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Civic Knowledge and Skills That We All Need to Constructively Handle Intractable Conflict >
Reconciliation
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Civic Engagement

News and Opinion
Citizen Connect
A non-partisan platform to help Americans find ways to heal our political divides and strengthen our democracy by making it easy to find civic organizations and events of interest to all visitors.

Colleague Activities
Between Thick and Thin: Improving Public Engagement through a Wicked Problem Lens
One of the key concepts tied to deliberative engagement is the recognition that many of the issues we must engage in our communities can be best understood as wicked problems

BI Article
Peacebuilding, Linearity, and Civil Society
This essay explains how current concepts of civil society and their role in peacebuilding are primarily linear, not complex. By conceiving of civil society's role in building peace as a complex task, their role can be better understood and potenti

BI Article
The Functions of and Opportunities for Civil Society in Peacebuilding in Developing Countries
The opportunities for civil society groups to perform their peacebuilding functions remain enormous. However, it is imperative for civil society groups to realize that these opportunities have the capacity to become obstacles to peacebuilding as we

BI Article
Daniel Stid: A Big Question I Have Is...
Hope, vision, and place-based civic heath are key elements to our ability to navigate the turbulent times that have left so many of us in fear and despair.

BI Article
Martin Carcasson Talks with Heidi and Guy Burgess about Wicked Problems, Polarization, Deliberation, and Democracy
In an hour-long interview, Martin talks about the "wicked problem mindset" as a way to diminish polarization, and encourage collaboration, creativity, and healthy democracy, at least at the local level.

BI Article
Guy and Heidi Burgess Talk with David Eisner about Threats to Democracy and How to Address Those
The Burgesses talked with David Eisner about what he thinks the threats to democracy are, and how (and when) we might respond to them. We agreed, citizen involvement in governance is key.

BI Article
Daniel Stid -- PS: Three Further Reflections on "Pluralism in the Trump Era"
Daniel Stid's three key "take-aways" from a conference on Pluralism in Action: we have a choice between pluralism and war; political resistance and civic renewal are different tasks, and pluralism is not a field. See why!

BI Article
Better Together America: Another Example of Massively Parallel Democracy Building at Work
A report on Better Together America's first Hub Accelerator Workshop -- an inspiring get together of people from around the United States who are working in a wide variety of ways to strengthen civic engagement in their local communities.

BI Article
Daniel Stid: Civil Society and the Liberal Democratic Project
Defending civil society against attacks is not enough. We also need to cultivate the attributes that will make civil society more defensible – and worth defending.

Colleague Activities
National Civic League
The mission of the National Civic League is to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communities. We achieve this by inspiring, supporting and recognizing inclusive approaches to community decision-making.

Colleague Activities
The Future of Civil Society Organisations
From The International Civil Society Centre, an important report on the future of CSOs during and after the pandemic.

Colleague Activities
Can ChatGPT Boost Your Civic Engagement?
Here's a cautionary story about ChatGPT--it gets some things right, but surprisingly, seems to make other things up! (No surprise, actually, there are plenty of fake facts on the web for it to choose from.)

Colleague Activities
Network for Responsible Public Policy
NFRPP provides stories that educate, inform, foster civic engagement, and generate a sense of shared purpose to help keep US democracy dynamic and viable.

Colleague Activities
Collaborative for Compassionate Civic Engagement
A team of civic professionals and educators that serves as an advisory board to the Civic Crop. CCCE also designs and administers the Civic Service Skills Workshop.

Colleague Activities
Essay IX: Mapping the Healthy Democracy Ecosystem: Future of Citizenship
A series of essays exploring how democracy and citizenship are both evolving and threatened, and how people are thinking about and engaging in politics and community.

Colleague Activities
America's Healthy Democracy Ecosystem
An overview of the National Civic League's project trying to better coordinate the work of the many people and organhizations working on strengthening democracy in the United States.

Colleague Activities
Democracy Resource Hub
The Hub offers curated tools and connections for democracy practitioners worldwide. Access resources on civic engagement, nonviolent action, peacebuilding, and strategic planning, and joining the global community of dialogue practitioners.

Colleague Activities
The State of Civil Society Peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians
An astonishing report with detailed data showing that civil society peacebuilding is thriving in Israel, even during the war.

Colleague Activities
ICAN: International Civil Society Action Network
ICAN forcuses on women's rights, peace, and security, promoting inclusive and sustainable peace globally. It connects women peacebuilders across countries to break their isolation and learn from each other's experiences.

Colleague Activities
Panel discussion on generating the connective tissue of American civil society
A panel with authors, scholars, and practitioners at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, shares stories about where and how U.S. civic life is actually thriving.

Colleague Activities
CivxNow's State Policy Menu
This menus is designed to streamline policymakers' access to K--12 civic education policy recommendations.

News and Opinion
Global Civil Society in a Geopolitical Age: How Great Power Competition Is Reshaping Civic Activism
A major inquiry into an alarming threat -- major geopolitical actors who are trying (often in clandestine ways) to get civil society organizations to help them pursue their goals.

News and Opinion
A Path to Civic Pluralism
An insightful summary of the philosophic foundation of pluralistic democracy -- an essential component of any effort to build a diverse society that really works.

News and Opinion
Closing Civic Space in the United States: Connecting the Dots, Changing the Trajectory
From Rachel Kleinfeld, thoughts on opposing the use of regulations, laws, and narratives to restrict the ability of civil society organizations to act and speak.

News and Opinion
Can Humor Cure Outrage? Jonathan Bernstein Thinks So
David Beckemeyer talks to Jonathan Bernstein author of Election Day, a book that uses satire to inspire voter turnout and encourage civic engagement.