Shaping the future leaders of Oklahoma through leadership development and family policy education.

One key element to Oklahoma's future is citizen leaders, and Extension programs are enhancing leadership development opportunities. In these programs, participants learn leadership skills, how to develop community leadership programs, and how to become active in their communities. One program uses a team model emphasizing experiential learning through working on community projects.

Leaders make tough choices about the direction of their communities. Making choices about how to deal with public issues is difficult because people favor different approaches. Moving citizens to common ground often requires a positive catalyst. Public deliberation is a means by which citizens make tough choices about basic purposes and directions for their communities and their country - it is a way of reasoning and talking together.

Extension programs help participants develop a deliberative habit to explore policy options, weigh other people's views, consider the costs and consequences of various alternatives, and provide meaningful input into decisions on family and community issues. Extension partners with various groups to foster leadership development and citizen activism.