There is still time to register for the Frontiers of Democracy conference, which will be held on June 24, 2022, from 9:00-4:30 pm.

The in-person version will take place at Tufts Medical School in Boston’s Chinatown. There is also a parallel Zoom version, which will start at 9:30 and end at 4:00.

This is the registration link: https://tinyurl.com/2p976shr. Note that there are several prices and options. If you wish to attend, please register soon so that we can plan the details and you can receive updates.

This year’s conference has a special format. The main activity will be to deliberate in small groups about the issues raised in selected “civic cases.” People will participate either in face-to-face or Zoom deliberations, not in hybrid discussions, but there will be a few concise plenary presentations.

Civic cases describe difficult choices faced by real groups of activists, social-movement participants, or colleagues in nonprofit organizations. By discussing what we would do in similar situations, we can develop civic skills, explore general issues, and form or strengthen relationships with other activists and thinkers.

Most of the cases for Frontiers 2022 have been developed by the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Justice in Schools, or the Pluralism Project at Harvard, all co-sponsors of Frontiers this summer. Unlike most cases about business, public policy, or ethics, these stories involve groups of voluntary participants who must make decisions together.

You will be able to indicate your preference for which cases to discuss. This is the working list, still subject to additions and changes: https://sites.tufts.edu/civicstudies/case-studies/.

Before the pandemic, Frontiers of Democracy drew 140 people annually, and some people attended primarily to connect to a professional network. So far, about 45-50 people are registered for the 2022 conference, and about half of those will be remote. People should be aware that the conference will be smaller than usual, although I still anticipate some additional registrants. The “civic cases” format will work well for an intimate conference, but the network will be smaller than usual.