On September 19th and 20th, Quinnipiac’s Center on Dispute Resolution hosted a one and one-half day workshop on how to moderate deliberative dialogues, one of many dialogue methodologies used to bring citizens together to reason and talk and to deliberate about contentious public policy issues. The workshop, which was led by Loraine Della Porta and Bill Logue, guided participants through the National Issues Forum (NIF) model, which provides a way for people of diverse views and experiences to seek a shared understanding of the problem and search for common ground for action.
Participants learned how issues are framed for deliberation, how to convene and organize such forums, and how to facilitate a deliberative dialogue. They then had the opportunity to act as moderators and engage in a real dialogue session on important policies issues, including the opioid crisis and our current political system.