Food for Thought Webinar Series

Where the Good Stuff Grows: Building the Conditions for Civil, Productive Community Conversations - A Two-Part Food for Thought Series 

Civility does not happen by accident, especially when communities are facing complex or emotionally charged issues. In this two-part Food for Thought series, we’ll explore practical ways municipalities can model and cultivate a culture where civility and productive discourse are more likely to take hold. Drawing on the work of the La Follette School of Public Affairs highlighted in the most recent issue of The Municipality, the series looks beyond individual behavior and instead focuses on how conversations are intentionally designed, facilitated, and supported to create civil dialogue.  

Part 1: Designing Conversations That Work: What Research and Community Dialogue Teach Us About Civility 

DATE: Thursday, January 29th from 12-1PM (Virtual via Zoom) 

In Part 1, we’ll hear from Amber Wichowsky, Associate Professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs. She will discuss the importance of civil dialogue, how the school is training future leaders, and lessons learned from their 'Main Street Agenda' project. These conversations brought together residents with differing political views to discuss challenging policy topics in structured, facilitated settings, with surprising results: high engagement, respectful disagreement, and strong interest in continuing the dialogue. 

This session focuses on what made those outcomes possible. Rather than centering on personal etiquette or conflict avoidance, the discussion explores how conversation design, facilitation, expectations, and purpose shape how people show up and how they interact. 

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how municipal leaders can think about meetings, forums, and engagement efforts as systems that can either increase tension or support trust and learning. 

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.