In celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day, AAWCC organizes its annual Day of Dialogue to encourage chapters to engage in thoughtful conversation about issues impacting women attending and working at community colleges. AAWCC develops a themed topic, as well as resources to assist chapters in planning events and discussions. Chapters develop programming to complement the topic. While called Day of Dialogue, chapter programming takes place throughout the month of March.  

The theme for 2023 is "The Gender Digital Divide."  Prior to the pandemic, The Gender Digital Divide refers to women and girls' lack of access to use and development of information communication technologies (ICTs) (U.S. Department of State; no date available).   

Before you start planning your Day of Dialogue or series of events, take time to research the topic. Our AAWCC Day of Dialogue Planning Toolkit (PDF) includes a number of books, movies, TV shows, and website articles that can inform your planning.

Additional guidance for crafting thoughtful discussion within the chapter and across campuses is also included in the AAWCC Planning Toolkit (PDF). Consider these topical questions for dialogue: 

• How does the digital divide affect female-identifying individuals differently than male-identifying?
• How has the pandemic exacerbated the gender digital divide?

Planning Day of Dialogue Event 

The planning toolkit also serves as a valuable event planning guide for chapters for the Day of Dialogue. The COVID-19 pandemic has created opportunities for integrating online events with in-person events. Each campus/chapter will need to plan according to your location’s realities. This year, you may need to plan for multiple modalities to deliver your program. These are events that chapters have held in the past:

• Speakers (keynote speakers or panelists) on campus and/or via webcasting (Zoom, Facebook, Teams, etc.)

• Large Group Discussions

• Small Group Discussions

• Book read
  
• Campus study and action plan
  

• Day of Service to reduce waste, energy use, or transportation impact; expand green spaces or recycle rainwater

• Panel discussion with faculty and climate activists
  
• Opening or closing with a speaker and including discussion sessions throughout the day.
  

Sharing Your Event with AAWCC and Lessons Learned

• During your Day of Dialogue, take some pics to share on Facebook or at #AAWCC and #dayofdialogue.

• Email pictures of your event that may be used on the AAWCC website to showcase Dialogues to the AAWCC Vice President of Communications.
  
• Submit your chapter for the AAWCC Model Chapter Award and the AAWCC Model Program Award. 
• Report to AAWCC about your chapter's events for the Day of Dialogue. By submitting this online report, chapters across the country can benefit from your chapter's experiences. Additionally, your information will assist with future planning efforts of the Day of Dialogue.