Greetings,
>
> I was fortunate and honored to be invited to Victoria last week,
> where I participated in a very productive confluence of energies.
> First, there were the Conveners -- the wonderful group of folks in
> Victoria who have already convened two successful Wisdom Councils,
> and who want to make their next one even better. Second, there were
> Jim & DeAnna -- a dynamite team -- giving us all a powerful three-day
> seminar / training in DF. I was there more or less as an outside
> agitator, wanting to learn DF, and carrying a few ideas I wanted to
> seed into the conversation.
>
> The various events of the week -- the training, an informal meeting,
> a final DF-facilitated session -- blended into one long conversation,
> deepening our understanding of dialog & society, and each other, and
> leading up to a very effective (choice-creating) final session. In
> the forwarded message below, George describes the outcomes of that
> session, and already we can see the first action steps underway.
> Everyone had told me that DF leads to "unanimous outcomes that
> everyone is enthusiastic about", but seeing it happen in real life
> was for me an emotional high.
>
> George identifies four points that lead up to a 'sense of direction'.
> There's a resonance among these points, they reinforce one another.
> The choice of a neighborhood as 'population', for example, enables
> the other initiatives to operate effectively. I recommend that we all
> give some attention to these outcomes, as the Victoria people are
> acting out of real experience, and they are on the 'leading edge of
> practice' as regards Wisdom Councils.
>
> Their emphasis on relationship building, at all levels, is
> particularly intriguing -- isn't that what democracy is ultimately
> about? By the language George uses, one can 'feel' the sense of
> community and relationship that exists within the convener's group
> itself. 'Be the change' and 'Walk the talk' seem to be in evidence
> here.
>
> One of the key elements of this whole episode was the use of DF for
> our own internal planning process -- making use of our own tools to
> deal with our own real problems. It worked very well, as advertised.
> Why don't we use these tools more often? If at any level we are
> seeking to create a democratic society, then we are facing a daunting
> task, and we will need to tap into our collective wisdom and 'create
> choices' if we are to succeed. So far we only know what the beginning
> of the path looks like.
>
> best wishes,
> richard
> http://cyberjournal.org/
> --------------------------------------------------------
>Greetings everyone...
>
> The last few days have been very rewarding given the various
> happenings involving DF and Wisdom Councils.
>
> 1. A number of Convenors participated in the three-day DF seminar
> with Jim and DeAnna (Caspar, Colin, Dan, and Brigitte) -- we now have
> five convenors with DF training.
>
> 2. On Wednesday we had a fun and free-wheeling discussion at Philip
> and Marya's house, talking about Wisdom Councils and lessons learned.
> This was a great evening to get the creative and conceptual juices
> flowing... with Marya's delicious pie appreciated by all.
>
> 3. On Saturday Nov 3rd, we had a rewarding session facilitated by
> DeAnna, with 16 enthusiastic people in the room, including Richard
> Moore. The energy danced and swirled as DeAnna captured our journey
> on the four flipcharts. We will be posting the flipchart notes on
> our wiki at <http://www.wisedemocracyvictoria.wetpaint.com> (if you
> have volunteered to capture any of the notes could you please send
> them to me by email as soon as you have a chance).
>
> The discussion led us in lots of directions in terms of what comes
> next for Wise Democracy. Here's the gist of our conclusions, loosely
> paraphrased from memory at this stage, to keep everyone in the
> picture. There are lots of details to fill in, of course.... and I
> hope others will jump in if I've misinterpreted anything. For the
> sake of conciseness and brevity in this email, I am of course, not
> reporting the full range of rich discussion that ensued on each
> point. The notes we post on the wiki will do a better job of
> capturing that.
>
> Speaking personally, I feel re-energized with the sense of direction achieved:
>
> * Random selection - we confirmed that this is an essential
> aspect of what gives our process legitimacy, and will once
> again make it a key feature of the next WC or Insight
> Council. We will seek ways to make the process easier --
> including involving the community to a much greater degree
> in preparation for the council (see Cultivating below).
>
> * Geographic area - it feels natural at this stage to refine
> our focus from the Victoria level to the Fernwood community
> level. There was a major shift in energy when the focus
> landed on Fernwood, with lots of potential for synergy --
> e.g., Doug has been asked to come up with some ideas for a
> conversation cafe, Ian Dakers is working on conversation
> opportunities at the new Goddess restaurant, the Fernwood
> commuity group wants to facilitate a vision for the heart of
> Fernwood.... (see more about this below). DF facilitators
> will be in big demand!
>
> * Cultivating the community -- it is becoming apparent that it
> would be much easier to convene a WC if the entire community
> is on board and anticipating the event... aware of what's
> planned and looking forward to receiving our invitations and
> possibly phone calls. For example, the Village Vibe
> community newspaper is mailed each month to 4,000 households
> in Fernwood (see below for what's planned...)
>
> * Metaphors & Stories -- the metaphor of starting a fire with
> kindling proved very powerful. You can choose to spread
> your kindling around on the floor and try to start a fire,
> or you can pile the kindling in the fireplace and watch it
> quickly spark into flame. Another metaphor was that of the
> convenors forming the trunk of a tree with the WCs like
> leaves. We came to realize that the role of the convenors
> and the story we've created together is an important part of
> the overall Wise Democracy story in Victoria (and perhaps
> globally)... and provides a continuous thread for the
> stories of the individual WCs.
>
> Latest action:
> This morning (Sun 4th) -- thanks to Ian -- Caspar, Ian and myself met
> with Trish Richards who's on the board of Fernwood NRG (Neighbourhood
> Resource Group)and also assistant editor of the Village Vibe
> (you can download past issues). Her group is organizing a meeting to
> kick-start a visioning and revitalization process for Fernwood square
> and Fernwood/Gladstone intersection. Trish is excited about the
> possibility for a Wisdom Council or Insight Council to engage the
> community and to see where democracy can take everyone in Fernwood.
> Caspar and I have offered to write an article for Village Vibe on
> Wisdom Councils for the January issue, with the idea that a Council
> could be held next March/April.
>
> Fernwood presents some amazing opportunities and feels like
> incredibly fertile ground to kindle a flame for democracy.
>
> NEXT MEETING: Since next Saturday is on a long weekend, we should
> meet on the following Saturday, November 17th at 10:00 am. Trish has
> been invited to join in. I'll keep you posted on location.
>
> Cheers, George
>
> PS: As part of the process of Fernwood Square revitalization, there
> will be a screening of Mark Lakeman's video on urban activism in
> Portland, Oregon: "The City Repair Project: Transforming Space Into
> Place." You are invited to the Cornerstone Cafe, Wed Nov 14th at
> 7:00 pm.
> --------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> >

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