NCDD is thrilled to be involved in the April Promising Practices webinar from the National Civic League! Next Tuesday, April 26th at 2:00pm Eastern/11:00am Pacific, NCDD's Executive Director Courtney Breese will join Samantha Oakley from the American Library Association and Kellee Forkenbrock from North Liberty Library to speak about the Libraries Transforming Communities initiative and NCDD's support of these efforts. The webinar will also talk about the work libraries are doing to serve as centers for dialogue and engagement. 

​Check out the webinar description and speak bios below. And don't forget to register at this link to join us!

Webinar Description: 
Libraries are far more than repositories for books, often serving as hubs for community life and civic engagement. As one of the last remaining accessible public spaces, libraries serve as centers of education and literacy, academic and professional development, engagement and dialogue. During this webinar, attendees will learn about the American Library Association’s initiative, “Libraries Transforming Communities," which has provided libraries opportunities to learn the skills of facilitating community conversations with help from the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation. We will then hear how two libraries are engaging their communities and centering public discourse.

Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC) — an initiative of the American Library Association — seeks to strengthen libraries’ role as core community leaders and change-agents. The initiative addresses a critical need within the library field by developing and distributing new tools, resources and support for librarians to engage with their communities in new ways.

North Liberty Library in Iowa – Lighthouse in the Library is a conversation series giving North Liberty residents an opportunity to speak on important community issues in a town-hall style setting.

Speakers
Courtney Breese, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)
As the executive director of NCDD, Breese leads a network of 700 individuals and organizations who bring people together across divides to discuss, decide, and take action together effectively on today’s toughest issues. She directs ongoing programs including NCDD’s work with the ALA.

Breese is also an experienced mediation and public engagement practitioner. She has a passion for helping people make connections, communicate more effectively, and make decisions collaboratively. She enjoys examining systems and structures and working to improve society on a macro level.

Kellee Forkenbrock, Public Services Librarian, North Liberty Library
After two decades of work in the private sector, Kellee Forkenbrock joined North Liberty Library in June 2019 as a library assistant. She was promoted to her current role as Public Services Librarian in October of the same year, serving as the community engagement liaison for the library and assisting with the management of the library’s part-time staff.

Kellee holds a Bachelor’s in Marketing and is pursuing a Masters in LIS from the University of Iowa. Her professional background includes a decade of project management with a skills assessment firm and seven years in multimedia advertising for a Gannett newspaper. Kellee is active in her community as a board member, having served for the Iowa City Public Library and Girls on the Run of Eastern Iowa. Read more about Kellee on her LinkedIn profile.

Samantha Oakley, Project Director, American Library Association
Samantha Oakley is an experienced project director with a demonstrated history of working in the library field. She is a project director with the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office; in this position she directs the following efforts: Libraries Transforming Communities, Let's Talk About It: Women's Suffrage, Media Literacy Education in Libraries for Adult Audiences, Community Connect, ALA PPO's annual grant opportunities, online learning, evaluation, and partnership inquiries.

She has a BA in English from Western Illinois University, an MA in Gender Studies from Minnesota State University – Mankato, and a Master of Library & Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

America Talks is back April 21 and 23, and now is the time to sign up!

America Talks (April 21 & 23) invites Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs to connect one-on-one or in small groups, face-to-face on video. America Talks is powered by over 150 nonpartisan, bridge building organizations and promoted by USA TODAY and other media partners. This is an exciting opportunity to meet other Americans who want to connect across differences and talk. You can sign up to participate on one or both of these dates at this link. 

The 5th annual National Week of Conversation that follows (April 24-30), invites Americans to find their place in the bridging movement with events hosted by over 80 bridging organizations. These events provide Americans from every corner of the United States the opportunity to discover common interests, solve problems and raise their voices together. Join lots of NCDD member orgs and friends to connect, discuss, and decide together in the many events being offered throughout the week! 

Are you hosting an event during National Week of Conversation? Let us know! Add your event in the comments. Don't forget a link for people to find out how to join!

2022 looks promising for the return of in-person gatherings. And the D&D field is making plans! Check out two announcements of fall conference you may be interested in. 

Wondering about when NCDD Conferences will return? We have our sights set on 2023! Keep an eye on the blog for updates as we look into dates and locations for the return of our in-person signature event.

IAP2 North American Conference, September 14-16, 2022
It’s been a long time coming, and we can finally announce it: the next IAP2 North American Conference (NAC) is set for Banff, Alberta, September 14 - 16, 2022 (Banff Centre). We can’t wait to see you and bring our conference theme, Connecting with purpose, to life! 

The past two years have seen a lot of disconnection. The 2022 conference is not just about reconnecting but Connecting with Purpose. In addition to connecting with our peers, the conference will challenge us to explore how we connect with the profession, the projects we work on, and the public. Learn more about the 2022 conference here. 

Annual Conference of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, October 13-16, 2022
Join us at the University of Mount Union in Ohio for the Peace & Justice Studies Association annual conference in October! This will be an in-person conference exploring our vocational understandings of the pursuit of peace and justice. Please follow the links to read the call for proposals and to submit your proposal (deadline: May 15).

The PJSA annual conference is distinctive for its inclusion of scholars, teachers, activists, and students. Our theme this year is particularly conducive to student participation, so please encourage students and the next generation of peacemakers to submit a proposal for a paper, panel, or the poster session.

We look forward to seeing you here in Ohio!

NCDD is excited to announce our continued partnership with the American Library Association to support library workers through the Libraries Transforming Communities project. This latest effort will provide small and rural libraries with grants to facilitate community conversations which will identify services or facility improvements the library can take on to better address accessibility needs in their communities. 

NCDD will support grantees by providing materials and guidance for facilitating accessible community conversations. Over the next three years of this initiative, NCDD will provide coaching to libraries and support to the project. NCDD will be reaching out to our network to help support this effort with co-creation of facilitation materials which identify best practices and models for accessible conversations. 

Starting this November, ALA will begin accepting applications for the grants, which will be distributed in several rounds over the next three years. Grants will range from $10,000 to $20,000. Libraries will identify the audience they are hoping to reach (e.g., homebound seniors, children with autism, Deaf community members) and facilitate a community conversation with the impacted populations.  Grantees will then use the funds to create services or improve their facilities based on the needs identified by their audience.

Please share this opportunity with your local library! Have you designed and/or facilitated accessible conversations? Let NCDD know about it! Email courtney@ncdd.org to share your experience and explore whether you might be able to help support the libraries in this next endeavor.

This initiative is funded through a private grant to ALA. Review the recent ALA press release here. 

The NCDD Summer Learning Springboard is back! Save the date for our second annual virtual event, taking place July 25-29, 2022. Join us this summer for a variety of skill building and learning exchange events. 

Last year, more than 125 attendees from across the globe joined us for thirteen engaging sessions, including workshops on Bohm Dialogue, Ripple Effects Mapping, and sessions discussing equity, neutrality, and using technology for engagement. You can check out the 2021 offerings on our Springboard page.

Call for Session Proposals Now Open: Are you interested in leading a session at the 2022 Springboard? Now is the time to submit your session proposal! Go to https://forms.gle/BFvez3YCRtXBPRBaA to review the questions and criteria and submit your proposal. Deadline for submissions is Friday, April 8th. If you have any questions about proposing a session, email courtney@ncdd.org. 

As a reminder, NCDD Members will receive discounted registration rates for most or all sessions, so now is a good time to join or renew your membership!
We look forward to seeing you in July!

The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, released the National Civic Review (NCR) Winter 2022 edition and  NCDD members receive a digital copy of NCR for free! (Find the access code below.). This esteemed quarterly journal offers insights and examples of civic engagement and deliberative governance from around the country. Thanks to Rebecca Trout, NCL’s Program Director for All-America City Award & Communications, for sharing this announcement with the NCDD network!

Be sure to check out the following articles from NCDD Members:
The Case for Principled Impartiality in a Hyper-Partisan World by Martin Carcasson
Common Ground for Action: Experimenting with Better Ways to Deliberate Online by Kara Dillard and Nicholas Felts
As well as pieces from Matt Leighninger, Maura Casey, and more!

​​Our friends at MetroQuest are hosting a webinar next week - Wednesday, February 23 at 2pm EST/11am PST. Below is the description of the event and a link to register.