Citizens Center for Public Life

Conduct deliberative dialogue forums and activities for citizen participation, and to build civic capacity, leadership, and community development skills through restorative and sustainable practices; and to aid in the procurement, development, dissemination, implementation, and evaluation of deliberative dialogue based educational materials, trainings, and programs; and support citizen led community projects and activities based on citizen solutions to difficult problems.

We have held many forums on topics ranging from How to Prevent Mass Shooting, The Opiod Epidemic, to The Land of Plenty - Assuring All Have Access to Healthy Food, and many more. Currently we are holding forums in a medium security prison twice a month to help incarcerated residents reenter communities and to reduce recidivism. Board members have used deliberative forums to hear the citizens voice in order to write community betterment grants. The Citizens Center for Public Life (CCPL) President has used deliberative dialogue to help design community programs since 1986. CCPL is based on deliberative dialogue as Kettering Foundation has researched DD as a means to "strengthen democracy" and learn what it takes to "make democracy work as it should." CCPL uses many of the issue books researched by Kettering Foundation (See: www.kettering.org) and published by the National Issues Forums Institute. (See: www.nifi.org )

Testimonials

Medium Security prison officials say that since Deliberative Dialogue forums have been held at the institution over the past three years the demeanor of the residents is more calm and they are more considerate of other's opinions. The residents tell the forums moderator that DD experiences are "giving them hope."
The Citizens Center for Public Life President has been involved in moderating and organizing deliberative dialogue community forums since 1986 and serves as an Ambassador to promote deliberative dialogue nationally. Once she retired from a community development position she developed the non-profit organization, the Citizens Center for Public Life, to continue deliberative dialogue efforts in the Midlands counties, the state of South Carolina and to promote deliberative dialogue where possible..