The League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley is a non-partisan, non-profit organization and our mission is to make democracy work. In order for this to happen, civic engagement must be strong and everyone must feel welcome to participate without fear of criticism or intimidation. We provide citizens with access to the information, skills, and resources they need to play an active role in this civic engagement.

• Civil Discourse: How to engage in democratic debate and exercise your First Amendment rights effectively by listening to understand, looking for common ground, and actively speaking up without starting a showdown in public, online, or in private.

For more information, see: Civil Discourse - What You Need to Know. 
Also see: Our Commitment to Civil Discourse.

• Media Literacy: How to verify reliable information that you can share with family and friends and to discern what constitutes misinformation or disinformation:
• Misinformation: Inadvertently sharing false information without the intent to harm. (Example: Your sister says that the latest local bill will raise taxes because that’s what she heard from a trusted friend.)
• Disinformation: Intentionally sharing false information with the intent to mislead.(Example: Your sister lies that the latest local bill will raises taxes because she knows that’s the only way you won’t support it.)

For more information, see Mis and Disinformation - What You Need to Know.

• Staffing a table at community events to explain and distribute Civil Discourse brochures.
• Speaking about Civil Discourse at public meetings, such as Board of Supervisor, Mayors Conference, political party central committees, and others.
• Developing a Civil Discourse code of conduct protocol for on-line meetings.
• Giving a presentation about recognizing and combating misinformation and disinformation. 

On March 22, 2022, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed Resolution 2022/73, the pledge to employ Civil Discourse developed and presented to them by the LWVDV Civil Discourse Team. The presentation was well received and the Supervisors expressed real public appreciation for our League. See Supervisors Adopt LWVDV's Civil Discourse Pledge and the Board of Supervisor's Resolution adopting best practices for civil discourse for more details.

Concerned about polarization and mis/disinformation?

We are actively seeking new members for the Civic Engagement Committee - people who are concerned about political intimidation, polarization and misinformation! To join the team, to volunteer or for more information, please email Melanie Speir at civic.engagement [at] lwvdv.org. 

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Civic Engagement Committee News and Events

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