DemocracySpace.org

Community blogging from Julie Fanselow

Julie Fanselow, who managed and wrote content for DemocracySpace until last September, recently wrote an article for the National Civic Review titled "Community Blogging: The Next Wave of Citizen Journalism. While Julie was writing on this blog, she viewed her job as helping individuals create online communities that would benefit their physical communities.

While some view blogs as self-promoting and narcissistic, Julie writes of the potential they have to foster democracy in local communities. In one community, Northfield, Minn., the blogger behind the blog Locally Grown brought to light activities of the local government that community members didn't know about. The blog also serves as a source of on-line organizing that leads to action.

As part of the anti-poverty program Horizons, rural communities scattered throughout the Northwest maintain blogs to keep the community updated on their efforts to address poverty through leadership training, dialogue-to-change efforts and visioning projects.

One of the recommendations from several community bloggers is to keep the blog fun, and to use lots of photos. (Notice the lack of photos in this post!) Through all of the activities within your community, there are bound to be loads of photos floating around! Photos certainly add visual interest to a blog.

All in all, blogging is fun, but it can also serve an important purpose in fostering democracy and helping communities work toward their goals.

Riding a surge in democracy

A conference call was held today by a coalition of about 20 organizations working to set a new policy agenda for the next presidential administration. One of the speakers was Miles Rapoport, president of Demos, former Secretary of State for Connecticut, and a board member of the Paul J. Aicher Foundation, which oversees the work of Everyday Democracy. Drawing on an essay he wrote with colleague Stuart Comstock-Gay, Miles spoke about the importance of capturing the current surge in democracy. He called attention to three key areas:

Voting is on the upswing following 30 years of decline after Watergate, and the United States ought to encourage this trend by allowing Election Day voter registration, permitting felons to vote after they've completed their sentences, setting national standards so people have confidence in our elections, and reducing the role of money in politics.

Civic engagement also is on the rise, and the next president ought to encourage this trend of people actively taking part in government beyond Election Day, whether by participating in community dialogues or providing feedback on pending legislation.

We need a change in how people view government. Citing decades of anti-government rhetoric, Miles called for an end to the denigration of government and recognition of the positive things it has done and can do in society. "We're seeing now in the massive bailout what happens when government abdicates its responsibility for regulation," he added.

In related news, delegates are now being sought for the first-ever Transpartisan National Convention, set for the weekend of Abraham Lincoln's birth bicentennial, February 11-15, in Denver and sponsored by the Transpartisan Alliance. From the website: "For four days political pioneers from all sides will come together in search of effective strategies for empowering a unified political voice that can restore a healthy balance of power in America.  ... We will engage in a new type of political dialogue that respects and values all points of view. Together we will utilize tools that enable conservatives, liberals, independents and unaffiliated citizens to get along and communicate effectively. We will demonstrate that we can work together and cooperate for the good of us all."

September 30 is the early-bird registration deadline; delegates accepted before that date will pay a reduced rate of $395. To learn more, click here.

Welcome to the water cooler (9/08)

Update: The easier-to-read, threaded version of this discussion is now available at our wiki. Click here.

Welcome to today's discussion of how to start dialogue-to-change programs (sometimes called study circles) in your community. My name is Julie Fanselow, online organizer for Everyday Democracy and manager of its DemocracySpace blog, and I'll be the moderator for today's online discussion. (We call these events "water coolers.")

Here's how the water cooler will work: Starting at 1 p.m. Eastern, I will ask several questions of Everyday Democracy staff that we have online with us. For the first part of this hour, we'll briefly cover the very basics of launching a dialogue-to-change program.

After that, we'll open up the discussions to any more specific questions you may have about how to get large-scale, inclusive, action-oriented dialogues started in your community. Please let our staff answer the "basics" questions before posting any new questions.

To follow this Q&A discussion, click on the word "comments" below this post. If you'd like to pose a question or add a comment once we cover the basics, look for the phrase "POST A COMMENT" at the end of the existing comments. Below it, insert your name (real names, please); email address (it will not be visible online); and, if you like, the URL of your organization or program’s website. Write your question or comment in the box, then click “post.”

Please note: You will need to refresh your browser periodically to see the latest questions and comments that have been posted and answered. If traffic gets heavy, you may be asked to verify your comment with a "captcha check," or typing in a string of letters.

Also, if you see that several questions have already been asked, please be kind and give our staff a chance to catch up before posting your question. We'll post a rethreaded, easier-to-read version of this live blogging session at our wiki within 24 hours. (You can read past water cooler discussions there, too.)

Thank you for joining us today. And now, let the discussion begin!

Don't forget the water cooler!

This Wednesday (September 17), join us here at DemocracySpace from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern as we chat online about how to start - or relaunch - a successful dialogue-to-change program in your community. Several Everyday Democracy staff and associates will be online to answer your questions and offer guidance on how to use large-scale, inclusive, action-oriented dialogues to find common ground and make progress on important issues such as racial equity, education, immigration, and more.

We also welcome organizers from existing programs who would like to share what they've learned. You can use the "Share This" tool below this post to tell friends and colleagues about this opportunity. See you here at 1 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday!

Friday digest-open thread 9/12/08

Just a reminder: Next Wednesday, September 17, we'll have a water cooler session here at DemocracySpace on the nuts and bolts of starting a dialogue-to-change program. From picking a topic to training facilitators and recruiting participants ... if you are new to this sort of community work, or even if you're just thinking about it, this one's for you. Join us online right here at DemocracySpace from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern on September 17, and tell your friends.

The presidential campaign hit the "pause" button for a day yesterday as John McCain and Barack Obama both visited Lower Manhattan on the seventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Later in the day, both candidates attended the Service Nation Summit at Columbia University, a day before Sens. Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch expected to introduce a new, bipartisan bill to dramatically expand national service. Of Thursday's event, The Wall Street Journal reported:

Sen. McCain, who took questions first based on a coin toss, insisted throughout his appearance that government was not the answer to service. "Government can't do it all, the essence of volunteerism starts at the grassroots level," he said. "Let's not in any way stifle what's already going on, it's very, very successful in America."

In contrast, Sen. Obama said government -- and the president -- should play a role in helping push people toward community service, both in military and non-military roles. The Illinois senator touted his proposals for a $3.5 billion National Service Plan to sponsor volunteerism, a $4,000 tuition credit to college students who agree to do community service after graduation and a Clean Energy Corps.

"We need an all hands on deck approach," Sen. Obama said. "I believe firmly that government should expand avenues of opportunity."

Peter Levine of Tufts University’s Jonathan Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service has several video clips and commentary at his blog. There's also extensive coverage of the event - which continues today - at ChangeWire, the Service Nation blog. And check out the Service Nation website for information on the planned September 27 Service Nation Day of Action and the coalition's mission, which is "uniting Americans in common cause, tackling our greatest social challenges, and citizens giving back to community and country."

You can read more about the candidates' national service plans at their websites (McCain, Obama). And check out these essays from both candidates written for Teaching Tolerance, the website and magazine of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Obama writes about "Choices for a Rising Generation," and McCain describes how service can help bring about "A More Peaceful and Prosperous World."

At his Redeeming Hope blog, Richard Harwood of The Harwood Institute reflects on the dispiriting tone of our national conversation and asks us all to consider "Seven Questions for Ugly Times" as a way of addressing how to counter the prevailing rhetoric. He writes: "At issue is how you and others of goodwill can change the dynamics of how we're living and where we're headed. How can you gain some semblance of control over current affairs? What can you do to feel that your good values and authentic hopes are better reflected in these ugly times?" Read more here.

As seen on our Everyday Democracy website: Neighbors in Bloomington, Illinois, see gardening as one way to build community ... the Office of Multicultural Affairs in Chattanooga, Tennessee, held an Everyday Democracy meeting yesterday to start planning dialogue-to-change efforts in their city ... Yes We Can! Dothan (Alabama) is wrapping up a series of conversations on improving the community's schools.

DemocracySpace strives to deliver news of people making a difference in their communities all the time, not just when service is in the spotlight. Would you like to receive each DemocracySpace post straight to your email box? It's easy: Just use the "subscribe" box at the top of the right-hand side of this page.

Issue guides at your fingertips

What issues is your community facing these days? No matter what your answer, Everyday Democracy's new Issue Guide Exchange can help you find great dialogue-to-action guides on that topic. From setting a town budget to building greater racial equity to improving police-community relations, guides on dozens of topics now await your exploration and use. And if you can't find a discussion guide that suits your needs, the site also has tools to help you write one of your own, then upload it for others' use. You can also rate guides and discuss them with others interested in similar topics.

The Issue Guide Exchange is easy to use, but a webinar is planned September 30 for people who would like a half-hour guided tour. (See the comments below for more information, then sign up here.) For more information on how the Issue Guide Exchange can help your community, please contact Carrie Boron, deputy communication director and operations manager at Everyday Democracy. 

Friday digest-open thread 9/5/08

Registration opens today and ends September 19 for the fall round of Common Ground, Memphis' new community-wide initiative aimed at bettering race relations - and already, 400 people have expressed interest in the 600 slots available. As co-coordinator Wendi Thomas reported here at DemocracySpace, more than 270 participants and facilitators took part in the first discussions this spring. (See a video and read the lessons that organizers learned.)

In a story today on the fall sign-ups, coordinator Lisa Willis told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that spring Common Ground participants have begun work to put their ideas into action. This round will offer more location choices, and Thomas said organizers will be reaching beyond the "low-hanging fruit - "people who were already sensitive to the issues of race relations in Memphis" - to fill the 600 slots. Common Ground Memphis has a goal of having 60,000 people go through the program over the next three years. Click here to see the new Common Ground website and get more information.

A few million eyebrows went up among people watching the Republican National Convention on Wednesday when not one, not two, but three evening speakers slammed Democratic nominee Barack Obama's work as a community organizer. Organizers - being organizers, after all - swung into action Thursday to create a website to tell America that, yes, "community organizer" is an actual job title involving real responsibilities. (See Community Organizers Fight Back.) At the Daily Kos blog, essayist "billmon" questioned whether the anti-community organizer comments represented a coordinated effort to use racist code language against the first African-American presidential nominee from a major party, while Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Center for Community Change, released this statement:

When Sarah Palin demeaned community organizing, she didn't attack another candidate.  She attacked an American tradition --- one that has helped everyday Americans engage with the political process and make a difference in their lives and the lives of their neighbors. 

All across the country, in every state and every community, there are community organizers helping people find shared solutions to the shared problems they face.  The candidates for President and Vice President should be working to solve our shared problems, too, rather than attack others who are trying to do the same.

From winning living wages to expanding affordable housing to improving the quality of public schools to getting health coverage for the poor and elderly, community organizers have made and will continue to make our communities and our country better for all of us.

The values that community organizers and grassroots leaders represent are not Washington values or Wall Street values but American values, that we care for each other and look out for each other and know we're all interconnected and have a valuable role to play in making our country work for all of us.  Candidates should be courting these community values, not condemning them.

Finally, hip-hop video blogger Jay Smooth questions the GOP's decision to dis organizers in this clip. (Hat tip to Nick and RaceWire.) After all, plenty of community organizers are conservatives, as he notes starting about a minute-and-a-half in.

It's fall! Time to get organized!

Fall is the time of year when many communities launch - or re-launch - dialogue-to-change programs (sometimes called study circles) that help a wide range of people talk together about and address pressing community issues like racial equity, education, growth and sprawl, and more.

Are you gearing up to start this work in your community? Please plan to join Everyday Democracy staff online right here at DemocracySpace from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, September 17, for a fall water cooler Q&A session on organizing dialogue-to-change programs. Whether you're brand new to this work or re-engaging, we invite your questions and ideas. So save the date, and we'll see you here on the blog for this special event.

Denver: hear all about it ...

Everyday Democracy deputy communication director Carrie Boron recently touched base with three people who attended our "Making Every Voice Matter" national conference in Denver. The podcast interviews are posted here.

Solomon Hatch of the City of Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs says he enjoyed meeting people from all over the country who are working on similar issues. Tessa Garcia McEwen of the Midtown Educational Foundation in Chicago (and formerly of the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network) applauds Everyday Democracy's dedication to meaningful evaluation and time for people to network and socialize. "This was very re-energizing," adds Gina Valencia of the Center for Resolution in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "I feel that we are not alone and there's a lot of wisdom to share."

Listen to the podcasts here, and click here to access many more resources from the meeting.

Of signals and stories

Last weekend, I had the privilege of representing Everyday Democracy at the Harwood Institute's 2008 Public Innovators Summit, two-and-a-half days of rich conversation and networking among about 50 people from non-profits, public broadcasting, foundations, government agencies, journalism, and beyond. We met at Stevenson, Washington, in the Columbia River Gorge.

For me, the best aspect of the event was probably learning about several non-profits and agencies whose work I hadn't previously heard about. I'll be sharing some of their stories next week tomorrow. I also enjoyed some time to read, think, and hike through the Washington woods, next to small lakes and across wooden bridges like this one.

A few days after returning home, however, my strongest memory from the summit is something that came up in a discussion Saturday morning. About 15 of us were talking about "big change," and whether it's even wise for public leaders to push for big change at a time when - although Americans may not be happy with the status quo - we're not necessarily ready for sweeping reforms, either. Jacquelynne Borden-Conyers of the Kellogg Foundation suggested that organizations can be "conveners and catalysts" to help change emerge and evolve. I added that we might include "storytellers" in that description as well.

Then Toby Chalberg of the Points Of Light & Hands On Network referred to stories as "signals," and I immediately sensed a double meaning for that idea. My mind conjured up a radio tower beaming ideas across the airwaves. Toby explained that these signals could be reports of progress, then Eric Rigaud of the Harwood staff wondered aloud whether they might also be seen as signals of permission. As soon as Toby had used the word "signals," this idea had resonated with me, too: Stories can be signals that it's OK to get started, even in some small but substantive way, toward the changes we seek in public life.

I've been telling stories with Everyday Democracy - and before it, the Study Circles Resource Center - since 2002. First, it was the story of our founder, Paul J. Aicher, who had a vision that all people ought to have a chance to participate and be heard in public life. Since then, it's been the stories of people all across the country, from California to Indiana to  New York, who are working to make every voice matter in their communities. Now, we're helping communities share these stories and successes in new  ways, including here on the Internet but also face-to-face, and always across powerful partnerships that help us move past barriers and create meaningful community change.

This weekend, I got a signal that these stories matter. Whatever you are doing to create positive change in your community, we want to hear about it, and we want to help you share the news. You can send your stories to us via our Tell Us Your Story website feature, or even make a comment below to share what's on your mind. We learn as much from our challenges - and even our failures - as from our successes, so don't be afraid to share those, too.