Aug. 1, 2003

UO/E organizes nation's first bilingual issue forum

They were there to learn about a different way to make community decisions -- one that requires people to look for common ground in addressing contentious issues. Community development specialists, individuals who work with human rights organizations, social groups and migrant workers, and representatives of the Hispanic community in southwest Missouri attended "Discovering Common Ground," July 29-31, in Mount Vernon.

The bilingual training on conducting public issue forums was the first of its kind in the United States, says Sandy Hodge, MU extension public policy specialist. Manuals used for the training were translated into Spanish. The 31 participants, including six extension specialists, learned techniques for convening and moderating forums and participated in a forum on race relations, conducted in English and Spanish, to gain an understanding of the issue forum process.

"The Kettering Foundation is very interested in what is happening," said Hodge. "This process can contribute to more participatory and sustainable ways for communities in SW Missouri who have diverse ethnic populations to resolve community issues.

"Deliberation is the start. It gets people together, helps them to understand a problem and to see the issue from another person's point of view," Hodge says. "Participants already have expressed plans for using deliberation to make decisions."

The Mount Vernon workshop was supported with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. "Discovering Common Ground: Missouri Communities Deliberate" is funded through the Outreach Development Fund and is one of the curriculums for Community Decision Making and Governance, a UO/E named program.

		Eileen Yager, yagere@umsystem.edu Weekly News Editor Last modified: January 08, 2007
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