategy. We’ll select the most compelling “innovations” and match them up according to the challenge area or issue they address […] (continue)

Please note: the following is an archive from a past event, saved for reference purposes… At NCDD Austin, we’re offering more ways than ever for conference participants to contribute content, share their work, and make progress on issues they care about. Here are a few you can submit proposals/ideas for now… Call for Workshop Proposals For every NCDD conference, we seek inspiring, educational and engaging concurrent sessions that highlight the best the dialogue and deliberation community has to offer. We look for high-quality, well thought […] (continue)

Please Note:  The following refers to a program we offered in preparation for our 2008 national conference and has been saved for reference purposes.  Some links may no longer work. For the next couple of months, members of the 2008 conference planning team and members of the greater dialogue and deliberation community are coming together at CivicEvolution.org to conduct an important experiment. We will be working together, using an online platform for dialogue, deliberation, and action planning, to determine how we can make progress on […] (continue)

Below is the schedule for the 4th National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, which took place in Austin, Texas October 2nd through 5th, 2008. This page links to more details about the sessions offered, the leaders we featured during plenary sessions and sub-plenaries, the pre- and post-conference activities, and more. Thursday, October 2nd Full-Day Pre-Conference Workshops (approx. 9 am to 5 pm – only $95)… Managing Difficult Conversations (a great workshop for the newbies, and for local folks who want to learn more about this […] (continue)

NCDD 2008 Co-Sponsor, the Global Facilitator Service Corps, is conducting a two-day intensive workshop at the Austin Renaissance on October 6th and 7th in conjunction with the NCDD conference. We encourage you to take advantage of this wonderful skill-building opportunity. Registration for this 2-day workshop is $325 for paid NCDD members and $375 for non-members. While you can register for just this workshop, we encourage you to attend both the NCDD conference and the DCI workshop. Facilitative Disaster & Crisis Intervention (DCI): Building Community Resilience […] (continue)

At NCDD’s first three national conferences, seven major challenges emerged as priorities for the dialogue and deliberation community to address. At our fourth NCDD conference in Austin, we hope to tackle the first five of these challenges (A through E) in creative, collaborative ways. What do you think of these challenge areas? Feel free to add your thoughts and ideas using the comment field. Challenge A: Making D&D Integral to our Systems Rooting the values and practices of D&D in our public and private systems […] (continue)