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NextGen Roundtable: Educator Summit on Civil Discourse

November 10-13, 2026 | Dallas, Texas

A summit for educators hosted by Close Up and the Stanford University Deliberative Democracy Lab.

 

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Help your students build their facilitation and deliberation skills.

As high school students gather in Dallas this November for the NextGen Roundtable: Deliberative Youth Summit, educators are invited to take part in a concurrent professional development opportunity to give students the skills to engage with different perspectives and lead from a place of consensus. Educators will participate in Close Up-led workshops designed to build facilitation and deliberation skills, observe parts of the student deliberation that best display the power of deliberative dialogue, and develop tangible ways to support student leaders as they bring this important work back to their schools and communities.   

Conference Highlights

 

Themes of the educator program will include:   

  • Introduction to Deliberation and Facilitation: Unpack the process of deliberation, why we should deliberate, and what deliberation brings to individuals, schools, and communities. Practice the techniques to sustain unbiased classroom deliberation, take part in a model deliberation, and consider the challenges and possibilities of infusing more deliberation into curriculum.  
  • AI and Technology in Schools: Participate in a deliberation about the implementation, ethics, and drawbacks of AI technology in educational settings. Consider the challenges and possibilities of engaging with AI in schools and hear from a panel of experts in the field.   
  • Engaging with Controversial Issues: Learn practical techniques to help students focus on issues rather than politics, to establish norms that foster empathy and civil discourse, and to apply a values framework to policy issues to engage in productive discourse.   
  • Navigating a Fractured Media Landscape: Develop skills and knowledge to foster students’ ability to critically evaluate media messages, dissect competing claims, and draw their own conclusions about important issues.   

 

Conference Details

 

Dates: Wednesday, November 11, 2026-Friday, November 13, 2026 

*Schools attending with a cohort of students must arrive on Tuesday, November 10. 

Cost: The conference tuition is $1,785 and includes hotel accommodations (three nights), all sessions, presentations, and lunches. 

Location: The summit will take place at a hotel in Dallas, Texas. Students and faculty advisors will be housed at the same hotel.  

REGISTER >

 

  • Interested in bringing students to the NextGen Roundtable: Deliberative Youth Summit?

 

 

FAQs

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671 N. Glebe Road, Suite 900
Arlington, VA 22203

703-706-3300 or 800-CLOSE UP

CST-1002082-40:
Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.

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