June 18, 2008
Posted in Programs of Interest at 11:01 pm by Nancy Kranich
Contact: Angela Thullen
Program Officer, Communications, PPO
(312) 280-5286
athullen@ala.org
NEWS
For Immediate Release
June 17, 2008
FRONTLINE/World, ALA announce new grant opportunity for libraries
CHICAGO – In celebration of their groundbreaking Social Entrepreneurs Series, FRONTLINE/World, in cooperation with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, will award grants of $500 plus supporting program materials to 40 public and academic libraries. The grant funds will promote the screening and discussion of one the series’ short documentary films on innovative social entrepreneurs around the world.
To be eligible, libraries must:
- Host a screening and discussion of a FRONTLINE/World Series film, and
- In partnership with a local or regional organization engaged in issues of social entrepreneurship, host at least one related program (panel, lecture, forum or other format).
In addition to the $500 grant, selected libraries will receive a DVD containing the FRONTLINE/World series compilation, a facilitator’s guide containing promotional material templates, recommended additional resources and reference materials and a supply of FRONTLINE/World Social Entrepreneurs series bookmarks. For an application, visit www.pbs.org/frontlineworld or www.ala.org/socialentrepreneurs. Applications must be submitted electronically to libraries@flworld.org by August 1.
FRONTLINE/World is the award-winning PBS international news magazine that turns its lens on the global community, covering countries and cultures rarely seen on American television. The Social Entrepreneurs Series features the stories of people whose ideas and organizations create new and sustainable markets and services that benefit underserved communities everywhere in the developing world. This pilot library program seeks to connect communities to the concept of social entrepreneurship and to promote dialogue on a local level. Funding for the library program is provided by the PBS Foundation through a grant from the Skoll Foundation.
Established in 1992, the ALA Public Programs Office has an exemplary track record of developing library programming initiatives, including the acclaimed reading and discussion series “Let’s Talk About It,” film discussion programs on humanities themes, traveling exhibitions, LIVE! @ your library® and other programs. Recently, it has established the Cultural Communities Fund, an endowment created to help all types of libraries across the country bring communities together through cultural programming (www.ala.org/ccf). More than 10,000 libraries and at least 10 million individuals have participated in library programming initiatives supported by the Public Programs Office. For more information about the ALA Public Programs Office, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.
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June 12, 2008
Posted in Conference sessions, Uncategorized at 2:38 pm by Nancy Kranich
Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group2008 ALA Annual Conference –Anaheim, CA
Sunday, June 29, 2008, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Room Location: Hilton Anaheim, San Clemente
AGENDA
Updates on Library Civic Engagement Activities Around the Country
Topics will include:
Privacy Dialogue
2009 Pre-Conference
Deliberative Dialogue Survey
PLA Pre-Conference in Minneapolis
Civic Engagement Blog–See http://discuss.ala.org/civicengagement/
Join Us. Bring Your Colleagues
Subscribe to ALA’s Civic Engagement listserv:
1. Go to: http://lists.ala.org/wws
2. Click on “List All Lists”
3. Scroll down to “deliberate@ala.org”
4. Click on “Subscribe”
5. Fill in your e-mail address in the box at the top of the screen
6. Press “submit”
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June 5, 2008
Posted in Deliberative Dialogue, Publications of Interest, Uncategorized at 8:49 pm by Nancy Kranich
Primer on Public Engagement
The new Public Engagement Primer from Public Agenda is a valuable resource for those trying to better understand what public engagement is all about, and for those trying to explain it.
Public engagement creates conditions for average citizens to effectively get involved in deliberation, dialogue and action on public issues that they care about. In a few short pages, the primer explains how public engagement helps create civic capacity for public problem solving, offers 10 core principles of effective public engagement and enlists a few examples of key practices and strategies.
The primer also describes the power of “Citizen Choicework,” a critical element in many deliberative processes. Some other essentials covered in the primer:
- Authentic public engagement vs. business as usual
- Capacity-building vs. event-oriented approaches to engagement
- Responding thoughtfully and conscientiously to the public’s involvement
- Building long-term capacity
- Strengths and weaknesses of various engagement approaches and strategies
The PDF is available for free download at:
http://publicagenda.org/pubengage/pdfs/public_engagement_primer.pdf
More information is available through Public Agenda’s Center for
Advances in Public Engagement at:
http://publicagenda.org/pubengage/pe_cape.cfm
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Posted in Conference sessions at 8:48 pm by Nancy Kranich
June 12, 10 am to 1 pm, Regis University, Denver, Colorado. The Democracy Imperative (TDI) member Paul Alexander, director of the Institute for the Common Good at Regis University, will host a TDI gathering. Members and curious future members are welcome. Lunch is included. The goal of the meeting is to introduce TDI to new campuses in Colorado and to provide TDI members a chance to meet and share ideas and strategies. If you would like to attend, please email Nancy.Thomas@unh.edu.
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May 5, 2008
Posted in Conference sessions, Deliberative Dialogue at 11:31 pm by Nancy Kranich
This year’s National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is being held in Austin, Texas, October 3-5. This conference is for those dedicated to solving problems through honest talk, quality thinking, and collaborative action. NCDD’s biennial conferences, which are highly participatory, highly innovative and surprisingly affordable, bring together leaders and future leaders in public engagement and conflict resolution to share resources and strategies, build lasting relationships, increase the visibility and effectiveness of their work, tackle challenges facing this emerging field, and initiate collaborative projects.
In Austin, NCDD is offering more ways than ever for conference participants to contribute content, share their work, and make progress on issues they care about. Submit proposals now for:
1. Concurrent Workshops (unique, engaging sessions that highlight the best the dialogue and deliberation community has to offer)
2. Innovations (innovative projects/strategies that address some of the biggest challenges and issues we face in the field; we’ll match you up with other innovators with similar topics to organize joint collaborative sessions at the conference)
3. Networking Topics and Facilitators (topics you’re really into, so you can meet others who share your same interests during a fun, structured networking session) More details about these 3 opportunities, and the forms for submitting proposals and ideas are at www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=119
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April 24, 2008
Posted in Conference sessions at 1:12 pm by Nancy Kranich
CALL FOR CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
Beyond the Academy
June 10-11, 2008
Arlington Campus of George Mason University.
Meeting just outside the nation’s capital in the midst of a presidential campaign year, public scholars from across the country will discuss the ways in which their work is more than “academic,” how it helps strengthen democratic institutions and public life and can bring about civic change.
To be considered for the program, send a 450-550 word abstract by Monday, April 28 to nmcafee@gmu.edu with the subject line “public scholars.” Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Reclaiming the civic mission of the university
- The incentive structure of university scholarship
- The self-understanding of scholars and their relationship to the public
- How to be the public’s allies in democratic work
- What kind of research does a democratic public need?
- Organic vs. traditional scholarship: How does Milton matter?
- Assessing the engaged campus movement
- Independent scholars, the academy, and the public
- Advocacy versus Engagement
- The multiple ways communities, individuals and non-academic institutions contribute to public knowledge (e.g., film festivals, literary festivals, literacy initiatives)
For more information go to: http://beyondtheacademy.wordpress.com/
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS: Noelle McAfee, George Mason University; Claire Snyder, George Mason University
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: David Cooper, Michigan State University; Maria Farland, Fordham University; Sharon Meagher, University of Scranton; Scott Peters, Cornell University; Mary Stanley, Independent Scholar; John Stuhr, Vanderbilt University; Nancy Thomas, The Democracy Imperative; Debi Witte, Kettering Foundation.
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April 18, 2008
Posted in Deliberative Dialogue at 11:37 am by Nancy Kranich
Paying for Health Care–National Issues Forum Issue Advisory
Excellent Care But Rising Costs: Is There a Better Balance?
A new issue book in the NIF series will be available later this spring for forums on the hard choices in health care. The book will look at some of the major concerns people have when they encounter the increasing costs of drugs, doctor fees, hospital visits, and insurance premiums. It will also look at some of the possible remedies being proposed to combat these costs. The purpose of the book is to stimulate serious public deliberation, not a discussion or debate. So each option for controlling costs will be balanced by an account of unwelcome consequences that might result.Attached is an Issue Advisory from the Kettering Foundation about the framework for this deliberative dialogue. For more information, visit the NIFI website at: www.nifi.org.
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April 15, 2008
Posted in Conference sessions at 4:16 pm by CarolynC
This was the title of the presentation Virginia Beach staff gave at the Transforming Local Government conference in 2007 on our Public Voices on Redevelopment project. You can look at the roles the public library played in researching and presenting background information and in hosting and moderating.
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Posted in Conference sessions at 4:14 pm by CarolynC
In February and March, I participated in Creating Aging-Friendly Communities, an online conference at http://www.icohere.com/agingfriendly/. One of the tracks was civic engagement and a couple of presenters were excellent!
The AdvantAge Initiative had a particularly useful paper on using focus groups, available at http://www.vnsny.org/advantage/tools/3a_Focus_Groups.pdf
Lara Birnback of Public Agenda, http://www.publicagenda.org/ talked about 10 Lessons of Successful Engagement. I have not found these on the Public Agenda site, but she sent them to me:
1. Begin by listening;
2. Attend to people’s concerns;
3. Reach beyond the usual suspects;
4. Frame issues for the public, not experts;
5. Provide the right type and amount of information at the right time.
6. Help people move beyond wishful thinking.
7. Expect obstacles and resistance.
8. Create multiple, varied opportunities for deliberation and dialogue;
9. Respond thoughtfully to the public’s involvement;
10. Build long term capacity as you go.
For these two alone the conference was worth my time. And while I am wortking on a senior services plan, this information is applicable to any age.
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April 14, 2008
Posted in Bibliography at 2:30 pm by CarolynC
Here are some interesting web 2.0 resources for civic engagement that I’ve run across this spring. The idea behind all three is to lure young people into civic engagement through Web2.0 tools.
Carolyn
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