Showing posts with label civic engagement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label civic engagement. Show all posts
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Crowdsourcing--grassroots constitution
Taking a page (sort of) out of James Surowiecki's classic, The Wisdom of Crowds, the political leadership of Iceland invited "ordinary citizens" to have a direct role in the creation of a new national constitution. Amazing process it seems.
Makes me wonder how our communities, our state and our nation might find ways to tap more directly into the intelligence of our various crowds. Couldn't be any worse than the current rhetorical quagmire!
What do you think?
Iceland Is Crowdsourcing Its New Constitution
Andrew Price
Web Editor
June 10, 2011
Vikings. They're the vanguard of 21st-century democracy.
In the wake of the devastating collapse of Iceland's commercial banks, the country is drawing up a new constitution, and it's doing things a little differently: It's "crowdsourcing" the process. For real.
The country's 25-member constitutional council is posting draft clauses on its website and inviting the public to comment on them there or on its Facebook page. And their comments are actually being incorporated into the document. The council also has Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr accounts and is streaming all of its meetings live. It's perhaps the most open and participatory constitutional process in modern history (the Greeks were pretty good at democracy in their time).
The draft Human Rights section currently contains an expansive clause barring discrimination for just about any reason (including "genotype" and "social origin") but also guarantees universal mental and physical healthcare, academic freedom, and the protection of natural resources. It's shaping up to be a pretty awesome document from what we can tell.
The council's Facebook page is full of comments, not only from Icelanders, but also well-wishers from all over the globe. If you think this is as inspiring an experiment as we do, drop by and tell them so.
Makes me wonder how our communities, our state and our nation might find ways to tap more directly into the intelligence of our various crowds. Couldn't be any worse than the current rhetorical quagmire!
What do you think?
Iceland Is Crowdsourcing Its New Constitution
Andrew Price
Web Editor
June 10, 2011
Vikings. They're the vanguard of 21st-century democracy.
In the wake of the devastating collapse of Iceland's commercial banks, the country is drawing up a new constitution, and it's doing things a little differently: It's "crowdsourcing" the process. For real.
The country's 25-member constitutional council is posting draft clauses on its website and inviting the public to comment on them there or on its Facebook page. And their comments are actually being incorporated into the document. The council also has Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr accounts and is streaming all of its meetings live. It's perhaps the most open and participatory constitutional process in modern history (the Greeks were pretty good at democracy in their time).
The draft Human Rights section currently contains an expansive clause barring discrimination for just about any reason (including "genotype" and "social origin") but also guarantees universal mental and physical healthcare, academic freedom, and the protection of natural resources. It's shaping up to be a pretty awesome document from what we can tell.
The council's Facebook page is full of comments, not only from Icelanders, but also well-wishers from all over the globe. If you think this is as inspiring an experiment as we do, drop by and tell them so.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
People just aren't who they appear. . .
The Sheep and the Goats
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
"The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
"The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version, ©2010)
Friday, November 12, 2010
Brand "stunt"
We retained The Richards Group to help us with our new brand development. Frankly, we had a blast working wtih these professionals for well over a year to craft a new name and brand identity.
The result: CitySquare!
Following the advice of our counselors at The Richards Group, we organized a PR "stunt" on Monday, October 25, the day of our public "roll out" for the new brand. The exercise involved over 100 of our team gathering in Downtown Dallas before 7:00 a.m. We then spread out with large square stencils and sidewalk chalk in hand to about 100 locations plotted in the central business district.
We drew large squares on the sidewalks at strategic corners so that all of the people walking to work would see our message. Inside the squares we recorded a "poverty fact" about Dallas, Texas and/or the USA.
Our action created quite a stir! And, since they had been tipped off, lots of press showed up to take photos and to capture video for TV news coverage. And, just for the record, we had cleared our plans with the police department's Downtown unit!
Here are a few images from the morning.
The result: CitySquare!
Following the advice of our counselors at The Richards Group, we organized a PR "stunt" on Monday, October 25, the day of our public "roll out" for the new brand. The exercise involved over 100 of our team gathering in Downtown Dallas before 7:00 a.m. We then spread out with large square stencils and sidewalk chalk in hand to about 100 locations plotted in the central business district.
We drew large squares on the sidewalks at strategic corners so that all of the people walking to work would see our message. Inside the squares we recorded a "poverty fact" about Dallas, Texas and/or the USA.
Our action created quite a stir! And, since they had been tipped off, lots of press showed up to take photos and to capture video for TV news coverage. And, just for the record, we had cleared our plans with the police department's Downtown unit!
Here are a few images from the morning.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The limits and the possibilities of community service
For the past 15 years we've struggled on almost a daily basis with the notion of "community service" and its place in community development and the pursuit of a more just, equitable society.
Often service opportunities flow in just one direction: from communities of material wealth to communities of material scarcity. Most service options at the local level provide the greatest actual benefit to those performing the service, rather than to those receiving it.
Early on we recognized the enormous value of inviting low-income neighbors into the mix of community service and activism. Lots of debates, even arguments, resulted from our rather unorthodox, at least for Dallas, decision to invite the poor into the process of community service.
Nothing has been more important to our growth and maturation as an organization than this single decision. [For more background, type "Josefina Ortiz" into the blog search tool.]
Now comes encouraging news about the proposed Serve America Act that will come before the new Congress in the near future. For a helpful summary of the bill's contents and an outline of its goals, read more here. Co-sponsors of this legislation include Senators Hatch, Kennedy, Cochran, Clinton and, then Senator Obama. The bi-partisan legislation would place an additional 175,000 community folks into positions of service and community improvement across the nation. Much like AmeriCorps, this additional national service force would include folks from low-income communities.
I would urge your support of this legislation. Write your Senators and your member of Congress today to express that support.
Involving low-income communities in national renewal at a large scale will affect much needed change in our inner cities. I know this from my experience here in Dallas inside my own shop.
.
Often service opportunities flow in just one direction: from communities of material wealth to communities of material scarcity. Most service options at the local level provide the greatest actual benefit to those performing the service, rather than to those receiving it.
Early on we recognized the enormous value of inviting low-income neighbors into the mix of community service and activism. Lots of debates, even arguments, resulted from our rather unorthodox, at least for Dallas, decision to invite the poor into the process of community service.
Nothing has been more important to our growth and maturation as an organization than this single decision. [For more background, type "Josefina Ortiz" into the blog search tool.]
Now comes encouraging news about the proposed Serve America Act that will come before the new Congress in the near future. For a helpful summary of the bill's contents and an outline of its goals, read more here. Co-sponsors of this legislation include Senators Hatch, Kennedy, Cochran, Clinton and, then Senator Obama. The bi-partisan legislation would place an additional 175,000 community folks into positions of service and community improvement across the nation. Much like AmeriCorps, this additional national service force would include folks from low-income communities.
I would urge your support of this legislation. Write your Senators and your member of Congress today to express that support.
Involving low-income communities in national renewal at a large scale will affect much needed change in our inner cities. I know this from my experience here in Dallas inside my own shop.
.
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