NCDD Member Organization, AllSides, recently launched an investor crowdfund through WeFunder and we encourage you to consider giving your support to the campaign. In these times, we recognize the urgent need to combat societal polarization and misinformation by challenging the echo chambers that isolate us. Through scalable technologies and a commitment to balanced information, AllSides aims to reshape the way people engage with news, politics, and each other. Read some of the highlights below and consider becoming a supporter!
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If you've ever felt the strain of discussing politics with differing views or feared for democracy's future amidst division, you're not alone. The Building Civic Bridges Act (BCBA), a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress last week, offers a glimmer of hope through funding vital dialogue programs. Take action now by urging your representatives to support the BCBA, envisioning a future where respectful discourse leads to solutions. Resolutionaries has made it easy to write your representatives via the BCBA site - learn more in the post below and use their advocacy tool to contact Congress! Fostering trust in local election processes and promoting interpersonal connections can strengthen overall trust in elections. In response to concerns about the upcoming 2024 U.S. election, NCDD Member Organization, Living Room Conversations created a new guide, "Trust in Elections". By utilizing these guides as a framework for dialogue and organizing pilot projects, communities can actively work towards building confidence in elections at both local and national levels. Learn more in the blog post below. 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.
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. 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! Jan 9th Kettering Conversations with Democracy Innovators - Political Violence in the US Landscape1/4/2024 NCDD Member Organization, the Kettering Foundation (KF) are hosting another great event for their series Kettering Conversations with Democracy Innovators on "Political Violence in the US Landscape: Are We Ready?". Join the event on Tuesday, January 9th from 11 am - 2 pm Eastern, 8 am - 12 pm Pacific. Register to watch the event on zoom by clicking here. The live event will be held at the Willard Room at the Willard InterContinental Washington. Learn more at: www.kettering.org/blogs/kf-convos-jan-2024.
The holiday season often means more gatherings, which sometimes puts us in the middle of difficult conversations. Talk of politics and other hot topics can be tricky to navigate with family and friends – especially when we don’t see eye to eye. How can we engage in important conversations, without things getting out of hand? We at NCDD want to share some tips and resources that you can use to help keep the party and dinner conversations more about genuine dialogue and understanding despite differences than heated rhetoric and emotional outbursts. Six Tips for Thoughtful Holiday Conversations
Additional Conversation Resources In addition to our quick tips above, NCDD has tons more resources that might help you have difficult conversations and good dialogue in our Resource Center. If you’re looking for some additional go-to resources, consider these:
Even if there are fights and arguments, we hope some of these tips and resources will help you navigate your holiday gatherings better than the past. Whatever happens during your Thanksgiving dinner with friends or family, we are wishing you all a safe and positive weekend. NCDD is excited to share the below Fellowship opportunity from Mediators Beyond Borders International! Read on for more information and how to apply. Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) is an impact organization that builds local skills for peace and promotes mediation worldwide. We bring together experienced volunteer mediators to improve conflict resolution capacity and support alternative approaches to expressing, negotiating, and resolving interpersonal, political, economic, social, ethnic, and religious differences.
Position Overview: MBBI has been engaged in training peacebuilders, supporting and facilitating a variety of local and national peace processes in regions around the world. We have done this with nimble adaptations to conditions created by the pandemic and remained focused on inclusion and adaptation. One of these processes is focused on creating space for the different factions to jointly develop a platform that can be used as part of the larger national peace process and this effort is led by MBBI’s SE Asian Representative Shadia Marhaban. MBBI is looking for a peace practitioner interested in capturing the process, learning from this initiative, and assisting in possible next steps. The National Civic League, an NCDD member organization, is hosting an event called Promising Practices Webinar: The ABCs of Inclusive and Equitable Engagement. Wednesday, June 22nd, 2:00 pm ET (1:00 pm CT, 12:00 pm MT, 11:00 am PT) Webinar Description: The process of civic engagement ensures that the many parts of a community— residents, government, business, nonprofit agencies, faith-based organizations and others—work together to address public needs and desires. Whether it’s economic development, safety, health, environmental quality or other matters, civic engagement can lead to lasting solutions that best represent the values and desires of communities. However, if inclusivity and equity are not prioritized as a part of engagement efforts from the very beginning, then resulting information, solutions, and decisions will fail to benefit from or serve the entire community. During this webinar we will discuss the myriad of considerations–convener, time, location, language, etc.–that need to be addressed to ensure engagement efforts are inclusive and equitable. Registrants will also learn about strategies and best practices for equitable and inclusive engagement, with a few examples from communities successfully doing this work. |
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