MADISON – This fall, the UW–Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs, in partnership with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is hosting a series of events around Wisconsin to foster civil dialogue and share insights on how Wisconsinites feel about important policy topics in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. “Ultimately, the goal of the events is for participants to find common ground on issues that matter to them with people of differing views,” says La Follette School Director Susan Webb Yackee.
Town Halls
Interactive town halls in La Crosse and Milwaukee will each feature a panel of policy experts who will help shed light on major public policy issues that are on the minds of Wisconsin residents. Attendees will have a chance to share their thoughts on how the issues affect their community and state at these events. Visit the Main Street Agenda page for more information and to register for the town halls, which are free and open to the public. Members of the press are also invited to attend and cover the events.
Town halls (beginning at 6 p.m.):
- September 11 – La Crosse town hall on health care and climate change (co-hosted by the Sustainability Institute)
- October 15 – Milwaukee town hall on inflation
Dinner and Conversation
In addition to the town halls, the La Follette School will host four “dinner and conversation” events around the state aimed at promoting civil dialogue. WisconSays survey respondents will participate in guided small group discussion to find common ground on issues that matter to them and their community. One aim of the events is to inform researchers studying polarization and the effectiveness of these types of events in helping people talk across differences.
Following each of the dinner and conversation events, a news package containing information about the event, b-roll, and recorded interviews with event participants will be shared with local media. To ensure that participants feel comfortable expressing their views openly, we are not able to invite outside media outlets to the dinner and conversation events.
Dinner and conversation events:
- September 18 – Pewaukee
- September 25 – Green Bay
- October 2 – Eau Claire
- October 9 – Madison
Main Street Agenda
These events are the culmination of a yearlong project called the Main Street Agenda. Each month this year experts from the La Follette School have analyzed data from the statewide WisconSays survey and shared findings on Wisconsinites’ views on major policy issues. So far this year, policy experts from La Follette have discussed Wisconsinites’ views on inflation, family finances, gun violence, climate change, and more.
The Main Street Agenda project was first launched in 2022 with a series of public town halls attended by hundreds of people around the state. “We found that participants treated each other with respect and dignity, even when they held different views on public policy. They modeled the very civil behavior that is often in short supply these days in politics, the news, and sometimes in our own communities,” says Yackee. “This year, we are thrilled to serve, again, as a community convener to identify areas for policy compromise. While it is far easier to talk about issues with people who tend to agree with you, there is immense value in debating and listening to people with differing views.”
Director Yackee will be available for interviews leading up to the Main Street Agenda Community Conversation events. Please reach out to communications manager Lauren Weitkamp (weitkamp@lafollette.wisc.edu) for more information.
This year, UW–Madison is also visiting communities across the state to celebrate long-standing partnerships and initiatives that are enriching the lives of Wisconsin’s students and families, including a community celebration in La Crosse County on Wednesday, September 11. Find a statewide outreach event near you on the UW–Madison events calendar.
About the La Follette School of Public Affairs
The Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is a leading academic institution with a 40-year history of improving the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policy and the practice of governance. The school was built on the foundation of the UW–Madison Center for the Study of Public Policy and Administration, which was established in 1967 under the Department of Political Science. In 1983, the Wisconsin Legislature formally separated the center from the Department of Political Science. The school officially opened in 1984, now named after Robert M. La Follette, the former Wisconsin governor and U.S. senator who is regarded as one of the most celebrated figures in the state’s history. Today, the La Follette School offers domestic and international master’s degrees in public affairs as well as certificates for undergraduate students. La Follette School faculty, alumni, students, and staff extend the practice of the Wisconsin Idea across the state and around the world through research and outreach that inspires evidence-based policymaking, impacts society’s pressing problems, and advances the public good.
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