[From vpr.net via Deliberative-Democracy.net] More than a century ago, lawmakers designated the first Tuesday in March as a day for a town meeting. However, changing times are threatening the health of this democratic institution. On March 1, 2006, Vermont Public Radio presented an hour-long documentary exploring the tradition of Town Meeting Day, its importance to Vermont life, and the challenges to grassroots democracy during changing times. With stories and comments from voters, moderators, clerks, the governor, the secretary of state, the legislature, and the political ... (continue)

[From keystone.org via Deliberative-Democracy.net] In one of the most exemplary recent US government efforts to engage the public around an urgent issue, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened a series of public consultations on pandemic flu in the last quarter of 2005. According to one of the project’s sponsors, “To conduct this public consultation, the sponsors engaged stakeholders from various organizations with an interest in pandemic influenza (the National Stakeholder Group), and individual citizens-at-large from the four principal regions of the ... (continue)

The Herb Block Foundation (www.herbblockfoundation.org)is committed to defending the basic freedoms guaranteed all Americans, combating all forms of discrimination and prejudice, and improving the conditions of the poor and underprivileged through the creation or support of charitable and educational programs with the same goals. Through its Encouraging Citizen Involvement grant program, the foundation seeks to help ensure a responsible, responsive democratic government through citizen involvement. Proposals for this program may focus on citizen education, greater voter participation in the electoral process, or citizen oversight of ... (continue)

The HAVIDS Niger Delta News Centre for Environment & Development, a Nigeria-based organizational member of NCDD, has just sent out an important communique on the organization of the 2006 International Day for Peace in Niger Delta. The Day for Peace is being organized for November 2006. They are seeking feedback and collaborators as they organize this event. If you are interested in being involved in the 2006 International Day for Peace in the Niger Delta, or if you have feedback or ideas for HAVIDS, email ... (continue)

Deliberative Democracy: New Directions in Public Policy Dispute Resolution is the theme for the annual conference of the Environment and Public Policy Section (EPP) of the Association for Conflict Resolution. The conference will be held on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts from Wednesday, June 28 through Friday, June 30, 2006. They are seeking proposals by March 24th on one of three themes: Deliberative Democracy; Intractable, Values-Based Public Policy Disputes; International, Cross-Cultural Comparative Analysis of dispute resolution outside the ... (continue)

The Transnational Institute just published online a paper by Estair Van Wagner and Josh Lerner: “Participatory Budgeting in Canada: Democratic Innovations in Strategic Spaces.” (www.tni.org/newpol-docs/pbcanada.htm) The paper assesses the initial participatory budgeting experiences in Canada – the only ones in North America. In Canada, PB has been used with budgets in public housing, neighborhood groups, a municipality, and a school. (continue)

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a year-long process of democratic deliberation and decision-making, in which ordinary city residents decide how to allocate part of a municipal or public budget. PB first emerged in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre where it has over the last two decades increased political participation, decreased economic inequality and corruption and developed citizen capacities that have spurred further organizing and activism. Since then PB has spread to hundreds of cities in Latin America and other continents. A panel will discuss Participatory ... (continue)

National Issues Forums (NIF) has just published a new discussion guide about end-of-life decisions. The discussion guide, titled Life and Death Decisions: Who Decides? presents information about aspects of end-of-life decisions that are currently at issue in the country, and three possible approaches for consideration. The approaches are “Preserving Life,” which states that as long as there is the ability to maintain life, our skills should be employed in sustaining it; “Maintaning Quality of Life” which states that sometimes withdrawing life support is appropriate even ... (continue)

The Midwest Social Forum (www.mwsocialforum.org) is an annual gathering of grassroots organizations, community activists, workers, educators, students, and others committed to making a better, more just world possible. It will be held this July 2-6 in Milwaukee, WI. The MWSF provides an open space for exchanging experiences and information, strengthening alliances and networks, and developing effective strategies for progressive social, economic, and political change. Formerly known as Radfest, the MWSF has been inspired by the World Social Forum and the similar principles on which it ... (continue)

On March 20 and 21, 2006, One World Inc. (OWI) will offer a training workshop on Deliberative Dialogue in Ottawa, Canada. The Deliberative Dialogue methodology is an innovative, proven approach to engage citizens and stakeholders in productive discussions on public policy. It delves into the core of key social issues by accessing people’s wisdom and expertise through a facilitation technique that helps people thoughtfully examine various realistic but often divergent perspectives. These discussions are values-based dialogues as opposed to agenda-driven debates. During this two-day workshop, ... (continue)