The Workshop on Deliberative Democracy and Dispute Resolution, sponsored by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, was a two-day conference held on June 24 – 25, 2005 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event brought together 30 individuals who share a common interest in civic engagement, but represent two distinct fields that approach the project very differently. One group included public dispute resolution professionals; the other, political theorists and innovative practitioners of deliberative democracy. The differences between the fields were revealed as participants engaged in four panel discussions regarding hypothetical scenarios depicting difficult moments in democratic practice. Participants shared their opinion on how to approach the problems in the scenario, and discussion ensued.
This video attempts to capture the most interesting moments of dialogue from the workshop in order to illustrate the overlaps and divisions of opinion both between and within the respective fields.