Potent hope dances with passive hope and spectatorism
Optimism and pessimism are kind of like spectator sports: things are getting better – or – things are getting worse. Passive hope …
The wisdom of the fringes?
In the end, I believe that those who call forth the most collective intelligence and wisdom will be those who can manifest – and help others manifest – two vital capacities: 1. the ability to include more of what is normally overlooked and exclude…
Participatory wisdom and sustainability
I am working with a team exploring the emerging field of participatory sustainability. From this new perspective, sustainability cannot be achieved without increasing the level of co-intelligent participation in all aspects of our public life – es…
Iceland: A multi-dimensional inspiration
According to articles in the links below (and elsewhere) Iceland crowdsourced its new constitution with mass participation and elected delegates to a Constituent Assembly made investors and bankers – not taxpayers – pay for the economic crash (it …
Public Engagement Change We Can Believe In
Below is an interesting piece about the Obama campaign by a fellow named Larry Greene. Alhough I’m not endorsing Obama, this message is written in the spirit of the Co-Intelligence Institute’s “Politician’s Pledge” and it reflects my own sense of …
Public issue conversations and the legitimacy of “we the people”
I see several diverse but not necessarily mutually exclusive types of political conversation, and find that differentiating among them helps me think more clearly about this topic: 1. STAKEHOLDERS: Stakeholder conversations involve people with int…
#Occupy Open Space Activities
Catalyzed by the meteoric rise of Occupy Wall Street into public notice and discourse, outsiders are connecting the dots between their pet issues and OWS’s focus on “the unchecked power of Wall Street speculators and corporations”. Many are urging…
#Occupy Weekly Sparks = We Can Do It All
Much has been said about the Occupy movement’s lack of demands and vision. Some say it will have no impact unless it makes demands and organizes to make sure those demands are met. Others respond that the People should just take charge of their de…
Whole System Conversations – and the Voice of the Whole
Who participates in “whole system” conversations? Partisans, Stakeholders, Domains and Citizens by Tom Atlee Consciously convened conversations have many functions. Many seek simply to get people talking with each other. Others try to bring togeth…
Participatory Budgeting Practices, Places, Games and Resources
Recently I’ve seen a swirl of information (mostly on the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation listserv) about participatory budgeting. Below, you’ll find a sampling of this info, in relatively raw form. I do not know enough to sort it …