Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies

Dear HumanDHS network friends

Please find below an update on activity within NCDD from Sandy Heierbacher [sandy@THATAWAY.ORG]

Kind regards
Brian Ward

Hi, everybody! Things are abuzz around here with NCDD Austin right around the corner. If you’re planning on joining us at the 2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation and haven’t registered yet, don’t wait too long. The price increases on September 12th - both for registration and at the conference hotel!

1. Latest on the 2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation
2. Discounts on Top-Notch Trainings for Paid NCDD Members
3. New on NCDD’s News & Perspectives Blog

1. Latest on the 2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation: Creating Cultures of Collaboration (October 3-5 in Austin, TX)

I am so excited about NCDD Austin; we have an amazing event planned and hundreds of fantastic people converging in Austin. I hope you are one of them!

It’s a tough year for people’s budgets, though, so I want you to know, first of all, that we still have some scholarship funds available to help out those who need it. We’d rather have you there for less money than not have you at all, so please complete the scholarship application at www.thataway.org/aa58f3 asap if you need help.

NCDD conferences are highly participatory (no keynotes and no traditional, dry panels), highly innovative (we try new things each year that are often imitated by other groups) and highly accessible (regular registration is only $375, which is about half of what comparable events cost). But the best thing about our conferences, by far, is the people. NCDD events draw the most intelligent, kind-hearted, positive, and thoughtful people I’ve ever encountered, and they’re what make our gatherings great.

NCDD’s biennial conference brings together hundreds of facilitators, mediators, trainers, consultants, public leaders, educators, organizational development professionals and others who believe that better communication is key to addressing the critical issues facing organizations, communities, and society. At NCDD, you will experience cutting-edge approaches to group process, community building and communication methods. National experts in dialogue and deliberation will share their latest thinking and you will be exposed to numerous practical tools and methodologies that you can use immediately.

Here are a few things I’d like you to know about…

a. Phenomenal Workshops - www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=158

Offered by leaders in the field, our workshops address the issues, challenges and questions most relevant to your work. Learn how War on Terror veterans are using dialogue for healing and empowerment. Help the U.S. Institute of Environmental Conflict Resolution design a long-range citizen engagement process to restore the ecosystem of one of America’s great rivers. Learn how to attract more conservatives to dialogue events. Explore with change experts how D&D contributes to social change. Learn about Deaf Culture and how to work with interpreters and Deaf participants. And that’s just a taste of the great workshops you’ll choose from.

b. NCDD Austin’s Youth Dialogue Project - www.thataway.org/events/?p=178

Sponsored by the Rockrose Institute, the Youth Dialogue Project will ensure that the voices of young leaders are included in creative and innovative ways. Three separate youth-related sessions will build on each other during the conference, cultivating mentorship and generational leadership in the NCDD community.

c. Post-Conference Disaster and Crisis Intervention Training - www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=107

NCDD Austin Co-Sponsor the Global Facilitator Service Corps is offering a special two-day training right after the conference (October 6th and 7th). This in-depth training is a great opportunity for practitioners to learn how to respond quickly and efficiently to disasters.

A few more quick links…

- conference program - www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=113
- featured speakers - www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=156 (including Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Bill Isaacs, Frances Moore Lappe and David Campt)
- registration details - www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=136 (including student discounts, scholarship info, group discounts, etc.)
- conference blog - www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=5 (updates on planning, logistical info, ways to get involved, etc.)

NCDD 2008 is co-sponsored by the Public Conversations Project, Austin’s Bluebonnet Hills Christian Church, the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University, the Forum Foundation, the Democracy Imperative, the LBJ Presidential Library, the Global Facilitator Service Corps, and Regis University’s Institute on the Common Good. Our Partners include Everyday Democracy, Envision Central Texas and Hal Saunders.

Learn more about the 2008 NCDD conference, which will take place October 3-5 in Austin, Texas, at www.thataway.org/ncdd2008

Hope to see you there!

2. Discounts on Top-Notch Trainings for Paid NCDD Members

NCDD members who pay the full membership fee (only $50 for individuals or $100 for orgs!) can take advantage of discounted rates for dozens of upcoming trainings offered by our partners (listed below). Many of the discounts save you hundreds of dollars. Go to www.thataway.org/discounts for more details on our partners’ trainings - including cost and how to register. Or go to www.thataway.org/join to become one of our paid members and benefit from these great discounts.

- Alchemy’s Graphic Recording Classes
- Bay Area Nonviolent Communication’s Living Peace Intensive Residential Retreats
- Breakthroughs UNLIMITED Trainings:
- The Center for Strategic Facilitation Trainings. Center for Wise Democracy’s Dynamic Facilitation trainings:
- Certificate Program in Dialogue, Deliberation & Public Engagement
- Co-Creative Stakeholder Engagement Workshop
- The Collaboration Imperative: Large Group Design Skills for Leaders and Consultants
- Community at Work’s Group Facilitation Skills Training
- Dialogue Partners Trainings
- Future Search Workshops
- Harwood Public Innovators Lab
- IAP2 Certificate Course in Public Participation
- Leadership Strategies’ The Effective Facilitator Course
- Louise Diamond’s Advanced Training Program for Change Agents
- National Charrette Institute Trainings and Certificates
- PublicDecisions.com Online Trainings
- Public Conversations Project Trainings

3. Headlines from the News & Perspectives Blog

Sorry - we’ve neglected the blog a bit because we’re so focused on conference planning. If you are used to going to the blog to stay updated on news, job openings, funding news, etc. related to public engagement and conflict resolution, you should join NCDD. We’ve been posting much of what usually going on the blog in the NCDD Discussion list because it’s quicker, and when you join we’ll add you this this list.

I’d like to point out a couple of the blog posts we did get to, though…

- National League of Cities Job Opening: Democratic Governance Project Manager (this one’s right up our alley)

- Editor(s) Needed for International Journal of Public Participation (although the pay isn’t much, this is a great opportunity for the right person)

- Traces of the Trade Premieres June 24th on PBS (this documentary about the legacy of the slave trade is amazing, and I’m pointing it out because some Traces reps are showing it at NCDD Austin and doing a series of race workshops as well)

As always, email me at sandy[@]thataway.org with announcements for the blog or to inquire about partnership opportunities. Thataway.org now receives an average of 3,000 visitors a day (page views are many times that), so it’s worth it to make sure your news is up on the blog and your resources are in the Learning Exchange.

Good luck with all you are doing!

Best,
Sandy

Sandy Heierbacher
Director, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)

Web: www.thataway.org
Email: sandy[@]thataway.org

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 6th, 2008 at 11:29 pm and is filed under News, News from other sources that might interest our network. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.