This summer I had the good pleasure of being invited to participate in the National Issues Forum’s Deliberative Democracy Exchange (DDEx).  Scholars, Educators, and Community Activists from around the world converged in Dayton, Ohio.  It was a week of engagement, actions planning, and policy discussions surrounding the preservation and promotion of democracy within diverse cultural, political, and economic contexts.  I had the chance to develop new networks with folks from around the country, as well as those coming from the middle east, who are fighting for liberation and democracy.  Many traveled from Africa, Central and South America, and parts of Europe where we all became profoundly impacted and connected during the week of engagement.

As a result of our participation we were given extraordinary access to the Kettering Foundation resources in the form of online PDFs and a great number of books (as shown above) .  These will go a long way in helping me to establish my academic library as part of my goal to enter the Professoriate upon completion of my Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.  At this point, I would also like to give a special”shoutout” and words of thanks and gratitude to Dr. William V. Muse, President of the National Issues Forum (NIF) and my former boss at the University of Akron.  It was his extending an invitation to me  that allow for my participation in the DDEX.  This was a wonderful experience and scholarly opportunity.  I will forever be grateful for having been invited to participate and contribute to the deliberative democracy¹ activities.

Note: ¹The NIF and Kettering Foundation define this process as moving beyond the theoretical statement stage of democracy work, to the action or working phase stages of deliberative democracy.

The Kettering Foundation. (n.d.) Deliberative Democracy and Accountability.  Retrieved from retrieved from http://kettering.org/videos/deliberative-democracy-and-accountability/