Democracy Café funding proposal
Only one-third of Californians believe that state government will do what is right most of the time. People know that the indirect influence of their votes on elected representatives is overwhelmed by special interests and campaign money. As a result, democracy - government by the people – is weak in America.
As elsewhere in the state and country, our current form of democracy works poorly here in Milpitas. The results of poor democracy include a City budget with a $5M structural deficit that continues unaddressed, $50,000 campaigns for Council races (twice the amount spent in other cities of comparable size), negative advertising, misleading advertising, special interest PACs, a sharply divided Council, apparent conflicts of interest, and well-qualified people denied the opportunity to serve on City Commissions.
The purpose of our Democracy Café is to explore possibilities for increasing democracy and cooperation in Milpitas politics.
Proposal: Let's co-host a Democracy Café that examines the question “What actions can Milpitans take to create better democracy for ourselves”? Using the World Café model, we’ll provide an informal and relaxed environment that celebrates and harnesses differences, yet also helps us see what connects us. This is important for communities like Milpitas with many diverse ethnic and cultural groups. The Café also honors and includes the diversity of ways people process and synthesize information.
The World Café is a simple and effective process for creating quality conversations about important issues. Briefly, the process involves participants in iterative rounds of four-person conversations that are 20 to 30 minutes long. At the end of each conversation round, 3 of the 4 people will move to other tables. With them, they carry the key ideas from their original table to share at the new one. During the Café’s introductory remarks, a brief reading of the “Café Etiquette” and “Café Assumptions” should be enough to spark a cooperative atmosphere in the room. After three or four rounds, a conversation of the whole is conducted to bring together and express the insights of the entire group. From these insights, actionable knowledge is likely to flow – and lead to real action on a solution.
One of the strengths of the World Café is its simplicity and versatility. The seven World Café design principles, when used in combination, create a kind of "conversational greenhouse," nurturing the conditions for the rapid propagation of actionable knowledge. Chapter 10 of the book The World Café focuses on the practicalities of Café hosting. It is designed to stand alone as a World Cafe hosting guide to help plan Café dialogues in diverse settings. Our Café hosts - approximately 10 to 15 for the expected 50 to 75 participants – will use Chapter 10 to help prepare for their roles.
To assure a hospitable space for participants, the Indian Community Center auditorium will be the venue. With its large, open space with adjacent juice/coffee bar, the auditorium will provide a relaxed ambiance. Round tables with seating for four will be decorated with red-and-white checked table cloths and flowers. A large piece of paper atop the table and a collection of colored markers and pens/pencils will encourage graphic communications. To create a welcoming feel, we plan to have one volunteer host for every five participants; hosts will greet, orient and encourage participants. Music will complete the ambiance as people arrive and at appropriate times throughout the Café.
Co-Sponsorship and Support
In addition to the $3000 we expect to raise from individuals and organizations, we’ll invite support and sponsorship of the Café by the organizations listed below. We want the League of Women Voters to take the lead with co-sponsorship support from others.
- League of Women Voters
- Milpitas Democratic Club
- Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association (as part of its civic education role)
- Community Advisory Commission of Milpitas
- League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
- The Milpitas City Council
- Californians for Electoral Reform (www.cfer.org)
- Green Party of Santa Clara County
- Santa Clara County Republican Party
- California Perspectives program
Whichever organization accepts the "lead agency" label will be highlighted in all advertising. Members of sponsoring organizations will provide hosts to support the Café. Sponsoring agencies are expected to advertise the Café through their normal channels. Additional involvement and support would be welcomed but not expected. Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association (SNA) will secure the location, seating, and sound system. SNA will also coordinate with the other participating groups to arrange for subject experts, name tags for participants, A/V needs (computer projector, easels and paper pads, markers, etc.), video-taping (and later broadcast on the local Milpitas public access channel), refreshments, advertising, insurance and follow-up. As we don't expect more than 75 people, parking and crowd control issues will be minimal.
Outcomes/Objectives
The purpose of our Democracy Café is to explore possibilities for increasing democracy and cooperation in Milpitas politics. When people care about the questions they are working on and when their conversations are truly alive, participants naturally want to organize themselves to do whatever has to be done, discovering who cares about what and who will take accountability for next steps. We expect that whatever emerges from the Democracy Café will be "actionable knowledge", i.e. something that can be put into practice. However, due to the very nature of emergent wisdom, predicting specific outcomes is impossible. Your contribution to our $3000 fundraising goal could help restore democracy in America.
This proposal comes from the Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association, P. O. Box 360581, Milpitas, CA 95036-0581. To learn more, contact SNA Treasurer Rob Means at 408-262-0420 or rob.means@electric-bikes.com
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