From George Nemeth some a link to this post, which I repeat in full:
Today, about 35 local and regional organizations, foundations, companies and banks came together to support and actively engage the City of East Cleveland in its strategy for revitalization and transformation. No, not three, but 35. It began with an extremely simple concept, but often hard to do. We asked. We invited individuals to attend. We asked for engagement and questions. We asked for people to envision new partnerships, not based on previous relationships, but new ones. We invited individuals in a personal way to participate in a discussion.
I am not implying that “asking” by itself, is a remedy or endpoint. I think it is a constant and often gets over shadowed by the need to get the results, and not as a primary method of authentic networks, and allowing potential partners to respond in a manner that allows for dialogue, shared points of view, and connection/collaboration.
Also, I am not arguing that asking can itself turnaround our nation’s cities, but far too often, government operates without asking, without invitations, and just does. Whether in a cloak room or boardroom, under the glare of lights or behind closed doors, creating new visions for our region, demand asking, questions, challenging points of view, and ensuring that, as we create new democratic networks, that the people participate and lead. There is just no other way.
Share:
Last year I was invited to give a talk on the shapes of community engagement for a conference sponsored by the BC Treaty Commission called Forging Linkages and Finding Solutions. This is the slide deck I used and here is a transcript of my talk.
Share:
John Dumbrille on our recent efforts here on Bowen Island:
That self governance will be better enabled using web tools is probable. After all, there are economic drivers (‘more for less’) propelling it. But probable success factors are all about money and efficiency and intention, spirit and design. Thinking the litmus test is – does this BOWEGOV etc help people come home to themselves. How to measure this may be ‘happy’ indices, or, put another way – ‘spirit of giving/sharing’ indices.
I am dedicated to the face to face. Inasmuch as these tools bring us into generous relationship with each other, I say yay! And they do that in spades.
Share:
Tenneson Woolf from a harvest poem called How Are You Navigating in the Time of Dramatic Change?:
I sound like I don’t know what I am doing, but I do know.
I find my way in the immediately infront, the next simple elegant step.
The next simple elegant step describes my approach to action. Recently, in our little consulting firm we have adopted a project status process that involves writing down only the next step for each of our projects. When you take the to do list and write it as one thing to do only, one elegant next step, it invites consciousness and beauty and elegance and simplicity to the work. So I am becoming more conscious about filling in the little box that says “Next step” and taking a moment each time to find the clarity that is needed for that next step to invite more.
Navigating this drama with intention, consciousnes and invitation. Creating more of all three.
Share:
This post from Jack is so useful and powerful that I’m quoting it whole here:
One of my seatmates from Phili to Boston last night was Portland’s city planner, a gentle giant of an AfricanAmerican man who spent the post-war Bosnian years doing amazing work in economic development and country re-building.
He lead the first public school integration in the country, a school where Serb, Croat and Muslim children went to school at the same building in 8 hour shifts in order to prevent any inter-contact. Taking key leaders and school administrators for a month in Geneva, he asked them to start by sequestering themselves in the three segregated groups and dream of the future they wanted for their own ethnic children.
When they assembled together to share the newsprint report outs, the dreams were identical. He then asked one of the participants to lead the group in a song all knew from before the wars and the group simply melted.
When they returned to the community, the community embraced the plan for two reasons. One was their faith in their leaders. The other was that when the children were asked to dream, they dreampt of a learning community of all being together.