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A National Dialogue for
the Future
of America's Waterway |
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 Purpose: Address pressing ecosystem and
economic issues in the Mississippi River
watershed through a dialogue of residents
and stakeholders representing the multiple
interests of the communities and people on
the River’s main stem and throughout its
watershed.
The Challenge: The
Mississippi River - 2,300 miles long and
serving nearly 18 million people in over 50
cities – is America’s great waterway,
economically, ecologically and culturally.
Yet it’s threatened by multi-agency
management and geographically isolated
policy. The Mississippi River suffers from
place-based approaches that not only fail to
address the whole watershed, they adversely
affect whole sections of the River and the
Gulf of Mexico. The result is the third
largest water drainage system in the world –
and its residents – suffer from national
neglect.
Strategy: Organize a
National Dialogue on the Future of the
Mississippi River using participatory technology: a computer on
every table and a keypad in every hand.
With internet connectivity, participants in
multiple locations along the Mississippi
River main stem – stakeholders from all the
River’s sectors – simultaneously develop and
vote on solutions and actions for the
Mississippi River and get beyond
location-specific approaches.
Goals: Conduct a
simultaneous dialogue on the future of the
Mississippi River in up to 20 river
communities. Participants across many states
will develop priorities and action items for
the whole River.
Highlights: |
- Conference design uses a
stakeholder representative steering
committee including funders, NGO
leaders, government, agriculture and
business leaders.
- Professionally-facilitated meeting production
to ensure optimum input from all
participants and adherence to the
Principles of Civic Engagement for
trusted and authentic outcomes.
- River-wide awareness building to set the
stage for expanded involvement,
including intensive efforts to increase
public awareness and support for
River-wide approaches.
- Technical expertise to ensure successful
teleconferencing operations on a
national scale – This assistance is
co-located at all the sites as well as
in a central coordinating site. It plays
a major role in ensuring that equipment
is collecting, tabulating and
transmitting at all times and in all
locations.
- Immediate feedback to the assembled
group plus final reports to community
groups, participants, media and key
stakeholders.
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For more information please email:
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