Politics, Policy, and Citizen Participation in City Governance

Rebecca Moryl and myself facilitated a workspace conversation with individuals who were part of the Boston regional meeting of the 2010 National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation.  Our session explore the intersection of citizen engagement in local issues via government and community-based organizations.  My interested in self-organizing systems was the focus of my efforts.  Our session note are available for download.

Previously we had presented with Rebecca Lisi at the Tufts Civic Studies, Civic Practices gathering a similar workshop that explore the role of government and community-based organizations in promoting and sustaining citizen participation.  Our session notes are available for download.

5 Laptops, $5K and a Whole Lot of Learning

119 Gallery is a cool contemporary art space in Lowell, MA They engage young, old, new and established artists in a range of video, sound, and interactive art forms. The organization will be kicking off a fundraiser for its educational program with a jazz brunch on April 1st. We are trying to raise $5,000 in order to purchase 5 laptops for a variety of workshops both onsite at the 119 Gallery and with our educational partners.

Take a moment to check them out at http://www.119gallery.org and if you like what you see, either join us at our brunch on April 1st and / or contribute to our goals via Chipin – http://119gallery.chipin.com .

Train the Trainers ICT

Train the trainers or let the trainers train themselves? (for ICT4D trainers)

This is a 4-page summary of a community readiness assessment for ICT4D trainers, done by IICD last year, which is available online here:

Train the trainers or let the trainers train themselves?

The research brief includes a short overview of the assessment, and ends with recommendations which may be valid for other communities of practice, as well as a few other methodological reflections.

You can also read the full report HERE.