Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Citizens to discuss America's place in the world at National Issues Convention in Philadelphia

Photos and story by James Hill

Portland, Ore. – More than 325 Americans, a demographically representative sample of the nation, will convene in Philadelphia Jan. 10-12 to engage in deliberative dialogues about America’s role in the world. At the National Issues Convention, hosted by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, citizens will meet in small group sessions, led by moderators experienced with National Issues Forums deliberative dialogues. Neal Naigus, community relations manager at Portland Community College, directs the Public Policy Institute for PCC. He is experienced in facilitating public policy discussion.According to Naigus, the convention is the kick-off event for "By the People: America in the World,"a 16-month program designed to help Americans better understand how they see themselves in relation to the rest of the world and to stimulate discussion of the country’s role in world events. One goal is to initiate an ongoing, informed public dialogue on international affairs that will be continued in communities around the country. The dialogues will also provide valuable information about how citizens feel about this issue after having an opportunity to grapple with what they value, but also with their concerns about various approaches to dealing with the issue."With the National Issues Convention, we want to increase awareness of and interest in international issues among all Americans,"said Dan Werner, president of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. "Citizens from across the country who in their diversity and differences actually reflect the nation will be in Philadelphia to explore different aspects of the international issues that so profoundly affect our daily lives."The citizen-delegates, recruited by the Survey Research Center at the University of California at Berkley, will participate in a Deliberative Opinion Poll developed by James S. Fishkin, director of the DOP Center at the University of Texas. The DOP will illustrate the values and opinions of an informed citizenry on U.S. and international affairs. It will track the changes in the participants’ values and opinions before and after taking part in interactive policy dialogue and information sessions. A live two-hour PBS special on Jan. 12, at 1 p.m., PST, the final day of the convention, will feature discussions among the citizen-delegates, elected leaders and policy experts moderated by Jim Lehrer, anchor and executive editor of "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."The findings of the Deliberative Opinion Poll will be announced at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on January 13. The original National Issues Convention, held in Austin, Texas, in 1996, succeeded in raising awareness about the important national issues at the heart of that year’s presidential election. National Issues Forums and By the People will provide background information for the citizen-delegates, which outline public policy issues and four perspectives or approaches to addressing each issue. The information offers choices that reflect widely held concerns and principles, and the costs, consequences, and trade-offs that may accompany each of the approaches.National Issues Forums (NIF) is a nonpartisan nationwide network of individuals and groups who convene locally sponsored public forums for the consideration of difficult public issues. These forums are rooted in the notion that citizens need to come together to reason and talk?to deliberate about common problems?in order to maintain a vital democracy. A number of local public broadcasting stations and a network of participating alliance organizations will be working with By the People and the National Issues Forums over the next year. Some of these alliance organizations are the League of Women Voters, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, local chapters of the World Affairs Council, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, the Federation of State Humanities Councils, the American Library Association and CityCares.