Wise Democracy Victoria
PRESS RELEASE Contact: George Sranko
February 21, 2007 (250) 598-0124
Caspar Davis
(250) 598-5917

Local Citizens Work to Revitalize Democracy in Victoria

WHAT: A group of local citizens have come together to engage their neighbours in a new form of public conversation, called the “Wisdom Council”, which offers a way to start community wide conversations about the issues that are important to Victorians. It is designed to encourage heart-felt and non-judgmental dialogue. The group plans three Wisdom Council events over the next year.

WHEN: The first Wisdom Council will meet March 30th and 31st, 2007.
Immediately following the Wisdom Council's deliberations, there will be a public Community Meeting to share the results, March 31st, 2007 at 4 p.m. (Public & Press Encouraged to Attend)

WHERE: Fairfield New Horizons Centre, 380 Cook Street.

WHO: The Wisdom Council process is being organized by a group of ordinary citizens who believe that democracy means much more than voting every four years.

DETAILS: The wisdom council uses an innovative kind of facilitation to encourage a deep dialogue that helps participants get beyond our usual politeness and defensiveness so that they can have a respectful dialogue about the issues that matter most to them. It is important that Council members participate as individuals - they do not represent any other people, interest group, organization, or region. There’s no pre-determined agenda or topic. Council members choose the issues to discuss, and they are free to explore in the way they choose.

Afterwards they present their propositions to the wide community and disband. This entire process is then repeated with new randomly selected Wisdom Council. The intention is that over time this process will build community, generate consensus viewpoints, and lead to action. Wisdom Councils were first used in the U.S. and have spread to Europe. Victoria is the first Canadian city to introduce this process.

On March 9th, the 12 members of the first Wisdom Council will be chosen by lot from a pool of randomly selected citizens of Victoria. The Wisdom Council is intended to spark action and help the city council, businesses, community organizations, and other residents by giving a clear voice to the thoughts, needs and values of local citizens.

For more information see www.wisedemocracyvictoria.com or email Caspar Davis at prana4@shaw.ca or George Sranko at geo@jollytoad.com.