October and November have been incredibly busy months! This month's eBulletin will only capture a slice of all the great work that has transpired. Please keep the updates from the field coming in!

For more in-depth coverage of developments in the field, please visit the Journal of Public Deliberation (JPD), an online resource providing insights into deliberative democracy from two views, research and practice.

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Deepest thanks,

Lars Hasselblad Torres
Editor

1 | CANADIAN CONFERENCE ON DIALOGUE AND DELIBERATION
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Organizers report that, thanks to the outstanding contributions of C2D2 presenters, facilitators, participants, funders, supporters and the many volunteers who worked magic, the Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation (C2D2), October 27-30 (Ottawa), was an enormous success.

Over 300 participants took part in more than 70 plenary and breakout sessions over the course of October 27 to 30. A diverse slate of offerings included a rich array of interactive small group workshops, presentations, and plenary sessions that modeled large group approaches to dialogue and deliberation. The C2D2 website www.c2d2.ca will be updated to reflect the final program, and we will add biographies of participants and presenters. If you have not done so, please send a brief biography (200 words or less) to info@c2d2.ca. Organizers also invite presenters to send notes suitable for posting on the website "as-is" (no editing or formatting required) to the same address.

2 | DELIBERATION WEEK
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[Snipped from By The People] By the People supported a host of Citizen Deliberations around the country during Deliberation Week, October 22-29, 2005. These events focused on healthcare or education. Citizen Deliberations ranged from day-long discussions centered on Deliberative Opinion Polls® and using a random sample of participants to smaller conversations with participants drawn from local community groups. Community colleges also held Deliberation Week events. Participants at each event had the opportunity to explore national as well as their own local concerns related to healthcare or education.

Fifteen By the People citizen deliberations were the centerpiece of a PBS national program that aired on November 10, 2005. The television broadcast covered more than 1,000 Americans at forums hosted across the country by local PBS stations and their civic partners. It also revealed the results of Deliberative Polling, showing what participants thought after becoming more informed about the issues.

Click here to watch highlights of the broadcast. Click here to read results from the polls.

3 | AIA CONFERENCE ON NOLA COLLABORATION FOR REDEVELOPMENT
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[Snipped from AIA] More than 650 citizens, community leaders, architects, planners, engineers, business people, and public officials gathered in New Orleans November 10–12 for the Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding Conference, the starting point for the planning and the rebuilding of damaged parts of the state that have fallen victim to the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The three-day program marked the beginning of a process, directed by the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which brings together a wide range of national and state leaders, citizens, and design experts to help develop a body of planning principles and, ultimately, parish-by-parish rebuilding plans that will guide long-range recovery efforts.

To learn more about this important event, visit the AIA online.

4 | AFRICAN COALITION FOR DIALOGUE AND DELIBERATION
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On October 30, 2005,at the end of the Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation (C2D2) in Ottawa, Canada, the African Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation ACDD was formed. The formation of this coalition was inspired by participation in an open space forum, convened to explore the possibility of convening dialogue and deliberation practitioners in a summit in Africa while focus on uniting and growing this community of practice. Founding African participants are from Rwanda, Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt. Other participants are from Canada and USA.

The African Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (ACDD) brings together people and groups who actively practice, promote and study inclusive conversations Collectively, we seek to nurture justice, innovation and democracy throughout society through the widespread use of transformational communication methods such as dialogue and deliberation. ACDD will provide resources, networking opportunities and programs for a growing African community of practice dedicated to solving group and societal problems through honest talk, quality thinking and collaborative actions.

Opportunities to submit concerns and information on how to complete a "needs assessment" will soon circulated among D&D networks and also made available online. To continue this initiative a database of dialogue and deliberation practitioners in Africa, is now being compiled. To join this emerging network, please send an email to: Programs@civiclifeint.org. You can visit AACD online at: www.africancdd.org

5 | TWENTY FOUR HOURS LEFT TO JAM: A MEGACONVERSATION ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
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December 1 to 3 marks the beginning and end of a stunning global dialogue about the future of cities. Dubbed "HabitatJam" but its sponsors (the United Nations and the government of Canada), this global chat fest is a preparatory activity designed to give people around the world a say in the development of the agenda andkey activities of the World Urban Forum to be held in Vancouver in June, 2006. The Jam is organized around six themes: Improving the Lives of Slum Dwellers; Sustainable Access to Water; Environmental Sustainability; Safety and Security; Finance and Governance; and The Future of Cities. To join in any and all of these discussions, please visit the Jam online

6 | MAYOR OF WASHINGTON, DC WRAPS FOURTH CITIZEN SUMMIT
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[Snipped from the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Action]. The District of Columbia held its fourth Citizen Summit on Saturday, November 19, attracting more than 2,000 people to determine how our city can be more effective in “Lifting All Communities.” Gathering at the Washington Convention Center for the day-long forum, participants discussed and voted on their priorities for how the District can best:

• Support growth and development of all youth;
• Expand jobs and employment prospects for all citizens;
• Rebuild a library system serving all citizens; and
• Create an inclusive city through housing and economic development.

Citizen Summit IV is part of Mayor Williams’ Neighborhood Action and Community Empowerment initiative to engage the public in the city’s governance. Over the past six years, Neighborhood Action has engaged more than 12,000 people in setting the city’s priorities. As Mayor Williams said, “It’s an inspiration to see so many District residents come together working towards a common goal. This summit was our best ever, and I look forward to using what we learned today to make our next budget even more responsive to our residents.”

To download a discussion guide, preliminary report, or to watch clips from the Summit, please visit the Office of Neighborhood Action Online.

7 | AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS RELEASES ARTS AND CIVIC DIALOGUE SERIES
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Americans for the Arts has published a set of books that explores the power of the arts and humanities to foster civic engagement and dialogue. The seven recent titles examine the role of these cultural institutions, highlight best practices and outcomes from their endeavors, and identify the challenges and complexities of arts-based public dialogue work. The series is especially timely, as more and more artists and cultural organizations are using their creative capacities to encourage and facilitate greater civic participation, and as interest grows among civic leaders and community developers in employing the arts and humanities as civic agents.

Titles include Civic Dialogue, Arts & Culture, which synthesizes the findings of the Animating Democracy initiative; Critical Perspectives, a collection of essays about three Animating Democracy projects that seeks to expand who has voice and authority in critical writing about civically engaged art; and the Art & Civic Engagement series, five thematically framed books that offer in-depth case study analyses on some of the most illuminating projects in Animating Democracy.

Books may be purchased at the Americans for the Arts online bookstore. For more information, contact Michael del Vecchio, Animating Democracy, Americans for the Arts, 202.371.2830, mdelvecchio@artsusa.org.

8 | NORTHEAST OHIO BUILDS REGIONAL IDENTITY, CHARTS UNCERTAIN FUTURE
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[Snipped from Voices & Choices Preliminary Town Meeting Report] Hundreds of citizens from Northeast Ohio gathered at Akron University on Saturday, November 12, to plan the future of Northeast Ohio. During the Regional Town Meeting, participants discussed what they want Northeast Ohio to be known for in the future and the challenges that must be overcome to reach that goal.

The results of the Town Meeting will be used to frame the community discussions that will take place over the next year. A regional agenda for change will emerge from the process. Citizens at the Town Meeting represented the diversity of Northeast Ohio in terms of geography, age, race/ethnicity, household income and employment status.

Voices & Choices is an initiative of the Fund for Our Economic Future, a collaboration of nearly 70 area philanthropic organizations.

9 | [RESOURCE] THE DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY HANDBOOK
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The Deliberative Democracy Handbook is a terrific resource for democratic practitioners and theorists. It combines rich case material from a range of political and institutional settings with careful reflection on core principles. The Handbook generates hope for a renewed democracy, tempered with critical scholarship and political realism. Most important, this handbook opens a spacious window on the innovativeness of citizens in the U.S. (and around the world) and shows how the varied practices of deliberative democracy are part of a larger civic renewal movement.

To learn more, please visit the Handbook's website

10 | [CALL FOR PAPERS] PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DECISION-MAKING
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The PATH conference aims to explore how best to involve stakeholders and the public in policy development and decision-making on science and technology issues. The conference will bring together policy-makers, practitioners and academics to exchange knowledge and explore future directions for public participation in these areas. Using a combination of keynote speakers, papers addressing state of the art theory and practical examples, and interactive sessions exploring good practice approaches, participants will consider experiences and innovative ideas from around the world. The conference will be small and focussed with a limited attendance of around 120 delegates.

The organisers would like to invite contributions of oral presentations, posters and interactive sessions in the following areas under the science and technology theme:

• Scaling up participatory processes from local to European and global scale
• Theories of representation in participatory approaches and their practical implications
• Evaluation of methods to allow multiple interests, viewpoints and values to be expressed and deliberated in participatory processes
• Gender aspects of participation in decision-making and policy development
• Case studies illustrating innovative approaches to involving the public in science and technology, especially (but not exclusively) in the areas of: Genetically modified crops in agriculture Biodiversity conservation Nanotechnology Water resource management

Deadline for submission: 13th January 2006

The conference is organised by the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, as part of the PATH project. Further details can be found on the PATH website or by contacting Jane Lund or Wendy Kenyon

11 | [RESOURCE] CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE
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The Department of Public Policy and Administration at California State University Sacramento has announces two important Collaborative Governance resources. First is a Certificate in Collaborative Governance offering next year. The Certificate is available to students in the graduate program that successfully complete three collaborative policy courses offered by the Department in partnership with the Center for Collaborative Policy. DPPA and the Center will begin offering the third course in the series, Collaborative Governance Advanced Practice, in the Summer 2006 session. For mor information please visit the Program online.

The second excellent resource is the Collaborative Planning Academy. The Academy will bring together planners in California to learn together about use of collaboration and deliberation to enhance the capacity of local planning departments to address challenging issues. The Academy will be initiated with a series of three workshops offered in both Northern California and Southern California. The Academy is made possible with a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. For more information please visit the Academy online.

12 | [RESOURCE] GOOGLE EARTH, TAGS, AND DELIBERATION
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Chris Haller, who will be leaving PlaceMatters and heading to Germany and Zebralog has set up a wonderful resource to explore the intersection of visualization tools and excellent dialogue. With some cutting-edge applications of GoogleMaps and GoogleEarth earth in the bag, Chris' website eparticipation.com is a must bookmark resource for organizations sponsoring planning dialogues.

One of the most interesting tools Chris developed while he was at PlaceMatters is a simple script that allows dialogue participants to annotate locations on a GoogleMap with geospecific data. Check out Chris' PhotoKit script online.

13 | [RESOURCE] CITIZENS ASSEMBLY BLOG
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Jim Snyder, a political scientist and Senior Fellow of the New America Foundation, had started up a blog to track follow-up from the Citizens Assembly process in British Columbia. In addition to tracking the outcomes in that province of Canada, Jim's blog is also following the spread of Citizens Assemblies and suggesting ways a Citizens Assembly could be applied to issues and political circumstances elsewhere. A great resource, add this blog's RSS feed to your aggregagtor! Otherwise, bookmark it and follow along online.

14 | POST-KATRINA ONLINE DIALOGUE AND COMMUNITY BUILDING IN THE GULF COAST
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The Mississippi Governor's Commission for Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal has developed an online community in partnership with LearningTimes, an online networking firm. The site, which currently has 298 members, has been created to provide a hub for collaboration among the various organizations working on behalf of Mississippians to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Among the sites more interesting features is a the option for Mississippians to call in by telephone to make an "Audio Message." The site is also host to about 23 discussions and links to videos from the recent Mississippi Renewal Conference.

AND FOR KICKS

15 | [RESOURCE] FRAMING, DEBATES, AND HOW TO WIN. THE RIGHT QUESTION?
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[Snipped from Democrats AbroadIn a New York Times article called "The Framing Wars" (July 17, 2005), author Matt Bai calls UC Berkeley linguistics professor, George Lakeoff, the father of framing. Framing refers to the language used to define a debate and, most importantly, to fitting issues into the context of beliefs that Lakoff claims are deeply embedded in our unconscious minds. Forty years ago, his theory of conceptual structures was the basis of a feud between himself and his mentor, renowned linguist Noam Chomsky. Then a graduate student, Lakoff challenged Chomsky’s conviction that universal rules of syntax form the basis of language. The men still don’t speak to one another. Most American linguistics departments today teach the Chomsky view. Nevertheless, Lakoff went on to establish cognitive linguistics as a field of study.

The notion of framing began to take hold of the Democratic Party’s consciousness as a result of a book Lakoff wrote arising from his frustration over the drift of the Kerry campaign in 2000. The book, Don’t Think of an Elephant, about politics and language, was a kind of guidebook for Democratic activists. Turned down by the major publishing houses, a small liberal publisher in Vermont, Chelsea Green, finally took it on. It is now in its eighth printing and has sold some 200,000 copies. A DVD followed: "How Democrats and Progressives Can Win: Solutions from George Lakoff."

More at Democrats Abroad