ICYMI - NCDD Member Organization, The Kettering Foundation, appointed four new senior fellows to strengthen its focus on civic participation and combating threats to democracy - William Barber II, Neal Katyal, Kelley Robinson, and Alexander Vindman. These leaders, known for their activism and expertise in various fields such as law, civil rights, and international relations, will contribute to advancing inclusive democracy through research, public engagement, and advocacy. Learn more in the post below.
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Have you heard the news?! NCDD is thrilled to announce the launch of our NCDD Working Groups and Exchanges - and you're invited to join!
2024 is already looking to be an important year and there is a lot of energy for dialogue, deliberation, and engagement work. NCDD is uniquely positioned to bring together our collective wisdom, experiences, and passion for change to reflect and collaborate together. Coming out of the 2023 conference, NCDD is excited to be harnessing the collective energy and capacity of this coalition through the formation of working groups that align with key priority areas for the organization, as well as exchanges that will allow the membership to deepen connections. These groups are intended to provide our members with focused opportunities to connect, collaborate, build capacity, and invest in our shared coalition. Current NCDD Working Groups A number of potential focus areas were suggested at the 2023 conference. The NCDD staff and board have determined that these following groups are best aligned with current organization priorities and can also play a key role in building and sustaining NCDD as an inclusive coalition and a thriving organization.
Joining a Working Group Working groups open to all, please fill out this form. While you are not required to be an NCDD member, your support helps make these groups possible - become one today! Current NCDD Exchanges
Joining the Exchange Express your interest in this exchange by filling out this brief form. The form asks for ways you would like to communicate around the exchange, as well as opportunities to present and lead the group. Want to Start a New Exchange? NCDD is excited to support additional exchanges focused on bringing our network together around specific sectors, areas of interest, etc. If you would like to discuss starting a new exchange, reach out to NCDD’s Executive Director, Courtney Breese, at courtney@ncdd.org. Additional Questions? Please contact NCDD’s Communications Coordinator, Keiva Hummel, at keiva@ncdd.org. SHARE YOUR INPUT! The National Issues Forums Institute, a NCDD member organization, is seeking feedback on their issues guide materials. NIFI has a wide range of issue guides and these materials have been important tools in the dialogue and deliberation field for over two decades. Learn more in the post below, including the link to the survey.
We encourage you to go listen to the new podcast "The Context" from NCDD Member Organization, the Kettering Foundation. Hosted by Alex Lovit, Kettering's Senior Program Officer and Historian, the podcast seeks "to shed light on democracy’s history, current condition, and future prospects. Episodes will cover topics like inclusive democracy, citizen engagement, government accountability, and the threat of authoritarianism." Learn more in the post below and subscribe to the podcast here.
If you're looking to hone your political discussion muscles (especially as we move towards the 2024 Election Season), then make sure you check out the new AI Angry Uncle Bot, powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 technology. Created by Dr. Karin Tamerius, "the innovative chatbot offers a unique, gamified approach to political discourse that promises to be a revolutionary tool in the fight against toxic polarization". Find Dr. Tamerius' message to the NCDD's listserv below, the press release, and direct link to the AI Angry Uncle Bot.
Have fun and let us know your experience in the comments below! NCDD friends, the Bridge Alliance and Citizen Connect, recently shared an opportunity from Forum for Democracy USA to access a free civics education pilot program. This three-month-long pilot begins this month, and will include lesson plans and grading rubrics to support discussion and debate related to civics, public policy, journalism, and more. If you sign up by February 15th, educators licenses for the program are available for free until April. Learn more about the opportunity in the post below and on FFD's site here.
Join this national online conversation tomorrow, January 25th, on "How can we inspire more productive discourse in the 2024 election?" Explore ways in which dialogue and deliberation offer potential opportunities to impact the upcoming U.S. Presidential election. Happening from 4-5:30pm Eastern, 1-2:30pm Pacific. Register to attend: https://bit.ly/CPDNC2024
NCDD friends, Windy Lawrence (University of Houston - Downtown) and Lisa-Marie Napoli (Indiana University - Bloomington), will moderate the conversation. From their invitation via the NCDD listserv, "We invite anyone who is interested in learning and brainstorming with others about how dialogue and deliberation offers potential for productive discourse and action for the 2024 election cycle. Many individuals joining will have experience with dialogic and deliberative engagement, but others may not, and may just be concerned and want to help work on this issue." This conversation is sponsored by Indiana University and UHD Center for Public Deliberation. NCDD member organization, the National Civic League, is accepting applications for the 2024 All-America City Award until Tuesday, February 13th! The 2024 All-America City Award will focus on the theme - Strengthening Democracy through Local Action and Innovation. AAC2024 will recognize communities that are finding innovative ways to equitably engage community members in activities that strengthen local democracy, like making it easier to vote, engage in community affairs, and serve in leadership roles. Learn more in the post below and on NCL's site linked here.
The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, published the Winter 2024 edition of the National Civic Review (NCR). 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. The Winter edition, created in collaboration with NCDD member org, the Kettering Foundation, includes articles on Truth and Reconciliation Commissions effectiveness, challenges to local journalism, societal division perception survey results, participatory democracy examples, and more.
Thanks to Rebecca Trout, NCL’s Program Director for the DC Office & All-America City Award, for sharing this announcement with the NCDD network! NCDD is excited to start a special series of webinars focused on skill building and topics of interest. Our first in this series will be held Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 3:00-4:30 pm Eastern/Noon-1:30pm Pacific. Register today to join us! The webinar is titled, Honing Facilitative Leadership Competencies and will be led by Lori Britt, PhD, Professor and Director, James Madison University Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue, and Lisa-Marie Napoli, Director and Senior Lecturer, PACE (Political and Civic Engagement) Indiana University Bloomington. This is built upon their NCDD 2023 Conference session, and plans to help you build your skills in this area! Session Description: We see Facilitative Leadership as a mindset, habits, and skills that focus on not only bringing people together to engage collaboratively and productively across differences and around challenging topics, but importantly, an intention to cultivate this capacity in others. This webinar will overview the concept of Facilitative Leadership and engage participants in some activities focused on honing this capacity and evoking it in those we work with in our communities and on our campuses. This webinar is being held as a fundraiser for NCDD, and registration fees are on a sliding scale of $15-$50 (self-selected). All registration fees are tax deductible and support NCDD staff and programming. If you have any concerns about the fees, please contact courtney@ncdd.org. About our Presenters:
Lori Britt is a professor of communication and co-director of the Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue at James Madison University which seeks to advance the theory and practice of dialogue deliberation and collaborative public problem-solving. She is currently the board chair of NCDD. Lisa-Marie Napoli Ph.D. is director of the Political and Civic Engagement (PACE) program at Indiana University Bloomington. Most of her work focuses on conflict management deliberative democracy and civic action. In all her work there is a goal to strive toward inclusive collaboration for equitable positive outcomes and healing. |
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