April 15, 2008

Creating Aging-Friendly Communities

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.

March 20, 2008

Bridging the Divide: Libraries Transform Communities–A PLA Preconference

Posted in Conference sessions at 8:17 pm by Nancy Kranich

Civic Engagement is coming to PLA in Minneapolis, Wednesday morning, March 25th.  

Libraries build communities, foster civic engagement, engage citizens in public decision-making, and deliberate issues, particularly during the election season. Librarians can promote thoughtful civil discourse amid the cacophony of divisive politics and help citizens become engaged and able to make informed decisions. This session will introduce ways that libraries can help communities discover new and innovative solutions to persistent public problems and build community through public deliberation.  Handouts are available at: www.jocolibrary.org/bridgingthedivide.

January 10, 2008

National Conversation on Privacy IFRT Task Force

Posted in Conference sessions at 4:38 pm by Nancy Kranich

Here’s an update on the National Conversation on Privacy IFRT task force. The task force continues to work on framing this conversation in conjunction with the Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group of ALA. You can review our progress at http://privacyframing.wetpaint.com/.

Here are the 2008 Midwinter meetings:
Saturday, January 12, 10:30am-12:30pm
National Conversation on Privacy task force, Marriott, Room 411-412
Sunday, January 13, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Libraries Foster Civic Engagement MIG, PCC, room 305
We hope you can make one or both. Bring your colleagues!

Saturday Agenda

  1. Work to be done:
    1. Categories of people from whom we still need to hear.
    2. Wider geographical coverage.
    3. Monitor popular culture for beliefs & values around privacy.
    4. Identify research on privacy beliefs, values, behavior.
  2. Script for interviewing people http://privacyframing.wetpaint.com/page/script+for+focus+groups
  3. Wetpaint wiki http://privacyframing.wetpaint.com/ instructions for joining Discussion Forum - http://privacyframing.wetpaint.com/page/Privacy+Forum/thread.
  4. Timeline:
    1. gather concerns,
    2. cluster concerns and frame question,
    3. develop 3+ approaches,
    4. draft deliberation guide
    5. deliberation at IFRT pre-conference, Chicago. July 9–15, 2009?
  5. How to publicize this project more widely in ALA?

Sunday
Guest presenter: Kenny Holdsman is Senior Program Officer and Director of Youth Civic and Political Engagement at the Academy for Educational Development, a global social change organization based in Washington D.C. and New York City. Among his responsibilities at AED, Kenny and a group of diverse colleagues manage several national initiatives including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Youth Innovation Fund, the National Service-Learning Partnership, the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, and the Youth Media Reporter. At the core of this work is a strongly held belief that young people, particular those from under-represented and disempowered communities, must be given opportunities for greater voice, visibility and value in their schools and communities.
Also: Updates on Library Civic Engagement Activities around the Country

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