Generation Vote Education Fund has been named the 2025 Aicher Impact Award winner for its national, youth-led work to strengthen democracy through voting rights, public education, leadership development, and election protection. Presented by Everyday Democracy, the award honors organizations advancing inclusive, multiracial democracy at the local level and reflects founder Paul J. Aicher’s legacy of community-driven dialogue and engagement. This year’s highly participatory selection process highlighted the growing momentum behind Generation Vote’s intersectional approach, which centers young people and communities of color in reimagining civic participation and building accountable, justice-oriented democratic spaces.

​We’re excited to introduce Dialogue Spotlights—a new monthly feature that recognizes and celebrates the incredible people in the NCDD community who are advancing dialogue and deliberation in meaningful ways. From standout facilitators to behind-the-scenes leaders, these spotlights shine a light on the everyday efforts that make our network strong. Read more in the blog post below.

For 75 years, the All-America City Award has honored communities that exemplify the power of civic engagement, inclusive dialogue, and collaborative problem-solving. More than just a recognition, the program serves as a national model for how local action can drive meaningful, lasting change. From environmental sustainability to innovative storytelling and cross-sector collaboration, the award highlights what’s possible when diverse voices come together with shared purpose. Read more in the blog post below.

In today’s world, democratic values face challenges from rising polarization and declining trust in institutions. At a time when public discourse often feels fragmented, dialogue and deliberation have become essential tools for building trust, bridging divides, and fostering community resilience. Democracy, at its core, rests on the principle that all voices deserve to be heard, regardless of political stance. By cultivating spaces where diverse perspectives can coexist and be respected, dialogue and deliberation ensure that policies are inclusive, reflecting a broad spectrum of experiences and values. Read more in the blog post below.​

Here's an important announcement from John Spady of the National Dialogue Network project...

Hello friends,

I have important results to share with everyone!

The National Dialogue Network (NDN) conducted a survey in April 2013. A total of 415 people participated (including both self-selected and random panel responses). Each participant ranked their top five choices from a provided list of twenty-two issue titles to identify the top issue for our inaugural 2013 national conversations that will take place in communities across the U.S. in September. The top ranked issue title selected was “Poverty/Wealth in America.”

The NDN is a volunteer working group that received a Catalyst Award from the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) to model a social and technical infrastructure to support “a national conversation on a common issue of importance in communities across the county.” The NDN working group and advisors confirmed the 2013 topic in early May. Broad public participation is requested to help NDN prepare nonpartisan core materials and a national survey that will be available to all this September.

To prepare for this, the public is again invited to help “frame and focus” the national conversation further by answering a quick survey on specific aspects of “Poverty/Wealth in America.” What should concern our communities as we struggle together under challenging economic circumstances?

Submissions received by June 30 will be reviewed by the NDN volunteer working group in a publicly transparent process to identify and prepare core materials and resources that touch on regional, urban, and rural concerns and questions. These materials will be used online and also offered to local hosts across the country to conduct their own conversations beginning Monday, September 2, 2013 until mid October (date still to be determined).

To submit one or more ideas to help frame and focus the national conversation on the topic of “Poverty/Wealth in America,” visit this link: http://tinyurl.com/NDN-Cycle2-2013

The formal PDF report from our NDN working group with summary, graphs, and rankings is available through this link: http://surveygizmolibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/library/95644/2013Cycle1report.pdf.

To stay up to date on this topic, please subscribe to our NDN listserv that is hosted for us by NCDD:
http://tinyurl.com/ndn-listserv

And if you have any comments or other feedback then please leave us a message below. Thank you!

Voice messages for the NDN can be left on their info line: 800-369-2342; Email can be sent to [email protected]. Local collaborating organizers are being sought for a September rollout.