Full Circle Associates

Today I had the great fortune to sit in on a telephone call with some of US's leading dialog and deliberation practitioners/leaders. Our conversation was about how a collaborative and united effort by practitioners of a wide variety of participative methodologies might contribute to Katrina relief and recovery. We talked about many things, but from it I immediately wanted to pass along some resources -- some which resonate for those who read this blog and are interested in facilitation.

What are the conversations we are having and should convene that will support relief and recovery?

Relief:
Short term, for example, what conversations allow people affected by Katrina to express their emotions, vent, and tell their stories (and be listened to)? What processes might be in place to support the helpers as they face things that we are not prepared for? What conversations might help invent new processes for community building and safe, healthy care in large shelters where there may be a culture clash of strict, military protocol and the upward welling of human nurturance and community rebuilding?

Recovery and Rebuilding:
Already New Orlean's mayor has started the process of rebuilding planning. FEMA is awarding contracts. But what about the wishes of the people affected? How can we mobilize conversations NOW that include community members in envisioning the future that is congruent with their dreams, values and aspirations? For example, how can a Gulf Coast town create itself as it wishes to be, not just by what an external planner might think it should be? What are the possible visions and their pros and cons. Tom Atlee has been writing some great stuff about this, mostly via email (I should ask if I can repost here, but it would be great if he posted it to his blog) that is worth shining the "light" on via our blogs.

What Questions Should we Be Asking?
The National Coalition of Dialog and Deliberation has set up a Katrina Crisis - NcddWiki to help us think about what questions might be useful right now. Change will happen. It will happen fast.

Let's ask the right questions.

recovery2, katrina, hurricanekatrina, dialoganddeliberation, community_building