This section of the Toolkit offers some suggested formats for your Community Summit. The first format was successfully tested in a pilot Community Summit on Citizen Diplomacy in Arlington, Virginia, in April 2005.
These formats are offered as suggestions only The Coalition for Citizen Diplomacy encourages you to adapt these or other formats to your own local community interests.
In planning your Summit, please keep in mind that the focus of the Coalition for Citizen Diplomacy and the Community and National Summits initiative is the important role that ordinary citizens are playing and can play in building a Citizen Diplomacy movement to strengthen America's outreach to and interaction with the world. Community Summits should strive to produce specific recommendations and action plans that can be used to shape discussions at the National Summit on Citizen Diplomacy.
Inform your local, state, and national elected representatives about your summit and the Coalition initiative. Solicit their support, and invite their participation. Please remember to complete the ONLINE EVALUATION at www.citizen-diplomacy.org. By submitting your online evaluation, your community is guaranteed an invitation to the National Summit on Citizen Diplomacy in Washington, D.C., July 13-14, 2006.
If you are interested in more information on planning your Summit, please contact the Coalition for Citizen Diplomacy for additional instructive guides (info@citizen-diplomacy.org
Small Groups/Diverse Themes
- Each small group discusses a different theme related to Citizen Diplomacy. Topics should be determined ahead of time by the Coordinating Committee (please see suggested themes below).
- The stage can be set by community leaders and/or local officials giving openings remarks/presentations on Citizen Diplomacy and its importance in promoting international engagement.
- Small group input is prioritized in a full group session leading to a community action plan for strengthening Citizen Diplomacy.
Small Groups/Citizen Diplomacy Issues
- Several small groups discuss the same set of questions
- Each group has a volunteer moderator and a recorder.
- Suggested focus questions:
Why is Citizen Diplomacy important? How can our community become more engaged in Citizen Diplomacy? What does our community need to strengthen citizens' global engagement? What can we do at the local level to strengthen our community's global engagement? What are our community's international interests? - Small group findings/recommendations are then presented and discussed in the large group leading to a community action plan for strengthening Citizen Diplomacy.
- Three or four panelists, selected and invited by the Summit Coordinating Committee, make brief presentations on Citizen Diplomacy themes from list below or other pre-selected themes.
- Following the panelists' remarks, a moderator opens up the meeting for questions and dialogue.
- Key findings of the session are recorded for input into the Online evaluation.
Suggested Community Summit Themes
The following themes might serve as the
focus of your small or large group discussions. Feel free to use these themes
or select others that contribute to an open dialogue on Citizen Diplomacy.
(1) Community Support for Global Engagement. Focuses on how our community can promote community development at home and abroad (institutional, economic, and social programs) through partnerships and coalition building.
Key questions for participants:
- How are the business, civic, political, educational and other institutions and organizations in my community involved in the global community?
- What additional steps can these organizations take to strengthen and build financial support for global outreach?
Youth as Partners. Focuses on how youth can become more involved in the Citizen Diplomacy movement
Key questions for participants:
- How are young people internationally engaged in my community?
- What steps can be taken to support youth involvement in the Citizen Diplomacy movement in my community/nation?
Key questions for participants:
- How can my community enhance information sharing and education at the community level to promote better understanding of other cultures?
- What steps can be taken to make my community/nation more inclusive of citizens from different backgrounds?
(4) Opening Doors While Securing Borders. Focuses on how best to balance our interests in welcoming the world to the U.S. and ensuring our local and national security.
Key questions for participants:
- How do national security concerns affect our community's ability to engage internationally?
- What steps can my community/nation take to keep our doors open to well-meaning visitors while protecting our citizens from outside threats to our security and well-being?