2007 Vancouver Conference

Conference 2007 with Simon Fraser University’s Dialogue Programs at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver 

The second Canadian Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation was held in Vancouver, B.C., on November 12-14, 2007.  Over 220 participants from across Canada and abroad attended the event, which consisted of a mix of plenary and concurrent sessions, for two and a half days.  The conference sessions and activities were held at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre and Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, which are located within a walking distance from each other. Simon Fraser University’s Dialogue Programs was a co-sponsor of the conference.

The planning for the conference began in November 2006, when the conference Steering Committee, consisting of 10 volunteers, was formed.  The members of the Steering Committee had regular weekly meetings through a conference call throughout the planning stage.  Over 100 volunteers contributed to the planning and organization of the 2007 Conference either as a member of one of the six sub-committees, chaired by Steering Committee members or as session leaders.

Conference Themes

The overall theme of the 2007 conference was: Facing Complex Issues Together.

The conference was designed to showcase D&D efforts initiated by local governments, community organizations, school boards, and provincial and federal agencies, in various fields including, among others, climate change, youth engagement, education, electoral reform, multiculturalism, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations, regional and urban planning, public safety, public finance, and healthcare.

The plenary and concurrent sessions, held throughout the 2.5-day event, were aimed at exploring the extent to which these efforts:

• Generate collaborative action on the global and local issues of our times;
• Facilitate better informed, balanced decisions by citizens and policy makers;
• Overcome conflict and increase understanding;
• Develop collective insight and intelligence; and
• Encourage citizens to be actively involved in their communities.

Conference Objectives

The objectives of the 2007 conference were to:

• Continue to cultivate the conditions for a Canadian community of practice, research and policy for D&D;
• Enhance skills in designing, facilitating and leading D&D activities; and
• Highlight applied research on key questions and outcomes related to D&D cases and contexts.

Conference Activities

The activities that took place during the 2007 conference included the following:

• Plenary sessions – opening, interactive and closing plenary; 
• Concurrent sessions (34 sessions for durations ranging between 1.25 and 3 hours); 
• An opening reception;
• A special evening session;
• “Tapas” sessions – six concurrent sessions where participants spent time with an artist(s) to experience what arts bring to processes of engagement, inquiry and creating the conditions for understanding and action;
• Poster sessions;
• A “Listening Corner” – a place created at the conference venue where participants, as they felt/needed, could go to talk things over to volunteer “Listeners”, who in turn brought their concerns or ideas to the conference planners for follow-up and action;
• “Emergent Open Space” – a process in which participants identified their topic by writing it on a large poster of available slots/spaces, which was then announced to all the participants;
• Conference blog – a blogging station with two computers and instructions was set up at the conference venue, enabling participants to express and share their insights or responses to various sessions through the conference blog; and
• Optional night-cap sessions. Informal evening sessions on a selection of issues and themes

The conference was designed to be interactive, participatory and inclusive of diverse ideas.