The mission of the Ohio Civility Project is to return civility to our public discourse in Akron, Ohio, and beyond. Applying civility standards to political discourse and disseminating the results will provide incentives for public officials, campaigns, the news media and public to adhere to the standards. In effect, such information serves as a referee in public debate, calling the fouls of incivility and noting the good plays of civil discourse.
The Ohio Civility Project is made up of:
- Members of the academic community from the University of Akron, Cleveland State University and the University of Mount Union
- The Akron Beacon Journal
- Members of the faith community from Akron
- The Civic Commons
There are three pillars of civility
- The ability to be respectful of other people while expressing an opinion.
- The ability to acknowledge and appreciate the fact that opinions differ among people.
- The ability to engage with other people to constructively move discussion forward.
Three standards for civility follow from the definition:
- Civility disagrees with other opinions without disparaging other people.
- Civility disagrees with other opinions without deriding other people’s opinions.
- Civility disagrees with other opinions without denigrating discussion with other people.
Applying civility standards to political discourse and disseminating the results will provide incentives for public officials, campaigns, the news media and public to adhere to the standards. In effect, such information serves as a referee in public debate, calling the fouls of incivility and noting the good plays of civil discourse.
Here, you can find the Reports & Recommendations and the Report Phase II of the project for your convenience.
Our Partners:
Beyond Civility: Communication for Effective Governance
Ohio Center for Law Related Education
Ohio Council of Churches: Change the Conversation
Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Professionalism: Promoting Professionalism On and From the Bench