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Student Deliberations

Through our NextGen Roundtable series, we’re building students’ deliberative skills to foster critical thinking and reasoned dialogue.

The skills of deliberation are needed now more than ever.

Young Americans are coming of age at a trying time, one that is too often defined by political polarization and a lack of understanding and cooperation across differences. In this landscape, the skills and practices of deliberation are more essential than ever, offering a key to understanding policy issues from multiple perspectives, making informed decisions, and acting cooperatively in the best interests of entire communities.

Introducing NextGen Roundtable, Close Up’s series of local and national deliberative events and trainings bringing a culture of deliberation to schools and communities nationwide.

 

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Practice the skills of deliberation through NextGen Roundtable.

Drawing upon Close Up’s 50+ years of experience in nonpartisan, issue-centered education and expanding on the historic gathering of America in One Room: The Youth Vote, NextGen Roundtable events are centered around building and practicing the skills of deliberation.

  • One-Day Youth Summits: Our day-long regional workshops—from Miami to Dallas to here in Washington, D.C.—gather student cohorts from area schools and organizations to deliberate community and national issues and hear from a panel of policy experts.
  • Week-Long Institutes: In-depth deliberative institutes, such as our NextGen Roundtable: AI & Democracy Summer Institute at Stanford University, help students take a deeper dive into policy, engage with experts, and network with peers.
  • Facilitation Trainings for Students: This two-part series for students includes an initial facilitation training for student leaders (and/or faculty members) followed by an opportunity for students to participate in a community-wide deliberation.
  • Professional Development for Educators: Our comprehensive PD gives teachers and students the skills, strategies, and resources to make deliberation an everyday practice.

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Learn about this summer’s NextGen Roundtable events at Stanford University and in Washington, D.C.!

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Join students across the country for an online deliberation!

Deliberation has been shown to alleviate polarization, moderate opinions, and produce lasting effects on policy opinions, voting intention, and mutual respect. That’s why Close Up and Stanford’s Deliberative Democracy Lab (DDL) are hosting free, ongoing, online deliberations to engage students nationwide using Stanford’s AI-assisted Online Deliberation Platform. Each event includes 60 minutes of small-group deliberation on current policy issues followed by a 60-minute plenary session with experts and policymakers, giving students a chance to learn from an array of perspectives and form their own considered opinions.

Stay tuned for more information about our next national online deliberation!

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