NCDD Conference Blog

Announcing the “D&D Marketplace”

Sandy Heierbacher — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:43:38 +0000

We’ve decided to try something new on the first day of this year’s conference, before the reception - a D&D Marketplace. We’re really excited about this session, and the associated posters, because we think they provide a way for people to expose their work and their ideas to the majority of conference participants. Here’s how this high-energy session will work…

Conference planners will select people to present during the D&D Marketplace who are passionate about sharing tools, concepts, and success stories. These presenters will strike up conversations with participants who are strolling around the room, perusing the wares. No timers or buzzers are involved.

Presenters may choose to display “posters” during the Marketplace (more on this below), and they will be expected to provide handouts for participants and to be able to succinctly express what’s important for participants to know about their resource, method, research, case, etc. and to elaborate and answer questions when people stick around after you’ve given your brief summary.

During the D&D Marketplace, most of the tables will be removed from the ballroom. Marketplace presenters will be stationed throughout the room, standing beside a table where they can display information and handouts. We will provide every Marketplace presenter with a sign that will be displayed on an easel, so people can clearly see your name and topic.

During this 90-minute session, conference participants will stroll around the ballroom, looking over posters, picking up resources, and talking with Marketplace presenters - people who want to tell others about a particular tool, concept or case they’re excited about.

About Posters…

D&D Marketplace presenters will be invited to also prepare posters, which will be on display in or near the main ballroom throughout the whole three-day conference. Posters can be up to 27” wide by 34” tall (flipchart size), and will be displayed on tabletop easels. The easels will be placed on tables where you can (and should) also leave handouts, resources and business cards for people to pick up. You may choose to stand at your poster during high-traffic times such as during breaks and answer questions about your poster.

Posters are a great way to introduce a large percentage of conference participants to your work or your idea. A workshop about a method, resource or program people aren’t familiar with may attract only a few people, while a poster on something new and innovative is likely to be seen by the majority of attendees. Posters are also a great way for those without strong English skills or much presenting experience to share their work in a more comfortable setting.

Your poster may consist of one large sheet of paper, or you can tack up multiple sheets of paper. Your poster should take people through a process, program, concept or story. The type is large and wording is simple, and diagrams and pictures bring the poster to life. People should be able to quickly discern your message and determine whether they need to read more or move on. Although you will be able to walk people through the story/process/concept depicted on your poster during the marketplace and perhaps at other times as well, the poster should be able to clearly present the concept on its own.

Up to three co-authors can be named for each poster. One or two people may present the poster during the D&D Marketplace. Everyone presenting a poster must register for the conference.

Networking Topics That Have Been Submitted (So Far)…

Sandy Heierbacher — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:47:33 +0000

A structured networking session on the first day of the conference will allow participants to meet people who share their interests. We asked people to submit “networking topics” if they are passionate about a topic, process, venue, etc. and they’d like to meet others who feel the same.

Add a comment below to let us know what you think about these topics - or submit your own networking topic idea.

Rooting D&D in Government Structures

Submitted by: John Spady (willing to host)

Dialogue across the partisan (liberal-conservative) divide

Submitted by: Jacob Hess (willing to host)

Building Bridges across the Sacred/Secular Divide

Many social change efforts could benefit from alliances between secular and faith-based networks. Effective alliances are often prevented or hampered by lack of contact or mutual stereotyping. In some secular contexts people “of faith” have felt have felt marginalized and “trashed”. The converse is also true. In some religious contexts, people who have a secular world view have felt silenced and dismissed.

I am interested to brainstorm with people who have participated in efforts to bridge this difference as well as people who would like to convene such conversations in the future.

Submitted by: Laura Chasin (willing to host) (more…)

Notes from Conference Call on Bias and Inclusion at NCDD Conferences

Sandy Heierbacher — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:58:22 +0000

Here is a summary of ideas generated on our 5/12/08 call on inclusion and bias at NCDD conferences, and what we may do differently this year. Our thanks to Judith Mowry for putting these notes together!

On the call: Steven Fearing, Deborah Goldblatt, Rogier Gregoire, Sandy Heierbacher, Jacob Hess, Dave Joseph, Erin Kreeger, Lauren Kucera, Windy Lawrence, PJ Longoni, Diane Miller, Judith Mowry, Leanne Nurse, Catherine Orland, Nancy Polk, Polly Riddims, Landon Shultz, John Spady, Carrie Stewart, Brian Sullivan, Mary Thompson, Madeleine van Hecke

Not on the call, but want to be involved: Barbara Heffernan, J. Allen Johnson, Avril Orloff

Addressing issues of inclusion, bias, racism, social justice, etc. at NCDD conferences happens on three main levels…

Interpersonal: Creating a safe space at the conference for everyone (People of Color, white folks, conservatives, young people, etc.) by balancing opportunities to be heard and to speak up with a sense that you won’t be attacked for saying the wrong thing
Field/Community/NCDD: Walking our talk when it comes to issues of inclusion, through recruitment of underrepresented groups, diverse speakers and facilitators, and workshops on these issues
Societal Level: Addressing issues of bias and inclusion in society by using dialogue and deliberation, through workshops, best practices, networking, etc. (more…)

Call for Artists for NCDD 2008

Sandy Heierbacher — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:27:47 +0000

Art can be a powerful catalyst for and component of dialogue. Visual and performing arts can bring meaning or elicit feeling that can’t always be easily expressed in words, bringing us to a deeper level more quickly than discussion alone. Since our first conference in 2002, NCDD has experimented with the arts at our events, and our attendees have thanked us for the experiences and new ideas they have gained because of it.

NCDD is now looking for artists, arts groups, and arts organizations who may be interested in playing a role at our next conference. The 4th National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation will take place October 3-5, 2008 in Austin, Texas, and we are primarily looking for artists whose work involves or stimulates dialogue or engagement in innovative ways.

We are open to many different types of arts, in different venues at the conference (plenary session performances, art activity stations, art displays, concurrent workshops, etc.). And although our funds are tight as this is a nonprofit conference, we will work with artists to cover expenses and make sure they benefit from the exposure they receive from playing a role at the conference. And for special circumstances, we will consider providing a stipend to the artist or group.

This is a great opportunity for artists who want their work to be exposed to over 400 community leaders, activists and thought leaders in communication and collaboration, and who want to learn more about this field.

Here are some examples of things we’ve experimented with in the past:

graphic recording (2002, 2004 and 2006)
workshops on digital storytelling, dialogue and dance, using film as a stimulus for dialogue, using the arts to promote youth dialogue, etc. (2002, 2004 and 2006)
spoken word poetry (2006)
drumming (2006)
Unconditional Theatre (2006) and playback theatre (2004)

You can read more specifics about how we’ve utilized the arts at NCDD conferences at www.thataway.org/events/?page_id=8

If you are an artist interested in pursuing the possibility of performing or playing a role at NCDD Austin - or if you want to suggest an artist you know about - please contact NCDD Director Sandy Heierbacher at sandy@thataway.org. And you can learn more about the upcoming National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation at www.thataway.org/events if you’re interested.

Looking for a Roommate?

Sandy Heierbacher — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:22:18 +0000

Although we’ve negotiated a pretty nice rate at the Austin Renaissance ($149/night), we know that can add up to a big expense for many people. One option is to find someone else who’s attending the conference who you can share rooms with. We’ve helped people locate roommates for all of our conferences and, as far as we know, no one’s had a bad roommate situation yet.

Add a comment below to tell people you’re looking for a roommate. Share your name, email, phone number, gender, dates you’ll be in Austin, and anything else you think your potential roommate should know about you (like if you smoke, snore, sleep in the tub, etc.). Once you find someone to room with, add another comment so people know you’re taken!

You and your roommate will be responsible for making hotel reservations and payment arrangements.

HomeStays in Austin

Sandy Heierbacher — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:56:40 +0000

We want NCDD Austin to be an accessible conference. Young people, people from developing countries, and people who have lower incomes add so much to the conference, and we want to do all we can to make sure they are able to join us in October. That’s why we only charge $375 for registration, when comparable conferences often charge twice that.

One of the biggest expenses for people coming from out of town is lodging. We negotiated a discounted rate of $149 for our attendees at the Renaissance Austin, where we are holding the conference. But we know that several nights at that rate can be a major expense.

That’s why, in addition to helping people share rooms at the Renaissance, we are trying to secure as many homestays as possible for conference attendees. The Central Texas team is busy locating as many homes as possible where people are open to conference participants using their guest room, or even just their comfortable couch, for several nights.

If you do not have the funds to cover lodging, add a comment below letting us know you need a homestay. Tell us your name, email, and phone, where you’re from, your gender, the dates you’ll be in Austin, and whether you need a guest room or you’re comfortable sleeping on a couch.

We’ll do our best to find you a homestay, and we’ll let you know one way or the other as soon as possible. If we do arrange a homestay for you, we’ll work on making sure you’ll have transportation to and from the conference hotel each day.

If you have questions about homestays or you’d like to host someone yourself during the conference, please contact planning team member Rod Reyna at rodreyna@sbcglobal.net.

First Set of Publicity Banners

Andy Fluke — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:13:23 +0000

Over the summer I’m going to create a couple sets of banners we all can use to publicize the conference. Here’s my first. A homage to the famous sign. Simply use the url provided below the image to add the image to a webpage or html email. If you can, have the image link to http://thataway.org/events or include this link in the text near the image.

Leaderboard Size:

(http://www.thataway.org/events/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ncdd2008_citylimit_728×90.jpg)

NCDD Sidebar Size:

(http://www.thataway.org/events/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ncdd2008_citylimit_250×150.jpg)

Half Banner Size:

(http://www.thataway.org/events/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ncdd2008_citylimit_234×90.jpg)

Lessons, Insights & Reflections from Central Texas D&Ders

Sandy Heierbacher — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:44:17 +0000

The text and images below were originally posted to the Texas Forums blog by Taylor Willingham, and can also be found here. I wanted to include them on the conference blog as well since the main organizers of this gathering are members of the 2008 conference planning team and, in part, they held this meeting to raise awareness of NCDD Austin. I also wanted to show off these fabulous graphic recordings by Sunni Brown and summit participants!

The “Central Texas D&D Summit” held last Saturday (April 19th) brought together 30 advocates of dialogue, deliberation and community engagement in the Central Texas region at the LBJ Library. Participants represented a range of sectors - civic, government, business, non-profit/NGO, education - with a myriad of expertise and knowledge both on issues and approaches, from smaller-scale group dialogues to large, multi-stakeholder initiatives.

While the NCDD 2008 conference was an incentive to convene this group (as well as a capstone project of University of Texas student Jenny Meigs and her professor Patricia Wilson), the ultimate goal is to develop a learning community in Central Texas that can build on the wisdom of so many creative people dedicated to D&D and community engagement. The group hopes to “build a community of practice where we can share our insights, apply what we have learned and deepen the conversation.”

Check out Taylor’s other two Texas Forums blog posts about the Summit: What’s New and Good in Central Texas? and Central Texas D&D Summit.

Much, much more after the break… (more…)

Email Templates for Publicizing the Conference

Sandy Heierbacher — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:54:20 +0000

Below are a bunch of different email “templates” you can use to help get the word out about the conference. Just pick the one that works best for the person, group, listserv, etc. you’re reaching out to, copy it (control-C or apple-C) and paste it into your email program (control-V or apple-V).

If your email program allows it, feel free to also paste the pictures at the bottom of the page into your message. And certainly use one of these pictures and/or the NCDD logo in blog posts, e-newsletters, print newsletters, etc.

Also - a bunch of other ideas for getting the word out about the conference, like distributing postcards and Moo cards, are posted at www.thataway.org/events/?p=67. And a banner and two smaller images for the conference are posted at www.thataway.org/events/?p=143.
(more…)

Central Texas D&D Summit on Saturday

Sandy Heierbacher — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:03:05 +0000

The Central Texas Team for the 2008 NCDD Conference is co-hosting an innovative gathering at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin this Saturday (April 19th) called the “Central Texas Dialogue & Deliberation Summit: Learning from Practice.” The half-day, highly interactive event will bring together people from Central Texas who use dialogic and deliberative group processes to solve tough problems and build relationships in the region.

The University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development’s Civic Engagement Initiative, The UT Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution, Texas Forums and the NCDD 2008 Central Texas Planning Team are hosting the summit. Their aim is to bring together the talented and diverse array of individuals throughout the community who focus on the “process” side of the equation when working with groups on difficult issues so that they can reflect together on our various experiences with this work, examine key learning, insights and challenges, and strengthen their connections and relationships with each other. The Summit will also provide an opportunity for local D&D leaders explore some of the issues and challenges we will focus on at NCDD Austin this October.

A small group of practitioners has been invited to attend from a range of sectors - civic, government, business, non-profit/NGO, education – with a myriad of expertise and knowledge both on issues and approaches, from smaller-scale group dialogues to large, multi-stakeholder initiatives.

The convening committee consists of the following people:

Patricia Wilson, Director of the Civic Engagement Initiative of the UT Center for Sustainable Development
Taylor Willingham, Coordinator, Texas Forums, an initiative of the LBJ Presidential Library
Jen Meigs, M.P.Aff Candidate 2008, LBJ School of Public Affairs
Diane Miller, Chair, Central Texas 2008 NCDD Conference Planning Team
Steven Fearing, Erin Kreeger, Charles Knickerbocker, and Landon Shultz: members of the Central Texas 2008 NCDD Conference Planning Team
Susan Schultz, Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution