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From Sandy Heierbacher: Invitation to Attend National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) 2014 Conference

Sep 22, 2014 By NIFI Blog 0 Comments

(From Sandy Heierbacher, sandy@ncdd.org)

NCDD 2014:  Democracy for the Next Generation

The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is coming to the DC area this October 17-19 (Fri through Sun) at the Hyatt Regency Reston. The conference will bring together 400+ of the most active and influential people involved in public engagement and group process work across the U.S. and Canada.

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At Georgia College - A Teach-In: "Events in Ferguson, Missouri"

Sep 11, 2014 By NIFI Blog 0 Comments

(The following news is from Gregg Kaufman, Gregg.kaufman@gcsu.edu at Georgia College.)

A standing room only crowd of nearly 150 students, faculty, staff, and community citizens attended a teach-in that addressed the events in Ferguson, MO and the related issues of race, class, and inequity in American society. Panelists representing a variety of academic disciplines and campus safety spoke, after which audience members asked questions.

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August 26, 2014 - Join an Online Forum about Immigration Policy in America

Aug 18, 2014 By NIFI Blog 0 Comments

(This invitation is from Bill Corbett, williamgcorbett@verizon.net , of the National Issues Forums of Northern Virginia, and organizer of this upcoming, online forum.)

Join the Online Forum

I'm writing today about a new experiment to involve more people in political life, an online National Issues Forum.

It takes place Tuesday August 26 at 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm EDT.  All you need to participate is a web browser and the willingness to use chat for conversation.

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"The best two hours of the semester..."

Dec 11, 2013 By NIFI Blog 0 Comments

The following guest bloggers, Emerson Murphy, Stuart Watts, Pierre-Emmanuel Thomas, Jill Bolak, Xan Hall, and Colden Franklin share their insights and experiences using deliberation to engage some difficult public issues during coursework with professor Gregg Kaufman, M.Div. Th.M.  at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia.

by Emerson Murphy
November 25, 2013

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Guest Post by Neil Wollman, Ph.D, Bentley University - "Facing Gridlock, A Bold Proposal for Democracy"

Nov 06, 2013 By NIFI Blog 1 Comments

I hope that the piece below will lead to good dialogue, political efforts, and finally to implementation of the suggested policy change. It is by projects such as the National Issues Forums (NIF) that we will have a public informed enough to make the proposed citizen initiative/referendum system work well. As a matter of fact, if citizens engage in such dialogue, maybe they have a right to more direct say in governmental decision making! It is encouraging that Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado recently decided to promote the establishment of a commission to study the feasibility of national initiatives. It is a good first step, but it will require informed  public discussion. See more information on citizens’ initiatives and direct democracy at

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