The topic of race relations has come to the forefront of many discussions in local communities as well as in national media. Concerns about racial tensions resulting in civil unrest evidenced by riots, arrests, and shootings prompted the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) to survey state Extension Directors. Their responses indicated that this issue was very relevant to Extension programs in many states and regions.
In September 2016, ECOP approved a Rapid Response Team (RRT) on Civil Discourse on Race Relations. This was the first piloting of the RRT model, a process also approved by ECOP and designed to take a prompt look at Cooperative Extension Services’ (CES) capacity to address an emerging issue.
The team identified resources and people in CES and curated a toolbox for use by anyone interested in learning more or programming in this area. They also developed a list of competencies for educators working in this area. Visit the Civil Dialogue website…
Fostering Meaningful Civic Engagement Webinar
Rachel Welborn, the Program Manager for the Southern Rural Development Center and the chair of the Rapid Response Team will discuss investments needed for engaging community members on important issues. Is the investment worth the return? What are the potential risks to engaging and also to not engaging? This webinar will explore these questions as well as showcase recent investments in civil dialogue by the first ECOP Rapid Response Team. June 30, 2017, at 2 pm EDT. Learn more or register for the webinar…