1. UNIFY THE MISSISSIPPI

2. The Future of the Mississippi River Who Will Decide? We believe the people who live and work beside the Mississippi River – those with clean water interests, economic interests and cultural heritages tied to the River – are the stakeholders who should develop a future for the Mississippi River.

3. The Future of the Mississippi River Who Will Decide? We believe the Mississippi River needs a river-wide approach to its future that’s possible today through a proven collaborative process that matches the scale of America’s great river.

4. The Future of the Mississippi River Who Will Decide? We believe the traditional methods for citizen action are being rewritten with internet tools. Why not use them for the Mississippi River and jump start action on behalf of the whole River? It’s time for a new approach.

5. Introducing: America’s Waterway Address the whole Mississippi River - its ecosystems, economies and cultural issues Use civic engagement, on-line collaboration & advocacy Create & manage an on-line community of Mississippi River advocates Tap the people of the River via a National Dialogue for the Future of the Mississippi River

6. The National Dialogue for the Future of America’s Waterway National day of dedication to the Mississippi River Up to 20 simultaneous, face-to-face meetings in linked Mississippi River communities Proven facilitation process enables residents – experts & non-experts – to deliberate & collaborate Envision a future for the whole Mississippi River Build a Blueprint for Action for the River’s future

7. The National Dialogue for the Future of America’s Waterway Produced and managed by AmericaSpeaks – the premier deliberative democracy organization Uses small group discussion with internet linked decision-making tools Track record of generating action plans and policy initiatives on complex issues & on a large-scale Outcomes feed directly to America’s Waterway Web site to continue momentum of citizen engagement

8. The National Dialogue for the Future of America’s Waterway The following video shows the AmericaSpeaks process as it was applied to citizen input on the U.S. budget and deficit August 2010. It addresses the question – How is this possible?

9. AmericaSpeaks

10. America’s Waterway Join with us to build unified, whole-River approaches & a Blueprint for Action so the Mississippi River is protected, enhanced and celebrated as America’s Waterway.

11. UNIFY THE MISSISSIPPI