The Living Room Conversations Host Toolkit gives you everything you need to have great conversations with family, friends, co-workers, and even people you’ve never met.

Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) is a national nonpartisan project that helps administrators, faculty, staff and student leaders at America’s colleges and universities engage students in federal, state and local elections, working to promote a more equitable and inclusive democracy, and to overcome the ever-changing barriers to voting.

A Crucible Moment calls on educators and public leaders to advance a 21st century vision of college learning for all students—a vision with civic learning and democratic engagement an expected part of every student’s college education.

Given such a hostile political environment, is calm, rational public discourse even possible anymore? I submit that we do not have to throw up our hands in frustration and shy away from political discussion; fruitful conversations can take place even in the most unlikely of settings—the workplace.

This packet of workshop materials is designed to assist experienced facilitators in training others to facilitate politically charged conversations. To many on campuses, the scenarios within will look familiar. The materials are broken into "modules" and facilitation trainers can use all or some of them to fit their needs.

Talking about controversial topics with your political opposite can feel like an exercise in futility. One tip, experts say, is to establish common ground as quickly as you can.

Representing the work of the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012), the report builds a strong case for higher education’s responsibility, in collaboration with the larger society, for assuring that all students have the skills and knowledge they need to become informed, civically engaged citizens. This article is intended to complement A Crucible Moment by focusing in greater depth on civil discourse and the crucial need for colleges and universities to commit strongly to its survival.

Project Pericles is a vibrant consortium of 30 colleges and universities that promotes civic engagement within higher education. Building on the innovative vision of Eugene M. Lang, Project Pericles works in the classroom, on the campus, and in the community. Project Pericles is at the forefront of civic engagement and social responsibility in areas including faculty and course development, curricular coherence, and research into best practices. We empower college students by giving them the tools they need to engage effectively in the democratic process and the lives of their communities.

Dialogue and deliberation are most useful when people see a discrepancy between what is happening and what they think should be happening in the world or on an issue–yet there is no widespread agreement or shared understanding about what specifically should change.