This guide - provided free by the Public Conversations Project out of Boston, MA, with support from the JAMS Foundation - is their definitive guide to conducting successful dialogues on divisive issues. According to their website: "This publication will take even a first-time practitioner step-by-step through the process while providing experienced facilitators enlightening new insights." 183 pages. By Laura Chasin & Maggie Herzig.

The Public Conversations Project Model is currently being used in Minnesota as part of the Minnesota Council of Churches' Respectful Conversations Project (sponsored by the Bush Foundation). For more info on that project:
http://www.mnchurches.org/respectfulcommunities/respectfulconversations....

The Citizen Professional Center of the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development advocates for professionals to rethink their role in society. They advocate for the "citizen professional," emphasizing "the role of professionals in rebuilding the civic life of communities in addition to their traditional role in providing specialized services to individuals." This concept encourages doctors, educators, therapists, social workers, and other professionals to perceive the role civic values and community engagement in their work. This link leads to a more detailed description of the "citizen professional."

Author Tom Atlee's comparative analysis of the major social trends outlined in two TIME magazine articles ("Dropout Economy" and "Twilight of Elites") with the Occupy Wall Street movement. "The spirit of our times is sending us a strong invitation to come together, and the Occupy movement may offer one significant way to do that." - Tom Atlee