NEWS

Community discussions are often virtual these days, but they are still critically important. (Note: this photo was from an event hosted by the Ada Jenkins Center.)

A new effort to bridge our divides and bring our community together, Davidson College’s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI), is recruiting Davidsonians who are interested in engaging with one another on important, contentious societal issues.

Funding from The Duke Endowment enabled the formation of Deliberative “D” Teams that met regularly this fall to discuss topics such as healthcare, the political system, policing and the legacies of slavery.

These discussions were facilitated by Deliberative Citizenship Fellows trained and certified by the DCI. They also hosted forums on voting and the future of democracy and developed a range of resources to help citizens talk about difficult topics.

The group hopes to expand participation in these activities this year, motivated in part by the recent insurrection at the Capitol. “We are more committed than ever to this work of building our democracy, one conversation at a time,” said Davidson College professor and DCI faculty director Graham Bullock.

Toward that goal, the DCI is forming additional “SkillBuilder” and “BridgeBuilder” teams for the spring, and invites interested parties to apply by January 18. Membership is open to the wider Davidson community—college students and employees, as well as town residents.

Members this spring will engage in structured discussions facilitated by the DCI’s Fellows on topics including COVID, the environment, economic mobility, and policies relating to gender and sexuality. The DCI will also be hosting additional forums and speakers in the spring. For more information and to sign-up for updates, visit: https://deliberativecitizenship.org/.