Program Types & Tips Community Forums & Discussions Traditional Forums A traditional forum can help increase communication between the community and the legal profession. Members of the audience express public concerns while legal professionals explain how the justice system addresses their needs. Consider utilizing a point/counterpoint approach or enriching the debate with special materials such as the Mediation: Is It for You? video. (See Contacts & Resources) Suggested Focuses: Access to justice Continuing issues in voting rights Redistricting What can be done about racial conflict? Mediation as an alternative method of solving conflicts Virtual Forums In the simulated meeting, participants assume official roles, such as city manager or school board member, and contend with discrimination issues in scripted mock meetings. You may want to ask actual public officials to play their own real life roles or to switch roles. This format allows the audience to see how decisions are made under the rule of law and how personal values or biases may affect our approach to the law. Participants will need ample time to review their parts and rehearse if possible. A variation on this concept is to use videotaped versions of virtual forums previously conducted elsewhere. Suggested Focuses: The right to privacy and AIDS in the classroom Juvenile curfews Individual rights and public housing security Affirmative action Mass media and diversity Bilingual education Hate speech >>Community Forums & Discussions Main Page >>Traditional Forums >>Virtual Forums >>Forum Formats >>Contacts & Resources >>Comparative Law Forums >>Community Conversations on Pluralism >>Democracy As a Discussion >>Humanities: Setting Up a Reading Program Reaching the Community Home | Program Types & Tips Home