Return of the Friday Forum!

RUSSELL FORUM FOR CIVIC LIFE IN GEORGIA presents...
Economic Security: How Should We Take Charge of Our Future?
A Friday Informal Community Forum

When: Friday, February 25, 2011, 3:30-5 p.m.

Where: Russell Library Auditorium, West Entrance, UGA Main Library

Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia (www.libs.uga.edu/russell/rfclg), a civic engagement program of the Russell Library hosts community deliberative forums on a monthly basis to explore challenging public issues in a deliberative, civil way.

The focus for this month’s forum is rebuilding economic security. The forum asks participants to mull a vital question -- How we can best take charge of the future so our families can feel reasonably secure, so parents can help their children prosper, and everyone can move toward a financially stable retirement?

More on this Topic:
Americans lost $8 trillion in home values and savings, the national unemployment rate hit 10 percent and, in some areas, went even higher. Many Americans are justifiably angry at the irresponsibility and greed exhibited by Wall Street speculators, yet at the same time, people are troubled by the willingness of their neighbors to buy houses they could not afford and run up massive debts. It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of such large forces. Yet, we, as individuals, are largely responsible for decisions about our economic security and the future of our families—decisions about where we work and live, how we spend and save our money, and when we retire. And, just as important, we make collective judgments about the direction of our nation and the economy. As the nation slowly recovers from its worst recession in decades, we have the power to shape the future for ourselves and for generations to come. Come to the forum and share in this critical process.

What Happens at a Forum?
In this community forum we will explore this complex issue by working together to understand the issue better. With help from trained neutral moderators we will look at several possible approaches to meeting the challenges posed by the current fragmentation of public life in the United States and consider both the benefits and consequences of each approach, as well as possible trade-offs. Finally, we will explore possible actions that might make a positive difference in our community. Throughout the forum we may find some areas of agreement among us, just as we will likely clarify areas where our beliefs and perspectives differ greatly. This robust and civil threshing of the tough public issues that we face is the foundation for vibrant and resilient community.

About the Economic Security Issue Guide…
This forum will use the deliberative issue guide developed by the National Issues Forums Institute in association with the Kettering Foundation. If you are interested in reading more about the issue before the forum, you can download the issue guide in brief in advance for free at http://store.nifi.org/issue_book/economic_security_iib.pdf

More information:
For more information about this forum, please contact Jill Severn at 706-542-5766 or jsevern@uga.edu. For more information about Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, visit www.libs.uga.edu/russell/rfclg