Myrna Lewis’ TEDx talk on the capacity for Deep Democracy methods to:
Learn more about the Lewis Deep Democracy methods here and here.
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Making sense of the huge array of organizations, software and concepts pushing to “change the world” is nearly impossible, as long as we remain unable to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. We are putting together a highly improbable mix of people together because we eagerly await the crazy, ambitious ideas they can co-create, and we are committed to seriously considering how to realize as many of them as time permits. By putting out heads together and creating a space where people can feel free to shoot for the moon, we think we will be more likely to reach a couple of stars.
Check out the topics for upcoming Roundtable discussions.
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Resources for collaborative workshop design including a great collection of icebreakers and energisers, diagnosis tools and process ideas.
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Replicating here a useful Twitter thread from @tuckeve
1/ Ever since I was in graduate school, I thought I hated giving public talks. But I soon realized it’s not the presentation, but the Q & A that can feel so awful. Academic audiences can be arrogant, hostile, and self-absorbed.
2/ People don’t always bring their best selves to the Q & A—people can act out their own discomfort about the approach or the topic of the talk. We need to do better. I believe in heavily mediated Q & A sessions.
3/ Before I give a talk, I ask my host to please find someone to facilitate the Q & A. It is better for someone who knows the people in the audience to choose who gets to ask questions in public, because they know who is a bully, who to avoid, who will derail a conversation.
4/ The tips in this thread are both what I do after my own talks, and what I do when I am chairing a session. I especially do this for graduate students and early career scholars.
5/ I make it clear that it is the audience’s responsibility to help craft a positive public speaking experience for graduate students and early career scholars. I tell the audience to help keep the good experience going and tell them not to ask violent questions.
6/ Right after I am finished talking or all the panelists have shared their papers, I invite the audience to take 5-10 minutes to talk to each other. After 45-70 minutes of listening, people are bursting to talk,
7/ and taking the time to turn to talk to a neighbor keeps the first question from being from a person who just felt the urgency to talk. Also, I often need a breather and a moment to drink water or even step out to use the washroom.
8/ So, I give the audience 5-10 minutes to talk to a neighbor. I suggest that they use the time to peer review their questions.
9/ I say that this is a time for them to share a question they are considering posing in the q and a, and that they should a) make sure it is really a question; b) make sure they aren’t actually trying to say that THEY should have given the paper;
10/ c) figure out if the question needs to be posed and answered in front of everyone; d) I remind the audience that the speaker has just done a lot of work, so they should figure out if their question is asking the speaker to do work that really the question-asker should do.
11/ Then, after 5-10 mins, I will sometimes ask for the first question to come from particular people in the room— Indigenous graduate students, etc. Or, if opening it up for anyone to begin, I will ask, “did you peer review your question?” before the person takes the mic.
12/ People kind of laugh it off, but once they realize that I am serious–that the expectation is that they are thoughtful about the quality of their question and whether it really needs to be asked–it often helps to make the conversation much more satisfying.
13/ People kind of laugh it off, but once they realize that I am serious–that the expectation is that they are thoughtful about the quality of their question and whether it really needs to be asked–it often helps to make the conversation much more satisfying.
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Printed card decks for the Wise Democracy Pattern Language (version 2.0) are now available for purchase in boxed sets with 96 pattern cards and educational inserts. They are backed up by an encyclopedic wise democracy website packed with methods and practical advice as well as big-picture theory, vision and questions to deepen one’s understanding. The cards are designed for individual use or for group exercises for:
For anyone seeking to better address the complexity of our time, this tool provides insightful principles and practical methodologies. Over the next few months there will be a number of educational, networking and consultative activities. To stay informed, subscribe to the Wise Democracy newsletter.
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Every campaign is a learning opportunity. Make the most of this by planning for the post-campaign period and setting up debriefs. Holly Hammond offers some useful tips for campaigners and facilitators…
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decision making facilitation learning organisations planning workshop resources
This is exciting. Tom Atlee and the Co-Intelligence Institute team have developed a terrific collection of 96 patterns they describe as… “features or design principles that we believe would show up repeatedly in a democracy characterized by collective wisdom, as manifested in collective decisions and behaviors that generate long term broad benefits and healthy living systems, both human and natural.” Wow.
The patterns are available as a beautiful set of 96 cards, along with suggested activities to help your group explore how these patterns speak to their group life – current or hoped for. “Some activities are about using the patterns to analyze real or hypothetical situations or democratic examples. Some are more focused on self-improvement and building community among students and practitioners, or spreading the word to invite others into this wise democracy adventure. And some stimulate us to be creative about wise democracy ideas.” You can also download a facilitators guide and other resources.
If you use these resources in your work, we’d love to hear your experience. I know Tom values feedback.
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An effective meeting starts with a meeting agenda. An agenda serves as the outline of important meeting information, and what will be covered. It provides clear direction for meetings and can save you several hours per month. If you want to learn what makes a meeting agenda effective, this resource is for you. We’ll break down the most important elements of an agenda, go over the steps you should follow when creating one, and end with some samples and a free agenda template.
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Climate for Change are looking for a new group of up to 25 committed volunteers to join in 2019.
You will learn and work with a small, hard-working team to design and implement an ambitious real-life fundraising project in a fun and supportive environment. This is a great opportunity for someone wanting first-hand experience in the not-for-profit sector, while gaining fundamental skills needed for fundraising, communications and community organising.
The first part of the fellowship will involve weekly sessions covering everything from fundraising strategy to values-based communication delivered by industry experts, while the second part will focus on project work. To ensure you have the skills and knowledge needed to successfully complete these projects, you will be trained and supported by experts in a range of fundraising and communication fields.
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Creative, empowering and diverse processes can be used to work with a group to establish their personal and group needs, values, principles and ethics then come to shared understandings and agreements. The analogy of the seed is part of a meta process Robin is developing called ‘The Vision Tree Process’. The next stage is to explore the Group Vision and the things that help the seed to grow.
The whole process will be detailed in Dynamic Teaching and Facilitation – The Foundations which is mini book one of the series Robin is writing and due out by the middle of the year.
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‘How to’ guides for campaigners, organisers and activist educators.
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The Change Agency team hit the road this March and April, with workshops in Melbourne, Sydney and...
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On 22 July 2019, the 17 funders who have supported the Community Organising Fellowship since 2014 received Philanthropy...
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