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misinformation
Nov. 30, 2020
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Eastern)

Mythbusting Squad Training

Organizer: RepresentUs

Misinformation about election fraud is rampant on social media, especially on Twitter. These baseless stories are sowing doubts in the validity of our election and undermining our democracy. Our Mythbusting team is designed to activate volunteers like you by providing the resources and tools you need to find misinformation on social media at its source, and debunk that misinformation directly.

We will train you on our Twitter search tool Tweetdeck and get you started debunking false and misleading claims about the election at the source.

Location: Webinar

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congress
Dec. 1, 2020
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (Eastern)

‘Congress Overwhelmed’: A book event with Kevin R. Kosar, Lee Drutman, and Timothy M. LaPira

Organizer: American Enterprise Institute

The Constitution established Congress as the source for all governance authority. Yet Congress is falling short. It is increasingly uninvolved in setting policy, dodging society's most pressing issues. Its budget process is broken, and congressional oversight frequently is little more than a partisan performance. Legislators act like reality television contestants. What happened to the first branch? And how might Congress reclaim its preeminent role in our constitutional system?

Please join AEI for a panel discussion with the editors of "Congress Overwhelmed: The Decline in Congressional Capacity and Prospects for Reform" (University of Chicago Press, 2020) as they consider why Congress has become such an enfeebled institution and how it can reclaim its vigor.

Location: Livestream

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voter identification
Dec. 1, 2020
7:00 PM (Eastern)

Hamilton Winter Ball

Organizer: Vote Riders

RSVP now for an unforgettable Winter Ball hosted by VoteRiders and our Hamilton Ambassadors.

Join us for a cozy evening of holiday cheer and letter-writing with some extra love for Georgia voters!

We're only weeks away from the U.S. Senate Runoff — and the stakes couldn't be higher. Every personal letter we send delivers critical voter ID information and assistance directly to a Georgian who needs it.

Location: Virtual

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corruption
Dec. 3, 2020
12:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Eastern)

National Phonebank to Fight Corruption Around the U.S.

Organizer: RepresentUs

Take action on the most urgent and impactful anti-corruption campaigns in the U.S. The Call Team helps win campaigns through the most effective voter outreach method: one-to-one contact. Call Team members activate the movement through phonebanks, turning people out to events, connecting them to their representatives, and encouraging them to volunteer for local campaigns. Ready to get started?

Location: Webinar

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electoral college
Dec. 3, 2020
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM (Pacific)

Becoming A Democracy: How We Can Fix the Electoral College, Gerrymandering, and Our Elections with author Kristin Eberhard

Organizer: Fix Democracy First

Join us for a special book release event for "Becoming A Democracy: How We Can Fix the Electoral College, Gerrymandering, and Our Elections" with author Kristin Eberhard. This should be the last American election that works against the people. Kristin Eberhard, Director of the Democracy Program at Sightline Institute, has thoughtfully researched how the US election system is unjust, poorly designed, or broken, and walks you through 10 big but practical ideas for making our elections free, fair, and secure. Becoming a Democracy is a field guide to the most viable upgrades for our elections, so that America can truly be governed by and for the people.

Location: Webinar

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civil discourse
Dec. 10, 2020
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Can Political Consultants Fix American Politics?

Organizer: Project on Ethics in Political Communication

Join the Project on Ethics in Political Communication for a conversation about how political consultants can make American political discourse less awful. Project director Peter Loge will lead a discussion with Susan Del Percio (crisis communication expert, public affairs strategist and senior advisor to the Lincoln Project), Oren Shur (senior Democratic strategist and the director of SKDKPolitical) and Nikita Sibley (graduate student in the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University and the veteran of several Florida campaigns).

Location: Webinar

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big picture
Dec. 11-12, 2020

Winning Reforms: Wrap Up & Gear Up

Organizer: National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers

The virtual conference, NANR's final virtual event of of 2020, will share successes and missed opportunities from the 2020 election cycle, provide skills training for organizations and leaders, as well as opportunities to network and collaborate with attendees.

Friday, December 11 will feature important talks from Citizen Data's Mindy Finn, National Vote at Home Institute's Amber McReynolds, IVC Media's Chad Peace, and more. Saturday, December 12 will include workshops, briefings, and discussion groups on 2020 campaign lessons, common challenges campaigns face, the next steps for beyond 2021.

Location: Virtual

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congress
Dec. 15, 2020
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Eastern)

Freshmen Spotlight: How to Build Relationships with New Members of Congress

Organizer: Congressional Management Foundation

Many advocates wake up the morning after elections to discover that their long-standing champions for their cause have been sent packing, causing a scramble to cultivate new congressional proponents on the Hill. Based on CMF research, including the first-ever survey of freshmen congressional offices in 2019, participants will learn about what it's like to set up and work in a freshman congressional office and how that impacts the strategies that many advocates commonly use to introduce themselves to new Members of Congress. This webinar is for citizen advocates as part of the Partnership for a More Perfect Union.

Location: Webinar

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redistricting
Jan. 6-8, 2021

NCSL Virtual Redistricting Seminar

Organizer: National Conference of State Legislators

If you are a legislator, legislative staffer, a commissioner, a commission staffer, an outside advocate or just an interested member of the public, this virtual seminar is for you. In three days, NCSL will deliver knowledge and practical instruction that you can customize for your state and your role in the process.

Expect answers to:

  • What's the legal landscape for redistricting?
  • What technology is available for redistricting?
  • What data are useful to use for redistricting?
  • How do states balance various principles and priorities when they redistrict?
  • How do you involve the public in the process?
Location: Virtual

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congress
Jan. 29, 2021
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Eastern)

The VIRTUAL Citizen-Advocate's Toolkit

Organizer: Congressional Management Foundation

Regardless of the Covid-19 pandemic, keeping in touch with constituents is among the most important job aspects for Members of Congress. With most Members of Congress taking steps to observe social distancing protocols, congressional offices quickly adopted the use of virtual platforms to communicate with the people they represent. This presentation will highlight and provide tips for effectively using virtual advocacy strategies for engaging lawmakers including virtual meetings, emailing staff, social media, online and telephone town hall meetings, and more.

Location: Webinar

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civil discourse
Feb. 12, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (Eastern)

Introduction to Dialogue Across Differences

Organizer: Essential Partners

This one-day workshop uses real-world case studies to introduce participants to the theory and practice of EP's Reflective Structured Dialogue framework. For three decades, our unique approach has transformed conflicts across the country and the world—but the basic principles of EP's framework are applicable to local community issues, organizational development, congregations, and everyday conversations.

Intentional communication helps individuals, organizations, and communities build trust, enhance resilience, and engage in constructive conversations despite deeply-held differences of value, belief, opinion, or identity. This workshop provides a set of simple tools to achieve those goals.

Location: 186 Alewife Brook Pkwy, Suite 212, Cambridge, MA

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congress
March 31, 2021
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Eastern)

Power Shifts in Washington: How Elections Affect Advocacy Strategies

Organizer: Congressional Management Foundation

A new Congress means new committee and subcommittee chairs, new alliances, and significant changes in the political terrain on Capitol Hill. When power shifts in Congress from one political party to the other, an advocate who may have been represented by an anonymous backbencher the year before might become the conduit to the most important legislator for their cause. This presentation will show advocates the value of identifying key committee chairs; and why some citizen advocates have more influence than others in specific parts of the legislative process.

Location: Webinar

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congress
April 30, 2021
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Eastern)

Backstage Pass: Behind the Scenes of Congressional Decision Making

Organizer: Congressional Management Foundation

Many Americans believe that lawmakers are unreachable – that they don't care about what constituents think and that influencing legislative outcomes is impossible and a waste of time. Yet CMF research shows that Members of Congress strongly believe that constituents are a valuable and informative resource in the decision-making process. Your "backstage pass" will dispel myths about Congress and provide practical strategies on how decisions are really made and by whom.

Location: Webinar

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civil discourse
May 17-19, 2021

Urgency of Civility: A Springboard for Action

Organizer: The Urgency of Civility

The planning for the 2021 Urgency of Civility has already started! The 2021 Urgency of Civility conference will be May 17-19, 2021. Mark the date in your calendar.

The location of the 2021 conference will at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. We will have one evening session at the US Capital Building, home of the US Congress in Washington D.C.

Location: George Washington Masonic National Memorial, 101 Callahan Dr., Alexandria, VA

Learn More

civil discourse
May 21, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (Eastern)

Introduction to Dialogue Across Differences

Organizer: Essential Partners

This one-day workshop uses real-world case studies to introduce participants to the theory and practice of EP's Reflective Structured Dialogue framework. For three decades, our unique approach has transformed conflicts across the country and the world—but the basic principles of EP's framework are applicable to local community issues, organizational development, congregations, and everyday conversations.

Intentional communication helps individuals, organizations, and communities build trust, enhance resilience, and engage in constructive conversations despite deeply-held differences of value, belief, opinion, or identity. This workshop provides a set of simple tools to achieve those goals.

Location: 186 Alewife Brook Pkwy, Suite 212, Cambridge, MA

Register

civil discourse
June 17-18, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (Eastern)

Advanced Facilitation Skills Workshop

Organizer: Essential Partners

Anyone who leads meetings can be thrown off balance in difficult moments. The difficulty might be an unexpected tension among group members or challenges to the facilitator's legitimacy. As a facilitator, you avoid "deer in headlights" moments by developing the capacity to stay cool and think on your feet.

This workshop helps experienced facilitators navigate these delicate, confrontational, or explosive moments effectively, with purpose and poise. The curriculum leverages reflective practices and real-world scenarios to develop a facilitator's existing tools to meet the needs of the most challenging circumstances.

Location: Webinar

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congress
June 30, 2021
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Eastern)

Grassroots’ Return on Investment: Turning Advocacy into $$$ for Your Network

Organizer: Congressional Management Foundation

Why do so many nonprofits, associations and companies have headquarters in Washington, DC or at least a Washington office? (Hint: this is not a trick question.) Obviously, these groups understand that decisions made in Washington can have a big impact on their members, agencies, employees, and their operations. This program will unpack results from CMF's survey of national advocacy groups and the government relations professionals who represent them, and will examine advocacy strategies that groups primarily invest in, why, and how much those strategies influence congressional decisions. The program also presents research on how advocacy departments can add value not just to an organization's legislative agenda, but to the financial bottom line of the group and its network.

Location: Webinar

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congress
Sept. 30, 2021
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Eastern)

Stay-cation Advocacy: Building Relationships Back Home

Organizer: Congressional Management Foundation

Members of Congress often are harried and overbooked when in Washington. Interacting with lawmakers back home can be the best strategy to get "quality time" with key decision makers. In this session, participants will learn about who lawmakers listen to and why; the most effective tactics and strategies to use in the district or state; how to build long-term relationships with lawmakers and their staff; and the best opportunities for setting up meetings and events back home.

Location: Webinar

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civil discourse
Nov. 18, 2021
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (Eastern)

Introduction to Dialogue Across Differences

Organizer: Essential Partners

This one-day workshop uses real-world case studies to introduce participants to the theory and practice of EP's Reflective Structured Dialogue framework. For three decades, our unique approach has transformed conflicts across the country and the world—but the basic principles of EP's framework are applicable to local community issues, organizational development, congregations, and everyday conversations.

Intentional communication helps individuals, organizations, and communities build trust, enhance resilience, and engage in constructive conversations despite deeply-held differences of value, belief, opinion, or identity. This workshop provides a set of simple tools to achieve those goals.

Location: 186 Alewife Brook Pkwy, Suite 212, Cambridge, MA

Register

congress
Dec. 31, 2021
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Eastern)

Using Research to Connect the Dots Between You and Your Lawmaker

Organizer: Congressional Management Foundation

Despite the narrative presented by Hollywood and the media, lawmakers are people too. Before being elected, they had careers, attended schools and universities, or volunteered in their community. This presentation will explore strategies for using research to connect the dots between issues advocates care about to those that their Members care about.

Location: Webinar

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