WHYY Announces Community Forums
WHYY has announced a series of community forums. The first one is today.
WHYY’s hosting a series of “Community Election Forums” starting Wednesday night in Middletown. It’s part of the Penn Project for Civic Engagement. Forums will be held Wednesday at the Historical Society in Middletown, next Monday at the Biggs Museum in Dover, and Monday October 4 at the Delaware History Museum in Wilmington.
It’s designed to be a chance for voters to talk about what the most important issues of the campaign should be. Questions or issues could then be rolled into future stories and/or debates with the candidates.
If you’re interested in the election & want to learn more about the issues this sounds like a good opportunity.
CNN has also announced a televised debate for the Senate candidates, on October 13.
Delaware Senate candidates Christine O’Donnell (R) and Chris Coons (D) have accepted an invitation to participate in a debate on October 13.
The 90-minute debate will be anchored by CNN lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer and longtime Delaware public television anchor Nancy Karibjanian.
CNN will televise the debate, which will take place at the University of Delaware.
I wonder if this is a ticketed event?
Tags: Election 2010
I attended the MIddletown Event tonite, and thought I would report back about it. WHYY is conducting these forums to help them frame issues for their television debates, and I guess to spur healthy discussion among opposing viewpoints.
There were only 6 people in attendance, myself included. 3 tea-party members, and 3 relatively liberal people. We had some facilitated discussions, and developed some questions for them to use in their debates. I wound up in a break out group (pretty tough to do with only 6 participants) with a tea party couple. We discussed the constitution. That would not have been my choice.
They are doing a couple more – one in Dover on Monday and another one in Wilmington. Good to attend if you have interest in facilitated discussion with people with polar opposite viewpoints, and if you want the chance to help craft questions for the debates (and a chance to ask the question yourself). Don’t attend if you have no patience for the opposing viewpoint.
Im not a Kumbya type – good to know
Hey, I’m the organizer of the forums for WHYY. Good, fair post by “anonny” on the first forum. I’d just like to stress that while these are meant to be civil discussions, that does not mean enforced Kumbaya. We like a good disagreement, as opposed to nasty ones. It’s rare these days to actually spend time, in person, with people on the other side of the spectrum from you. Maybe that’s why there’s so much stupid, ill-informed namecalling. I like to think these forums are a rare opportunity to get to understand more fully how the other side thinks, and why. Not that you need to change your mind, or meet halfway. But it gives you a better sense of what arguments for your side will make the most sense to the other side. And at the very least you get to see that the other guys really don’t have horns.
Two more forums: Monday night at the Biggs in Dover. Free dinner begins at 6 p.m., program at 6:30. And Monday Oct. 4 at the Wilmington History Museum. Same times.
Hope to see you there. It’s more fun with 60 than wih 6.
Chris