Healthy Democracy is a nonpartisan nonprofit that designs Civic Assemblies and democratic systems that elevate the voices of everyday people, bring new faces to public decision making, and help build a more collaborative democracy together.
This month's newsletter from Healthy Democracy features a reflection from yours truly on September's Deschutes Civic Assembly in Oregon. The assembly was the first I've witnessed in person and it was deeply satisfying to see real democracy in action.
Deliberative democracy--based on the random selection of delegates--offers a profoundly hopeful vision of how we can meet the moral-political challenges of our time. As I say in the piece, "Social science and evolutionary biology have discovered that human beings are pro-social creatures: we evolved to be friendly and cooperative. And as theologian Luke Bretherton argues, politics is supposed to be the practice by which diverse peoples build a common life together—by which strangers become neighbors."
Many thanks to all who brought the assembly to life: Linn Davis, Justin Reedy, Lauren Babcock,Grace Taylor, Josh Burgess, Matt Abrams, DemocracyNext, and the MIT Center for Constructive Communication.
#CitizensAssembly#DeliberativeDemocracy#DemocraticInnovation#DeschutesCounty#CivicAssembly
Join DBE for our next learning session! ⭐
Youth across our communities are consistently underrepresented in decision-making processes that affect them. This is why we are curating this opportunity for youth to share and continue to advocate for participatory democracy practices such as Participatory Budgeting, People’s Movement Assemblies, Civic Assemblies and Youth Voting.
Learn from youth from across the nation as they share their experience with their work in participatory democracy practices.
This event is hosted in collaboration with DBE Coalition Members Center for the Future of Arizona, Participatory Budgeting Oregon, Black Nashville Assembly, Healthy Democracy and Generation Citizen.
More info and registration: bit.ly/dbeyouthpd
📆 🇺🇸 Reminder: November 13th, 12-1pm ET
We are co-hosting an event with New America about the good practices and key insights from the Deschutes Civic Assembly on Youth Homelessness.
Please join us for a thought-provoking discussion featuring on-the-ground experts and leaders who were instrumental to the process in Deschutes County, Oregon.
Speakers include:
➡️ Claudia Chwalisz, Founder and CEO, DemocracyNext
➡️ Josh Burgess, Executive Director, Central Oregon Civic Action Project
➡️ Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou, Head of Translational Research, MIT Center for Constructive Communication
➡️ Tammy Baney, Executive Director, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council
➡️ Moderated by Hollie Russon Gilman, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at the Political Reform Program, New America
✅ RSVP: https://lnkd.in/d4kMDXj3
"I'm proud of everyone involved to make this happen and of the assembly members who did the most important work to roll up their sleeves to learn, listen, deliberate, debate, and work constructively on shared proposals for change. 🙌" - Claudia Chwalisz, DemocracyNext
An important acknowledgement of those who did the real work: the Delegates- members of the Assembly-who devoted 5 days to a process that they had little knowledge of but a great deal of hope in. They deserve the biggest thank you of all!
Advisor, Investor, Co-Founder, Board Member: cursed (and blessed) with curiosity and a drive to #leaveitbetter #startups #natsec #venture #informationquality #informationpollution #healthcare #informationintegrity
Yesterday was the final day of the in-person Deschutes Civic (Citizens' Assembly). It is perhaps best summed up in the comments from the Assembly members (Delegates) who came from a randomized cross-section of demographic backgrounds, experiences, beliefs, and political persuasions from across Central Oregon. Please spend 5 minutes of your day listening to their reflections on their participation and involvement via the link here: https://lnkd.in/g2bSzVMM
Some comments:
“…this is the first time in my life that I ever felt like my voice mattered…”
"...the words running through my head right now are gratitude and hope. I was really scared coming into this process that I was going to be walking into a room full of people diametrically opposed...the cordiality and the ability for this community to come together is inspiring..."
"I don't speak up very often, but I want you to know it's been an incredible pleasure to be with all of you..."
"...I came into this process a skeptic...thanks for giving me hope..."
This is humanity at it's finest and should remind us all that there is goodness and decency in our fellow citizens #epluribusunum and anyone / anything that seeks to divide us doesn't appreciate nor understand what America has always been about. America is shortly coming upon her 250th birthday and it has always been an ITERATIVE experiment. Our Founding Fathers enabled us to constantly amend the operating system of our Nation...to improve upon it over the generations. The work done here by so many and the service of the Assembly members shows us all what is possible when we come together to problem solve and have discourse and dialogue built around high quality information. It also served as a reminder from a dialogue I recently had with Harry who reminded me that we have "outsourced our problems to our politicians", but that our Nation has never been about that...it's always been about We The People who have the agency and the ability to problem solve and our Representatives to provide the guardrails & the lubricant to enable that...we've just forgotten that.
A special thanks to our fellow citizens for this tremendous public service and the following (but not limited to) ClaudiaElizabethDr. BenJoshLucyAnselLinnGraceAnthonyMeganTonyPhilTammyDimitraDebTahaRyanBrookeKevinLauraDanielKristinLaurenJustinElizaRobbiePantheaAudreyMarietjeEllenSueCelineMichelleKara Hollie Russon MayaMarina
There are numerous lessons learned from this Assembly and I am still digesting, but one thing is clear...Assembly's are a critical part of the substrate of our society that enables strong & healthy progress, economics, and opportunities for all. Perhaps more simply put, they are part of the very foundation of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" and we must scale them up / out broadly.
🏗️ Build Civic Spirit and Capacity
📈 Improve Governance Outcomes
🤝 Strengthen Social Fabric
🔄 Create a Virtuous Cycle of Trust
'"...the words running through my head right now are gratitude and hope. I was really scared coming into this process that I was going to be walking into a room full of people diametrically opposed...the cordiality and the ability for this community to come together is inspiring..."
"I don't speak up very often, but I want you to know it's been an incredible pleasure to be with all of you..."
"...I came into this process a skeptic...thanks for giving me hope..."'
Thank you, Matt Abrams, for all of your work and support in Central Oregon!
Advisor, Investor, Co-Founder, Board Member: cursed (and blessed) with curiosity and a drive to #leaveitbetter #startups #natsec #venture #informationquality #informationpollution #healthcare #informationintegrity
Yesterday was the final day of the in-person Deschutes Civic (Citizens' Assembly). It is perhaps best summed up in the comments from the Assembly members (Delegates) who came from a randomized cross-section of demographic backgrounds, experiences, beliefs, and political persuasions from across Central Oregon. Please spend 5 minutes of your day listening to their reflections on their participation and involvement via the link here: https://lnkd.in/g2bSzVMM
Some comments:
“…this is the first time in my life that I ever felt like my voice mattered…”
"...the words running through my head right now are gratitude and hope. I was really scared coming into this process that I was going to be walking into a room full of people diametrically opposed...the cordiality and the ability for this community to come together is inspiring..."
"I don't speak up very often, but I want you to know it's been an incredible pleasure to be with all of you..."
"...I came into this process a skeptic...thanks for giving me hope..."
This is humanity at it's finest and should remind us all that there is goodness and decency in our fellow citizens #epluribusunum and anyone / anything that seeks to divide us doesn't appreciate nor understand what America has always been about. America is shortly coming upon her 250th birthday and it has always been an ITERATIVE experiment. Our Founding Fathers enabled us to constantly amend the operating system of our Nation...to improve upon it over the generations. The work done here by so many and the service of the Assembly members shows us all what is possible when we come together to problem solve and have discourse and dialogue built around high quality information. It also served as a reminder from a dialogue I recently had with Harry who reminded me that we have "outsourced our problems to our politicians", but that our Nation has never been about that...it's always been about We The People who have the agency and the ability to problem solve and our Representatives to provide the guardrails & the lubricant to enable that...we've just forgotten that.
A special thanks to our fellow citizens for this tremendous public service and the following (but not limited to) ClaudiaElizabethDr. BenJoshLucyAnselLinnGraceAnthonyMeganTonyPhilTammyDimitraDebTahaRyanBrookeKevinLauraDanielKristinLaurenJustinElizaRobbiePantheaAudreyMarietjeEllenSueCelineMichelleKara Hollie Russon MayaMarina
There are numerous lessons learned from this Assembly and I am still digesting, but one thing is clear...Assembly's are a critical part of the substrate of our society that enables strong & healthy progress, economics, and opportunities for all. Perhaps more simply put, they are part of the very foundation of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" and we must scale them up / out broadly.
🏗️ Build Civic Spirit and Capacity
📈 Improve Governance Outcomes
🤝 Strengthen Social Fabric
🔄 Create a Virtuous Cycle of Trust
Action-oriented innovator. Supporting public sector organizations and communities navigate climate politics through transformative civic participation practices.
"It's the first time in my life that it felt like my voice mattered."
Yesterday was the final day of Deschutes County's first citizen's assembly and that quote from one of the delegates put a big gust of wind in my sails. This assembly focused on solutions to addressing youth homelessness. I was privileged to participate as a small group moderator, helping the assembly delegates navigate their five intense days of information gathering and deliberation. A few takeaways from the experience as I reflect on what I've learned from the past few weeks:
💡 A random group of people with diverse life experiences and viewpoints can quickly build trust and form meaningful relationships with each other. This citizens' assembly selected participates through a representative 'sortition' process — a strong method that created the foundation for producing clear and creative recommendations that wouldn't have emerged from tradditional decision-makers.
👥 We all have the skills and ability to engage in contentious, respectful discussions with people who have VERY strong views about political issues. I was instructed to be passive and neutral as a small group moderator. I was quite sceptical that such a laidback approach would be effective for facilitating conversations on a topic as contentious as homelessness. To my joyful surprise, the participants listened intently to their fellow delegates and respectfully disagreed with each other, being polite toward those with opposing views and calmly presenting their ideas.
🛤️ Everyone has a story that should be listened to and can be learned from. By chance, nearly 20% of the assembly's delegates had formerly experienced homelessness. Those particular delegates shared their experience during the small group discussions. The assembly also spoke at length with the Deschutes County Youth Action Board — a committee of homeless and formerly homeless young people that advises service providers. As one assembly delegate stated at the end of the process to the Youth Action Board, "The first recommendation we are making is the direct result of your testimony. Thank you for speaking out — your voice influences other people."
Thanks to everyone involved in the assembly for reminding me that hope for a better future is not merely given from one person to another — hope is actively created together.
And shoutout to all that enabled this citizens' assembly to happen! JoshMattLinnJustinLaurenGraceAliceClaudiaHealthy DemocracyDemocracyNext
