Wise Democracy Victoria

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

First Wisdom Council in Canada is concerned that
the fabric of society is fraying

Victoria, April 5, 2007 –
Victoria was the site of Canada's first Wisdom Council on March 30-31, 2007, as twelve randomly selected Victorians, aged eighteen to seventy-plus, met with the mission of discovering the most urgent issues facing our community.

The Wisdom Council is a new vehicle for involving and empowering ordinary citizens. Jim Rough, the Port Townsend consultant who originated the concept, facilitated the Victoria Wisdom Council.
“Facilitation ensures that the Councillors are free to take the necessary time to think deeply and speak from the heart," said George Sranko, Victoria resident and co-facilitator. “The Council meets, announces its findings to the public, and then disbands. Every three or four months, a new randomly selected council repeats the process.”

"The Council has no formal authority, but the integrity of the process gives it great symbolic weight. The Statement sends a ripple throughout the community, as people discuss the Council's findings in coffee shops, in churches, and around water coolers.”

Each Wisdom Council is free to choose its own issues. After listing more than twenty urgent issues, the Victoria Wisdom Council found that the underlying problem facing our community is our growing isolation from each other and from our environment. The Council delivered the following statement at a public meeting on March 31, sharing their enthusiasm for the Wisdom Council with nearly one hundred people who came to listen.

Statement of the First Victoria Wisdom Council
The Victoria Wisdom Council recognizes that the fabric of our society is fraying in a variety of ways:

• We are increasingly isolated from each other
• We are losing connection with our environment and making choices that have grave impacts upon it
• Our society is increasingly socially and environmentally unsustainable
• There is a growing disconnection between our government and the people

We believe these issues are solvable by fostering a shift from “I” to “We” in our attitudes and actions, by taking a greater role in our democracy, and by recognizing our personal responsibility for these issues.

The Victoria Wisdom Council encourages citizens to become more civically engaged and politically active, by:

• Empowering disenchanted people to reconnect with public life
• Providing more people to people connections, and

• Offering new ways of finding and using our voice

The Wisdom Council itself is one way of achieving this.

Note: please quote the Statement in its entirety.

Available for Interview: members of both the randomly selected Wisdom Council and the volunteer group of convenors are available for interview.
Contacts:
George Sranko Caspar Davis
(250) 598-0124 (250) 598-5917
geo@jollytoad.com prana4@shaw.ca
About Wise Democracy Victoria www.WiseDemocracyVictoria.com

Wise Democracy Victoria is a group of ordinary citizens who volunteer their time to encourage more inclusive, thoughtful and responsible community dialogue. It is affiliated with the international Center for Wise Democracy www.wisedemocracy.org.