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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Winter 2016 Programming <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#660033'>Civics for Adults Community Workshops: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='color:#660033'>Enhancing Civic Knowledge / Inspiring Political Engagement<span style='mso-ligatures:standard'><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Our democracy is strengthened when citizens have accurate knowledge.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“Donna brought a balanced, informed set of discussion points and fact-checking sources on voting, taxes, citizenship, and other topics that sometime turn politics from polite conversation to heated argument. Attendees left feeling that they had enjoyed a robust and meaningful dialog on important issues.” Sarah Jesudason, Librarian <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"AR BLANCA";color:#660033'>NEW!</span></b><b><span style='font-family:"Impact",sans-serif;color:#660033'> </span><span style='color:#660033'>Being a “Citizen Lobbyist” – Advocating for your community, state and nation.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Lobbyist” is a word that usually conjures up negative images and feelings. But efforts by citizens to influence government to improve the “commonweal” – the common good – are just another form of lobbying. We will cover different methods, including both those within “the system” and outside of it. Participants will learn how to quickly find information on public officials, how to find state and federal legislation and how to keep track of bills, the means for letting government officials know what you think – including public committees, providing testimony on legislation and speaking at public hearings-, grassroots options for community involvement, and more. Many people complain; far fewer actually advocate for positive change. Sometimes all it takes to transform one into the other is for people to learn more about what community advocacy encompasses.<span style='color:black;mso-ligatures:standard'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><i>Workshop includes real life examples from facilitator’s recent successful advocacy experiences.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>Misinformation and Political Propaganda</b><span style='font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#660033'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>We are overwhelmed with messages from politicians, news sources and other media. Learn to distinguish truth from fiction using critical thinking strategies. The workshop uses real world examples of political ads, news headlines, logical fallacies, graphs / charts, the effect of word choice in messaging, statistical data and other types of information in a “what do you see here? / what is missing?” type of format. <span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:standard'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>The last part is about finding accurate information. The goal is to help people become their own “factchecker”. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> <i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“Useful info for using library databanks to search for pertinent information. Really enjoyed the workshop”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“It was nice to talk about poll sources and look at information in context.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“It’s good to question assertions of any kind, especially timely in this election year. I liked Donna’s <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>examples of real ads and how we need to be mentally vigilant.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'> <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:4.0pt'> <span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='color:#660033'>The Influence of the Constitution on Political Conversation<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>By looking back at the creation of the Constitution we puncture some myths and develop a broader perspective on its significance – perspective that helps us evaluate current political events more thoughtfully. The goal is to help people appreciate that at times a person’s [especially a politician’s] explanation about the Constitution may be manipulative rather than truly informative.<span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal> <i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“Amazing what was done [the creation of the Constitution] and what issues still remain.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“Every citizen should take this serious look at our Constitution.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“Good level of history and contemporary political ideas, their evolution and relevance to today.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'> <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='color:#660033'>Beyond Voting: Elections and Campaign Finance<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>This is a unique workshop covering 20 topics related to our electoral systems and presenting specific ideas for bi-partisan civic/political engagement. Covering:<span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#262626'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-variant:small-caps;color:#262626'>Voting as Constitutional right, Voter Rights, Voter Fraud, Voter Registration, Voter Turnout, Felon voting, Instant Runoff Elections, Redistricting, Superdelegates, Electoral College, National Popular Vote, Campaign Financing, SuperPACS and 501(c)4s, Contribution Limits, Dark Money, Disclosure, Elected Officials Time Spent Fundraising, Public attitudes about Money in Politics, Oregon’s Campaign Finance Database, Public Financing of Elections<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#262626'> </span><i><span style='font-size:11.5pt;color:#1F497D'>“</span></i><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Thanks for all the great information… It was empowering.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“I consider myself a well-informed citizen but I learned a great deal of new information. ... got an urge to be more engaged in civic activity.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>“I came because I feel in this election year what the media is reporting is very different from what is happening. I feel like our voices do not have the power they once had and want to find out how we can remedy this. This talk was very informational and gave me some ideas of how to make a difference starting locally.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>“<i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Thanks so much for this interesting and engaging workshop on civics.” </span><span style='color:black;mso-ligatures:standard'><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Donna<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Donna L Cohen, MEd, MLIS<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Portland, Oregon<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>503-737-1425<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>citizen@civicthinker.net<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='color:#9E0000'>Civics for Adults Workshop Series: To Enhance Civic Knowledge and Inspire Political Engagement<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='color:#9E0000'>Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Civics-for-Adults-1490728887922036/<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal> <span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>