On Wednesday April 20, 2022, at 7:30-9:00 pm, Professor Woolpert of the Politics Department at St. Mary’s College is hosting  a webinar, “ Healing Our Democracy in a Digital World.” (See event details here.) This interactive webinar is the first he will host this year, with one more planned for September 2022.

The program will begin with a discussion between the panelists, conservative John Gale and progressive Joan Blades. The discussion will be followed by small group conversations and Q&A when attendees will be invited to join breakout groups to discuss several questions. The breakout groups will last no more than 45 minutes total, and will be limited in size to 5-6 people each. The groups will receive prompts to discuss, with time limits for each.

Each breakout room will have an assigned facilitator. The facilitators’ role will be to keep track of the time and keep the group’s discussion on topic. Guidelines will be provided for the facilitators to use.  Professor Woolpert has asked if the League of Women Voters can provide volunteer facilitators for this event. Before the event, he will host a Zoom meeting with facilitators to discuss their role and answer questions.

This non-partisan event is an opportunity for the League to partner with others to support civil dialogue about how much social media affects our polarized democracy, for better or for worse. 

Please contact Diane Bianchi at programs [at] lwvdv.org () by March 31st to volunteer to be a facilitator.