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Orientation to Everyday Democracy's work

by everydaydemocracy on Sep 02, 2011

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Everyday Democracy helps communities find ways for all kinds of people to think, talk and work together to solve problems.

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Everyday Democracy helps communities find ways for all kinds of people to think, talk and work together to solve problems.

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(Ask the audience) How does your community solve problems?
Here are a few examples of common ways communities solve problems. One is from the bottom up: people are upset and they are reacting instead of being proactive.
Another way is from the top down: it happens privately without input from the community.
Another option is a town hall meeting. Usually this only allows you to have 3 minutes to say your own opinion and people are usually pretty angry.
There’s a better way to solve community problems. We’re talking about a way that gives everyone a voice and leads to action. Many people think of democracy as the second Tuesday in November when they vote, but we should participate in democracy daily where you have a real impact in your community. So what is this better way to solve community problems?
Pajarito Mesa is a rural community in New Mexico with approximately 1500 residents, some born in the U.S. and many from throughout Mexico and Central America. It is not recognized as part of the Albuquerque infrastructure. Among the barriers they face is: No electricity, no running water, no paved or named roads, no shelter for children dropped off by school bus at end of day, prejudice against Latin American immigrants. They held 6 dialogues to discuss how to make the community stronger, focusing on the needs of their children. 70 people participated in the dialogues.
Actions County commissioners’ office donates a portable building for children to use as shelter until parents return from work. Youth program donating staff and supplies to provide after school services in the portable building County emergency services working with residents, using GPS to better identify the dirt roads, making it possible for them to respond to emergencies more promptly Increased police presence on the Mesa has lowered incidents like dumping, youth parties, violence on the Mesa County commissioner’s office is supporting another dialogue of Pajarito Mesa residents, this time with landowners, to plan out how they would like to see Pajarito Mesa develop
Lack of time For rural communities, distance Power structure – “old-timers” running things and unwilling to share power We’re here to help you break down these barriers and reach out to all in a community. In our work, we’ve found that race has been a barrier in most communities. We need to recognize that cultural differences, including race, creates barriers to solving problems as a community.
Why does this approach work? It includes many voices. People with different perspectives and opinions from all corners of society listen to each other. When people have a voice, they take responsibility for helping make the change happen. It builds relationships. This helps to dispel stereotypes, and the relationships that form from the dialogues become an asset when a community is ready to take action. 3) Every community faces barriers – sometimes they’re hard to see at first glance. This approach gives your community a way to identify and talk about them. Barriers could be cultural, economic, or racial. Racism is rooted in our country’s history and is embedded in our culture. It is the greatest barrier to solving all kinds of public problems. Because of this, our approach includes helping communities understand how racism and other structural inequities affect the problems they’re addressing. 4) When the whole community is involved in finding solutions to problems, when the action ideas come from the community, its residents are invested in the process
Why does this approach work? It includes many voices. People with different perspectives and opinions from all corners of society listen to each other. When people have a voice, they take responsibility for helping make the change happen. It builds relationships. This helps to dispel stereotypes, and the relationships that form from the dialogues become an asset when a community is ready to take action. 3) Every community faces barriers – sometimes they’re hard to see at first glance. This approach gives your community a way to identify and talk about them. Barriers could be cultural, economic, or racial. Racism is rooted in our country’s history and is embedded in our culture. It is the greatest barrier to solving all kinds of public problems. Because of this, our approach includes helping communities understand how racism and other structural inequities affect the problems they’re addressing. 4) When the whole community is involved in finding solutions to problems, when the action ideas come from the community, its residents are invested in the process
Why does this approach work? It includes many voices. People with different perspectives and opinions from all corners of society listen to each other. When people have a voice, they take responsibility for helping make the change happen. It builds relationships. This helps to dispel stereotypes, and the relationships that form from the dialogues become an asset when a community is ready to take action. 3) Every community faces barriers – sometimes they’re hard to see at first glance. This approach gives your community a way to identify and talk about them. Barriers could be cultural, economic, or racial. Racism is rooted in our country’s history and is embedded in our culture. It is the greatest barrier to solving all kinds of public problems. Because of this, our approach includes helping communities understand how racism and other structural inequities affect the problems they’re addressing. 4) When the whole community is involved in finding solutions to problems, when the action ideas come from the community, its residents are invested in the process
Why does this approach work? It includes many voices. People with different perspectives and opinions from all corners of society listen to each other. When people have a voice, they take responsibility for helping make the change happen. It builds relationships. This helps to dispel stereotypes, and the relationships that form from the dialogues become an asset when a community is ready to take action. 3) Every community faces barriers – sometimes they’re hard to see at first glance. This approach gives your community a way to identify and talk about them. Barriers could be cultural, economic, or racial. Racism is rooted in our country’s history and is embedded in our culture. It is the greatest barrier to solving all kinds of public problems. Because of this, our approach includes helping communities understand how racism and other structural inequities affect the problems they’re addressing. 4) When the whole community is involved in finding solutions to problems, when the action ideas come from the community, its residents are invested in the process
Why does this approach work? It includes many voices. People with different perspectives and opinions from all corners of society listen to each other. When people have a voice, they take responsibility for helping make the change happen. It builds relationships. This helps to dispel stereotypes, and the relationships that form from the dialogues become an asset when a community is ready to take action. 3) Every community faces barriers – sometimes they’re hard to see at first glance. This approach gives your community a way to identify and talk about them. Barriers could be cultural, economic, or racial. Racism is rooted in our country’s history and is embedded in our culture. It is the greatest barrier to solving all kinds of public problems. Because of this, our approach includes helping communities understand how racism and other structural inequities affect the problems they’re addressing. 4) When the whole community is involved in finding solutions to problems, when the action ideas come from the community, its residents are invested in the process
Several activities lead to the kind of change we’re talking about: It starts with inclusive community organizing Then you gather the community together in dialogue After the dialogues community members will work on action ideas that they develop The process is something they can use to address issues as they arise. The organizing, dialogue, and action will eventually lead to change.
Several activities lead to the kind of change we’re talking about: It starts with inclusive community organizing Then you gather the community together in dialogue After the dialogues community members will work on action ideas that they develop The process is something they can use to address issues as they arise. The organizing, dialogue, and action will eventually lead to change.
Several activities lead to the kind of change we’re talking about: It starts with inclusive community organizing Then you gather the community together in dialogue After the dialogues community members will work on action ideas that they develop The process is something they can use to address issues as they arise. The organizing, dialogue, and action will eventually lead to change.
Several activities lead to the kind of change we’re talking about: It starts with inclusive community organizing Then you gather the community together in dialogue After the dialogues community members will work on action ideas that they develop The process is something they can use to address issues as they arise. The organizing, dialogue, and action will eventually lead to change.
Several activities lead to the kind of change we’re talking about: It starts with inclusive community organizing Then you gather the community together in dialogue After the dialogues community members will work on action ideas that they develop The process is something they can use to address issues as they arise. The organizing, dialogue, and action will eventually lead to change.
Generally, organizing takes about four to six months. It may take a longer or shorter amount of time depending on your situation, but six months is a good amount of time to use for planning purposes.
Dialogues work best when different voices and perspectives are at the table. When you’re organizing, you want to get people from different races, ages, neighborhoods, education level, economic situation, ability, immigration status, etc. to join your effort. This includes people who might not see the issue the same way you do or who might not be in your comfort zone. It is especially important to get people from different racial backgrounds to be a part of the community dialogues and action groups. (***Need some race messaging here on why)
Each dialogue circle has 8-12 participants that meet 4-5 times to discuss a critical public issue. Two neutral facilitators use a discussion guide to lead the conversation. Each dialogue circle will likely have diverse participants and opinions.
Let me clarify… It’s not just talk for the sake of talking. Talking leads to building relationships across differences. These new relationships lead to trust Which leads to a stronger community And motivation to take action and create change
Let me clarify… It’s not just talk for the sake of talking. Talking leads to building relationships across differences. These new relationships lead to trust Which leads to a stronger community And motivation to take action and create change
Let me clarify… It’s not just talk for the sake of talking. Talking leads to building relationships across differences. These new relationships lead to trust Which leads to a stronger community And motivation to take action and create change
Let me clarify… It’s not just talk for the sake of talking. Talking leads to building relationships across differences. These new relationships lead to trust Which leads to a stronger community And motivation to take action and create change
What’s powerful about this process is that it’s not just one group of people getting together, it’s 50 or 100 people or more coming together to create a common vision to make your community a better place and act on their ideas.
The dialogues create an open space for different kinds of people to talk about difficult issues. It allows community leaders to hear from residents who don’t usually have a voice. It helps diffuse tensions between groups because it focuses on building relationships and finding common ground. It is also a space to take that common ground and develop ideas for action and to take the dialogues and relationship building to the next level. Again, this isn’t talk for the sake of talking!
The dialogues create an open space for different kinds of people to talk about difficult issues. It allows community leaders to hear from residents who don’t usually have a voice. It helps diffuse tensions between groups because it focuses on building relationships and finding common ground. It is also a space to take that common ground and develop ideas for action and to take the dialogues and relationship building to the next level. Again, this isn’t talk for the sake of talking!
The dialogues create an open space for different kinds of people to talk about difficult issues. It allows community leaders to hear from residents who don’t usually have a voice. It helps diffuse tensions between groups because it focuses on building relationships and finding common ground. It is also a space to take that common ground and develop ideas for action and to take the dialogues and relationship building to the next level. Again, this isn’t talk for the sake of talking!
The dialogues create an open space for different kinds of people to talk about difficult issues. It allows community leaders to hear from residents who don’t usually have a voice. It helps diffuse tensions between groups because it focuses on building relationships and finding common ground. It is also a space to take that common ground and develop ideas for action and to take the dialogues and relationship building to the next level. Again, this isn’t talk for the sake of talking!
The dialogues create an open space for different kinds of people to talk about difficult issues. It allows community leaders to hear from residents who don’t usually have a voice. It helps diffuse tensions between groups because it focuses on building relationships and finding common ground. It is also a space to take that common ground and develop ideas for action and to take the dialogues and relationship building to the next level. Again, this isn’t talk for the sake of talking!
One type of change that comes out of this process is individual change. Some examples of this are dispelled stereotypes, deeper relationships, personal learning and growth, and new leaders.
The next level of change happens through collective action. These are activities that members of the community work on together to benefit everyone. Some examples are creating a community garden or a multicultural center, organizing a neighborhood cleanup, and hosting trust-building forums between police and youth.
The next level of change is institutional and policy change. This changes the way the community works to strengthen and leverage existing resources or to prevent problems from happening in the future. It’s creating policies within existing systems to be more equitable. This type of change can take a long time to implement and is often the hardest to do, but it leads to lasting results. Some examples of institutional and policy change are: incorporating action ideas into a strategic plan, lobbying for a law mandating schools implement bullying policies, and implementing mandatory diversity and racial equity training for city employees. These are all things that communities have done as a result of the dialogue-to-change program.
It’s also about looking at your community differently. One community comes to mind in South Dakota. The owner of a car dealership that went under when the market crashed a couple of years ago took part in the dialogues there. A common concern was that their youth had nothing to do in town. They were bored and getting into drugs and other forms of trouble.
Relationship building is at the core of community building. It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money, but it does take will power and looking at your community in a different way, where something that you once thought was a deficiency or an eyesore becomes an asset.
Relationship building is at the core of community building. It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money, but it does take will power and looking at your community in a different way, where something that you once thought was a deficiency or an eyesore becomes an asset.
Relationship building is at the core of community building. It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money, but it does take will power and looking at your community in a different way, where something that you once thought was a deficiency or an eyesore becomes an asset.
Relationship building is at the core of community building. It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money, but it does take will power and looking at your community in a different way, where something that you once thought was a deficiency or an eyesore becomes an asset.
Relationship building is at the core of community building. It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money, but it does take will power and looking at your community in a different way, where something that you once thought was a deficiency or an eyesore becomes an asset.
Just by contacting us and attending this orientation you’ve already shown initiative and taken the first step.
Share your vision with others: Let them know how excited you are and that there’s a new way to solve problems in your community that ensures everyone’s voice gets heard. Also reach out to those you don’t know! Download this orientation from our website and share it with others. Sit down with a group of people interested in this work and start planning. The more people know about it and are as excited as you are, the easier and faster this process will be!
One initial step to take is to start building a diverse coalition to help move this forward. Conduct a sample dialogue with them so they can get a taste of how the dialogues will work.
This is the team of staff members and senior associates at Everyday Democracy. We’re here to help you along the way. We can conduct trainings on organizing, facilitating and action planning and we’re available to answer questions you may have in between trainings.
This is the team of staff members and senior associates at Everyday Democracy. We’re here to help you along the way. We can conduct trainings on organizing, facilitating and action planning and we’re available to answer questions you may have in between trainings.
Today I’ve shared with you some amazing stories of communities that have held dialogues and taken action. You could be a key instrument in changing your community. Don’t just put the key in a box and forget about it. Take it and start opening some doors and start changing your community.

Orientation to Everyday Democracy’s work — Webinar Transcript

EVERYDAY DEMOCRACY ORIENTATION
How does your community solve problems?
From the bottom up
Top down
Town hall meetings
- There’s another way to solve community problems
Pajarito Mesa: Strong Starts for Children
- Community in New Mexico
- 1,500 residents, many from Mexico and Central America
- 70 people participated in 6 dialogues
Pajarito Mesa: Actions
- Portable schoolhouse and after school services for children
- Collaboration with county emergency services
- Increased police presence
- County commissioner’s office supporting more dialogues
What makes it hard for people to get things done in your community?
What is effective about this approach?
- Includes many voices
- Builds relationships
- Breaks down barriers
- Action ideas come from the community
What is effective about this approach?
- Includes many voices
- Builds relationships
- Breaks down barriers
- Action ideas come from the community
What is effective about this approach?
- Includes many voices
- Builds relationships
- Breaks down barriers
- Action ideas come from the community
What is effective about this approach?
- Includes many voices
- Builds relationships
- Breaks down barriers
- Action ideas come from the community
What is effective about this approach?
- Includes many voices
- Builds relationships
- Breaks down barriers
- Action ideas come from the community
HOW THE PROCESS WORKS
Organizing
- Dialogue
Organizing
- Dialogue
Action Organizing
- Dialogue
Action Organizing
- Dialogue
Action Change Organizing
Organizing takes about 4-6 months
Work to get different voices and perspectives
What dialogue circles look like
- 8 to 12 participants
- Meets 4-5 times to discuss a critical public issue
- 2 facilitators per group
- Diverse participants and opinions
- Building relationships
- Building relationships
Trust
- Building relationships
Trust Stronger community
- Building relationships
Trust + Motivation to take action Stronger community
Coming together to create a common vision
Results of Inclusive Dialogues
- Creating an open space for people to talk about difficult issues
- Hearing from community members who usually don’t have a voice
- Diffusing tensions between groups
- Creating space to come up with ideas for action
Results of Inclusive Dialogues
- Creating an open space for people to talk about difficult issues
- Hearing from community members who usually don’t have a voice
- Diffusing tensions between groups
- Creating space to come up with ideas for action
Results of Inclusive Dialogues
- Creating an open space for people to talk about difficult issues
- Hearing from community members who usually don’t have a voice
- Diffusing tensions between groups
- Creating space to come up with ideas for action
Results of Inclusive Dialogues
- Creating an open space for people to talk about difficult issues
- Hearing from community members who usually don’t have a voice
- Diffusing tensions between groups
- Creating space to come up with ideas for action
Results of Inclusive Dialogues
- Creating an open space for people to talk about difficult issues
- Hearing from community members who usually don’t have a voice
- Diffusing tensions between groups
- Creating space to come up with ideas for action
- Individual Change
- Dispelled stereotypes
- Deeper relationships
- Personal learning and
- growth
- New leaders
- Collective Action
- Community garden
- Multicultural center
- Neighborhood cleanup
- Trust-building forums between police and youth
- Institutional and Policy Change
- Incorporating action ideas into a strategic plan
- Lobbying for a law mandating schools to implement bullying policies
- Implementing mandatory diversity and racial equity training for city employees
Here’s another story…
Here’s another story…
- South Dakota community
- Common concern: Youth were getting into trouble
- People donated space, furniture, games, and time to support a new youth center
- Now, the young people in that town have a safe space to study and hang out
An empty car dealership turned into a youth center. An eyesore turned into a community asset.
- Relationship building
- Overcoming economic barriers
- Discovering overlooked assets
- People want to get involved
What does this story illustrate?
- Relationship building
- Overcoming economic barriers
- Discovering overlooked assets
- People want to get involved
What does this story illustrate?
- Relationship building
- Overcoming economic barriers
- Discovering overlooked assets
- People want to get involved
What does this story illustrate?
- Relationship building
- Overcoming economic barriers
- Discovering overlooked assets
- People want to get involved
What does this story illustrate?
- Relationship building
- Overcoming economic barriers
- Discovering overlooked assets
- People want to get involved
What does this story illustrate?
NEXT STEPS
- You’ve already taken the first step
Spread the word!
- Share your vision with others
- Download the orientation and share it with others
- Sit down with a group of people interested in this work to do some planning
Build a diverse coalition
Get in touch with Everyday Democracy
Get in touch with Everyday Democracy
- Conduct trainings on organizing, facilitating, and action planning
- Answer questions after others see the orientation and in between trainings
- Visit www.everyday-democracy.org to check out our advice, materials, and other community stories
- You could play a key role in changing your community

Orientation to Everyday Democracy's work

by everydaydemocracy on Sep 02, 2011

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Orientation to Everyday Democracy’s work — Webinar Transcript