Summer Workouts for Facilitators - June 16, 26
Hundreds of Kansans have been trained at ICDD workshops since our beginnings in 2006, and a common theme we hear during these sessions is the need for practice before actual public conversation events. ICDD Associates Susanne Glymour and Donna Schenck-Hamlin are offering trainees a chance to do just that in "workout" exercises with fellow facilitators this summer. Space is limited, so if you are an ICDD-trained facilitator wanting to sign up, please email icdd@ksu.edu subject: WORKOUTS, and specify one of the following options:
___ June 16 (WED) 6:30 - 8:00pm ONLINE (zoom address will be emailed to facilitators)
___ June 26 (SAT) 10:00 - 11:30am IN PERSON (location will be emailed)
___ Can't make either, but let me know when the next exercises are planned
4H Youth Expand Facilitation Skills and Engagement
Stories Matter is an Extension 4H youth development project built from a series of successful training and public engagement events. Participating in Conversation Bootcamp establishes the norms and best practices of public conversation facilitation. With training, 4H youth from across Kansas have offered Community Conversations on public policy issues using National Issues Forums (NIF) discussion protocols. Several events, including a ground-breaking deliberative approach to the annual Citizenship in Action at the state capital in 2020, were led by 4H facilitators using NIF methods. Another mode of facilitation being learned and applied in 4H to community conversations is Visual Thinking Strategies (watch demonstration), where participants are asked a series of questions while viewing art as a way to encourage multiple interpretations and thoughtful listening. The Stories Matter sequence has grown under the leadership of Aliah Mestrovich Seay, 4-H Youth Development Specialist for Community Vitality and ICDD's Extension Liaison. Read more on youth leading community discussions on difficult topics.
(November 12, 2020)
Put Yourself on the Map
Are you a facilitator with skills to offer communities in need of productive conversation? Add your profile to the Kansas Civic Life Project, which aims to bring communities together with civic professionals capable of facilitating what might sometimes be rather difficult discussions. The map is a directory that demonstrates the breadth of civic discourse skills across our state. Enlarge your own contacts by consulting this map, and inquire into modes of conversation that you can learn and experience.
