An Oregon county is looking for solutions to youth homelessness—so it convened a random selection of residents to come up with ideas. December 31, 2024 by Nick Romeo | ast July, an unusual letter arrived at Kathryn Kundmueller’s mobile home, in central Oregon. It invited her to enter a lottery that would select thirty residents of
What Could Citizens’ Assemblies Do for American Politics? Read More »
An effort in Bend, Ore., backed by big funders looks for answers to youth homelessness. George Anders, October 3, 2024 — BEND, ORE.Eliza Wilson is a little nervous as she draws the microphone close to her, but she is determined to share her life story — and its larger lessons — with a vital new
Can Ordinary Citizens Solve Our Toughest Problems? Read More »
📺 Watch Deschutes County assembly members describe their experience in their own words As a contentious U.S. presidential election comes down to the wire, a group of citizens from across the political spectrum in Bend, Oregon demonstrated another way to do politics: through group deliberation, analysis, and moving moments of personal connection and excitement. “It’s
In Oregon assembly, Americans show another kind of politics is possible Read More »
City Club Forum Floats Idea of Citizens Assembly to Tackle Topics in “Bend” Way Simon Mather, May 9, 2024 — A recent City Club of Central Oregon forum asked whether Citizens Assemblies — an idea which has been gaining significant traction worldwide — could be a fresh way for local residents to own complex issues
Move to Give Community “Seat at Table” Read More »
La primera asamblea se enfocará en encontrar soluciones para los jóvenes sin hogar Julianna Lafollette | Translated Jéssica Sánchez-Millar, June 26, 2024 — El Ayuntamiento de Bend y la mesa de comisionados del condado de Deschutes aprobaron un Memorando de Entendimiento con el Proyecto de Acción civil del Centro de Oregón (COCAP por sus siglas
Asambleas ciudadanas locales comenzarán en el otoño Read More »
12,750 invitation letters have been mailed to residents in our first project to institutionalise a Citizens’ Assembly in the US July 10, 2024 — Last week, with official support from city and county governments in Central Oregon, more than 12,750 letters were sent to residents inviting them to be in the lottery for a Civic Assembly on
Launching a first-of-its-kind Civic Assembly in Deschutes County, Oregon, USA 🇺🇸 Read More »
Since you haven’t heard from us much lately, we thought we’d share a glimpse of what’s inspiring and delighting us behind the scenes at HD. (Against the backdrop of a long winter in Oregon, we could all use some inspiration!). Between major projects, our amazing little team is still working towards our mission every single
Behind the Scenes at HD Read More »
This introduction to citizens’ assemblies and how they can empower breakthroughs in local democracy was co-hosted by the Berggruen Institute, Healthy Democracy, The American Public Trust, Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, Abundant Housing LA, and Public Access Democracy. This 90-minute online teach-in brought together advocates and experts on democratic theory and governance to introduce
In this webinar, held on November 18th, 2021, Healthy Democracy teamed up with experts from across the world to discuss lottery-selected deliberative panels. Democratic lotteries are being used around the world to guarantee diversity, representation, and inclusion of new voices in public policymaking. Watch us to learn how this popular democratic reform could help Portland
In early-March 2020, HD’s Linn Davis observed France’s national Citizens’ Convention on Climate. He reports on the potential influence of the Convention, and suggests questions for deliberative practitioners to consider.
It’s a pretty cold time of year to surf real waves in the North Atlantic, so it’s a good thing this one is metaphorical. Healthy Democracy’s colleagues in Europe are calling it a “Deliberative Wave,” and that’s no exaggeration. Across the continent, from Poland to Spain, randomly selected citizens’ assemblies are breaking new ground in
Catching the UK’s “Deliberative Wave” Read More »
From swissinfo.ch: The municipality of Sion in southwestern Switzerland is planning a participative democracy experiment, first tried out in the US state of Oregon, that places randomly selected locals on a citizen panel in the lead up to national referendums. Various inhabitants of the canton Valais municipality will be asked to form a citizen panel that
Swiss town tests citizen panel to help voters analyse information Read More »
