The opening plenary of Hamline University School of Law Dispute Resolution Institute’s 2015 symposium, “An Intentional Conversation About Public Engagement and Decision-Making: Moving from Dysfunction and Polarization to Dialogue and Understanding,” sought to frame a deep and engaged discussion of the most challenging questions and concerns about public engagement. The opening session’s theme leaders approached the conversation from very different backgrounds: a former majority leader of the Minnesota Senate, a county commissioner, the state commissioner of Human Rights, the executive director of the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs, a columnist from the Star Tribune, the senior vice president of the Public Conversations Project of Boston, and the leader of Black Lives Matter—Saint Paul. Each theme leader raised unique questions and concerns about the challenges of public engagement from their different standpoints.
The theme leaders posed important questions to the authors and the audience on how to reach out, include, and insure the involvement of a broad range of communities and constituencies in the public process. We heard about the importance of designing processes that are accessible to the diverse needs and life situations of citizens from very different economic, social, racial, ethnic, and identity situations. We also heard about the importance of processes that encourage and support broad and diverse participation. Finally, we were challenged to remember the importance of processes that assure that decision-makers hear, understand, and seriously consider the many voices brought together around public issues.