February 13, 2018
CECD to Host Community Engagement Symposium April 12
Powerful Dialogue: Engaging Community Issues in Polarizing Times
8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. | Thursday, April 12 | K-State Student Union
As we witness nearly every day, the public is not content to merely wait for elections to address our civic problems. Rhetoric and dialogue are everywhere, making voices heard on a host of urgent issues. The 2018 engagement symposium explores how community voice can be harnessed and focused to most effectively address communities' most pressing issues. This year's symposium will feature faculty, student and community presentations around a variety of topics, including: affordable housing, improving health, racism, food access, heritage preservation and water. In each instance, we will highlight how dialogue and deliberation are essential in understanding an issue, in providing a voice to both policymakers and those impacted by policy, and in addressing the issue.
The 2018 engagement symposium keynote address will be provided by Dr. Martín Carcasson, director of Colorado State University's Center for Public Deliberation. Dr. Carcasson is a noted theorist, practitioner and educator in the field of deliberative democracy. His Center for Public Deliberation is nationally known for educating students and working closely with community partners to address local and state issues.
The symposium includes a mid-day workshop by Aliah Mestrovich Seay, K-State Research and Extension, on depolarization using the Intercultural Development Inventory. Activities conclude with an evening charrette on affordable housing at the Manhattan Public Library, 629 Poyntz Ave.