丁香园AV

By Nicole Armos

I read a reflection yesterday about February 1^st (marked by the Gaelic tradition called Imbolc) falling right between winter solstice and spring equinox, and inviting us to think about the areas of our life in which we are still in winter鈥檚 hibernation and where we are starting to prepare for the coming spring.

I feel that liminal space in my own work鈥攖ying up loose ends from 2023, but also planting seeds for work that is to come. Here鈥檚 a snapshot of my working world lately鈥�

In the community鈥�

My highlight of January was taking part in the two-day facilitation training 鈥淔oundations for Conflict Engagement: Below the Surface鈥� that introduces the theory and basic practices of the Lewis Method of Deep Democracy. This approach proposes that all voices have wisdom that the group needs, and that often there are important ideas, emotions or perspectives just beneath the 鈥渨aterline鈥� of the group鈥檚 awareness. Through simple but powerful facilitated exercises, Deep Democracy helps to surface unheard ideas, build empathy and understanding against points of difference and move groups to meaningful consensus.

As the field of deliberative democracy gains traction, and increasingly tackles highly polarizing or emotional topics, I think it鈥檚 important for facilitators to build their toolkit with a deeper understanding of group dynamics and equitable approaches to decision-making and bridge-building. Take , with the Centre鈥檚 Executive Director Aftab Erfan, and if you鈥檙e Vancouver-based you could check out  for training opportunities.

In the lab鈥�

Principles, principles, principles! I am working to develop evaluation frameworks for the Burnaby and Gibsons Community Assemblies, as well as to update some of our core public participation resources. This has required a lot of reflection on the similarities and differences between different articulations of values and principles in the field, such as , NCDD鈥檚 , the , and the Centre for Dialogue鈥檚 principles for collaborative and equitable public engagement.

While each version brings unique insights for different aspects of the work, it has been reassuring to find significant consensus around five core practices: including diverse voice, demonstrating transparency on the process and accountability for outcomes, providing evidence-based information, and thoughtful process design.

Stay tuned for more resources that we are developing to help institutions assess their current public participation approaches across these core ideas.

100 cups of tea鈥�

Near the end of the month, I was fortunate to connect with folks from , a leader in deliberative mini-publics in Canada, and , an organization that serves as a neutral third-party convenor for municipal engagement in a unique model of institutionalized public participation. I am heartened to find echoes of our own questions around how to advance the field of public participation in peer organizations across Canada, and look forward to some initiatives we are planning that aim to foster knowledge exchange and amplify our shared visions.

Where鈥檚 my bookmark鈥�

Today, I share a bookmark and a game鈥�

First, the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and and Global Governance鈥檚 latest publication . Contributions range from Genevieve Fuji Johnson challenging the rhetorical use of 鈥渄ecolonization鈥� when there is no material impact on land or racism, to Nicole Curato questioning which 鈥渟tatues鈥� of colonial theory and practice must be toppled for deliberative democracy to be truly emancipatory. The collection of readings is accessible, but the thoughts it provoked in me will linger long鈥�

Meanwhile, I finally decided to order Esther Perel鈥檚 . Each card carries a story prompt that aims to connect people around the power of storytelling, have new and deeper conversations, and get to know each other better. While many prompts are more personal, I鈥檝e selected a portion of the deck to include in my facilitator toolbox for team-building with colleagues or fostering connections in engagement spaces!