Raleigh, N.C. — National and state leaders in politics, technology, design and public policy will gather Dec. 9 and 10 at the Redesigning Democracy Summit to brainstorm ways to understand and improve citizen engagement in the democratic process in the United States.

The Institute for Emerging Issues at North Carolina State University will host the cross-section of invited speakers, representing various regions and political agendas who will share creative and promising practices and discover new ways to encourage citizen participation.

“There is so much at stake. As global dynamics, emerging technologies and social patterns change our national landscape, we face complicated challenges,” says Institute for Emerging Issues Director Anita Brown-Graham. 

Select sessions will be available via live video stream on WRAL.com, and the public is invited to participate using Twitter (#RDS12) or by email to IEI at emergingissues@ncsu.edu. Public comments and questions will be integrated into the discussion.

Speakers at the event include former North Carolina governor James B. Hunt Jr., IEI board chairman, Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform and Joan Blades, co-founder of MoveOn.org. Former NC Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and UNC System President Tom Ross are also expected to participate.

“People are turning away from public life,” Hunt said. “It is important that we find ways to bring new ideas and citizens into our efforts to work together.”

On Sunday evening, Blades, Norquist and others will join a panel discussion about lessons learned from the 2012 campaign season.  

Monday sessions will address ways to make U.S. democracy more responsive to the public.

WRAL will offer streaming video of sessions Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. and again Monday from 8 a.m. to noon.