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Leadership in Action
Leadership Whatcom Alumni invite you to the award-winning:
Productive Public Conversations:
Tools for Engaging Diverse Viewpoints
about Climate Change
Saturday, May 3, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
RSVP by May 1: info@whatcomcoalition.org or 715-1061
Free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required.
Directions to the north-Bellingham location will be provided following your RSVP.
Government is taking action on climate change. Learn how to work more effectively
with people who examine and advocate local concerns from very different viewpoints.
The Spring 2008 PPC will focus on how to more effectively communicate with local, state and federal legislators and fellow citizens when data debates seem to dominate the conversation.
PPC participants will connect with the information state legislators have used
to develop state bills that will guide policy and programs
addressing climate change impacts in Washington State.
Participants will practice strategies for keeping dialogue civil,
and leave with a toolkit of skills and resources to support productive public issue discussions.
Past Events and News
Productive Public Conversations:
Out of the Armchair and Off the Soapbox
On December 4, 2007, 70 Whatcom County residents joined us for an engaging discussion
about when the public should be involved in the government's work
and how we can be most effective when we do.
Participants received a toolkit of skills and resources
to support productive discussions on contentious issues
and will practice strategies for keeping dialogue civil.
Our handout “Timing Public Involvement: What to expect when you do engage”
is available for download to support you in preparing for your next public involvement endeavor.
A Leadership Whatcom alumni program, Productive Public Conversations, recently won a Case Foundation Top 100 "Make it Your Own Awards," which challenge people from all walks of life to discuss what matters most to them, decide what kind of community they want, and take action together. Through Leadership Whatcom’s Productive Public Conversations, people in Whatcom County engage a controversial local issue, practice civil dialogue skills, and leave with a toolkit to participate in productive large-scale discussions in the future. Stay tuned for more details regarding our Spring 2008 Productive Public Conversation: Climate Change.
February, 2008
Leadership Whatcom Wins
Case Foundation’s Top 100 Make It Your Own Awards
A locally-grown program is one of the Case Foundation’s 100 breakthrough ideas for the Make It Your Own Awards. Beating out nearly 5,000 other projects, Productive Public Conversations was honored by the new Case grants program that aims to increase and strengthen citizen involvement in communities and introduce a more inclusive and innovative approach to foundation grant making.
The next Productive Public Conversation, “Out of the Armchair and Off the Soapbox,” will be held 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., Tue., Dec. 4. Participants will discuss when the public should be involved in the government's work— and how people can be most effective when they do. “The topic was selected to provide community members a productive environment in which to explore what has been a controversial issue about the roles of neighborhoods and rural groups in community planning and development processes,” explained Mary Dumas, Leadership Whatcom Program Coordinator. This training is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required: info@whatcomcoalition.org, or 715-1061 to register.
The Productive Public Conversations are designed and hosted by alumni of the ten-month Leadership Whatcom program, sponsored by the Whatcom Coalition for Healthy Communities. “These free one-evening Conversations provide community members training in civil dialogue and an opportunity to practice strategies for keeping conversations productive and civil while exploring ‘hot issues’ we are facing in Whatcom County,” explains Joy Monjure, Leadership Whatcom volunteer. Participants leave these events with a toolkit of skills and resources to apply in their own organizations and communities.
Productive Public Conversations was one of the Top 100 ideas selected from 4,641 applications the Case Foundation received from every state in the country. Projects were evaluated not only on their subject matter, but also on the strength of the idea as an example of citizen-centered change.
"Response to the Case Foundation’s Make it Your Own program has been wonderful and we hope it's an indicator that now, more than ever, people want to work together, discuss together, and act together to develop solutions to challenges facing their communities," Case Foundation Social Investment Manager Michael Smith said. "Now, we will begin to work directly with these 100 semifinalists to refine and promote their ideas so they can realize their projects' full potential."
The Top 100 can be found on the Case Foundation website at www.CaseFoundation.org.
These projects’ online fundraising efforts will be jump-started with $100 from the Case Foundation. In February 2008, the top 20 finalists will be selected by a panel of judges and awarded $10,000 grants. Then the online community will select four ideas that will each receive an additional $25,000 grant.
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