June 4-6, 2002

Montgomery College
Gaithersburg Business Training Center
Gaithersburg, Maryland

In cooperation with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation

In conjunction with

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

  • Public officials and business leaders who want to promote meaningful dialogue between the community and government
  • Community leaders facing conflict around local issues
  • Concerned communities seeking a better way to address important issues
  • Individuals seeking an alternative to adversarial debate in group meetings


WHAT CAN YOU LEARN?

  • How to deliberate, rather than debate or just discuss important issues
  • How to develop public understanding and knowledge about issues
  • How to create common ground for action
  • How to convene and moderate forums in your community


WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM PARTICIPATION?

Community leaders, business leaders, and civic groups use forums to work with the public in addressing the concerns and insights of individuals
Public agencies convene forums so that individuals’ concerns and views can set directions for their work
Teachers report that forums enhance their students’ ability to think critically and to listen carefully to others’ ideas
Students engage in forums to explore their views about current issues and to participate fully in their schools and communities
Libraries sponsor forums to provide programs that bring diverse people together in a truly public space
Faith communities use forums to examine concerns about public issues through the lens of their faith


WHAT PUBLIC ISSUES WILL BE EXAMINED?

Racial and Ethnic Tensions: What Should We Do?
Terrorism: What Should We Do Now?
What is the Public’s Role in Public Education?
U.S.-China Relations: How Should We Approach Human Rights?


OUR NATIONAL FACULTY

Dr. Virginia York, Professor, Economics and History, Gulf Coast Community College, Panama City, FL. Professor York has been actively involved in moderating forums and serving on PPI faculties nationally since 1991. She has served on the NIF Board of Directors and is currently involved in a Kettering Foundation project of sustained dialogue with colleagues in China.


Dr. Sadie Flucas, Associate Dean, Community Education, College of Du Page, Glen Ellyn, IL. Dr. Flucas, a 10 year veteran of National Issues Forum, has led deliberative forums, Public Policy Institute moderator training and issue framing workshops. She is a former scholar in residence at Kettering Foundation and is currently Director of Community Development and Director of the Public Policy Institute at the College of DuPage.


Dr. Leon Hellerman, Department of History, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY. Dr. Hellerman is a former high school Social Studies chairperson. He is co-director of Hofstra’s National Issues Forum Public Policy Institute and an adjunct professor of Political Science at Hofstra and of Education at Adelphia University.


Dr. Alfredo Carrasquillo-Ramirez, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Communication & Nonprofit Management, University of the Sacred Heart, San Juan, PR. Dr. Carrasquillo-Ramirez is a former International Research Fellow at the Kettering Foundation and has facilitated workshops and seminars on deliberation in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Paraguay, Columbia, Turkey and Jamaica.

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INSTITUTE SCHEDULE

Tuesday, June 4th

12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. Registration
2:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Institute Sessions
5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. Dinner
6:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Institute Sessions

Wednesday, June 5th

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Continental breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Institute Sessions
12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Institute Sessions
5:30p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Dinner and Networking Opportunities


Thursday, June 6th

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Continental breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Institute Sessions, light lunch included

Location:
All sessions will be held at the Gaithersburg Business Training Center of Montgomery College, 12 South Summit Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD

Cost:
$195.00 registration fee includes all materials and meals.
Discounted fees for organizations/groups sending more than one participant:
Two participants $175 each Use CRN # 42109
Three or more participants $150 each Use CRN # 42110
To take advantage of reduced fees, submit multiple registrations together.

Scholarships:
High school and college students, and others may apply for limited scholarships. For information call Dr. Robert Walker, 240-567-7221, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Refunds:
If it is necessary to cancel a registration, full refunds are available provided a written request is received by June 3, 2002

Continuing Education Units:
IACET CEU’s (International Association for Continuing Education and Training) can be awarded for participation in the Institute. 14.5 clock hours of participation can be nationally recognized to record non-credit study. Completed request forms should be forwarded with a check for $10 made payable to Montgomery College Workforce Development and Continuing Education, 51 Mannakee Street, Rockville, MD 20850. Forms will be available in registrant packets.

For more information e-mail us at ccldpp@mc.cc.md.us

THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY
AT MONTGOMERY COLLEGE

The Center for Community Leadership Development and Public Policy at Montgomery College supports a study practice of democratic public scholarship among divergent voices in a safe, open, neutral non-partisan public space. The Center serves as a site for conducting research on issues impacting civic life, and facilitating civil discussions on difficult issues that can lead to problem solving. The Public Policy Institute provides a means to study issues of interest and concern to people, structure discussion questions, and bring broad groups of citizens together for public policy leadership understanding and action education. The Center offers, independently or in collaboration with others, national and local Issues Forums, Table Talks, a post September 11, 2001 study guide for conducting civil dialogue on difficult issues, student and teacher education in communication and deliberative dialogue, the NIF In the Classroom Curriculum Guide and participates in the PBS and Kettering Foundation sponsored A Public Voice. The Center hosted the Charles F. Kettering Foundation regional briefing on the issue forum entitled "Money and Politics: Who Owns Democracy?" where local citizens and representatives of government and education were present. The Center networks with numerous groups, organizations and citizens in carrying out its work.


WHAT IS A PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE?

A Public Policy Institute brings together individuals to share the experience of learning based on principles of citizenship and civic responsibility. We offer National Issues Forums (NIF) Public Policy Institutes, in cooperation with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation of Dayton, OH. The Institute also offers workshops and a setting where individuals can focus on the theory of the National Issues Forum and the practice of deliberation.


WHAT IS A NATIONAL ISSUES FORUM?

The National Issues Forum revives the idea of a town meeting, where every member of the community has an opportunity to be heard. A NIF is nonpartisan and does not advocate specific solutions or points of view. It provides a framework to consider a broad range of choices, weigh the pros and cons of those choices and meet with each other in a deliberative dialogue to identify commonly held concerns. Forums are different from everyday conversations or adversarial debates in that participants engage in deliberation of three or four choices framed around the issue. They are about topics such as the economy, education, health care and violent crime.

WHAT IS DELIBERATION?

Deliberation is:

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