April 18: Citizen Assemblies- Reinvigorating Civic Engagement

Description

Note: This is a morning forum, 8:30am.

Join us for a discussion that will open up the idea of citizen involvement in local decision-making. Increasingly people on all sides of the political spectrum (including those unengaged) feel left out of how decisions are made. A Citizens’ Assembly is a group of people selected by lottery who are broadly representative of a community. They spend significant time learning and collaborating through facilitated deliberation to find common ground and form collective recommendations for policymakers, decision-makers, and the community. These Assemblies are sometimes called Citizens’ Juries, Panels, or Councils depending on their size and the country where they are taking place. We will discuss how this model works internationally and how it is currently being used right here in Central Oregon.

Speakers:

Opening Remarks from Claudia Chwalisz of Democracy Next

Panelists:

• Alex Renirie from Health Democracy
• Josh Burgess from the Central Oregon Civics Action Project
• Megan Perkins, Bend City Council

Moderated by: Nicole Vulcan, Editor at The Source Weekly

Resources:

• Citizens’ assemblies: are they the future of democracy?
• Six Ways to Democratize City Planning" White Paper   
• A Movement That’s Quietly Reshaping Democracy For The Better
• The future of California democracy? Look no further than Petaluma
• It’s like jury duty, but for getting things done
• Public Democracy LA discusses the significance and need for citizens’ assemblies
• The public is ready for citizens' assemblies – civil servants should embrace this (UK)
• Citizens’ assemblies: is Labour’s plan the overhaul our democracy needs? (UK)
• ‘Deliberative democracy’: Some groups already planning their climate change response(NZ)

The Central Oregon Civic Action Project (COCAP) is a partnership between non-profits (DemNext and Healthy Democracy), OSU Cascades and local governments.  Their long-term aims are to improve local governance and help bring Central Oregonians together through service to our community.