Issues Forums
This year, for the first time in history, all of the presidential libraries are cooperating to hold deliberative forums on several key issues facing the nation in the upcoming presidential elections. Each library will have a forum on health care, along with two other topics that the libraries feel are particularly relevant to residents in their areas, such as race relations, energy, or immigration.
In collaboration with the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum will host a series of discussions on public policy issues between Labor Day and Election Day this fall. All forums are open to the public and will be held in the Classroom of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at 7:00 pm.
Forums will be held:
- September 9, 2008
- September 23, 2008
- October 7, 2008
These forums are nonpartisan and are not formatted like typical political debates. Rather, they will be more like public discussions, giving citizens a chance to explore the costs and benefits of proposed courses of action. "Participants in a forum," NIFI chairman William Winter, said "deliberate with one another eye-to-eye, face-to-face, exploring options, weighing others' views, considering the costs and consequences of public policy decisions. In a democracy, citizens have a responsibility to make choices about how to solve problems and forums help enrich participants' thinking on public issues. By offering citizens a framework for deliberative forums, NIFI helps the public take an active role in acting on public issues."
The deliberative forums convened by the presidential libraries this fall should be rich with opportunities to hear the public voice that emerges when people talk through difficult issues.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Tracy Johnson (tracy.johnson@nara.gov or (979) 691-4014).