On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, Erin Oeth led members of the Greater Good Greenville community through an introduction to public deliberation. Participants learned the purpose, the process, and the impact of this new tool. Below are our top 5 takeaways:
- The what: public deliberation is a conversation in which people tackle controversial problems that are not easily solved and weigh different approaches with an open mind.
- The why: we deliberate because it’s a valuable tool to engage the community in issues that matter, and it humanizes the issues. Deliberation creates a space for those who normally retreat in silence to engage, and it spurs innovative problem-solving and creativity.
- The who: we deliberate in community because this tool helps to break down binary choices, moves us to balance self-interest with interest of others in the community, creates a greater ownership as community members participate in shaping direction, and helps us to consider options together, learn from each other and find ways forward together.
- The when: we use public deliberation when building our civic capacity, informing collective action and solving problems together
- The bottom line: it’s been proven that participants in public deliberation forums are exposed to new aspects, think differently, and are moved to act at both an individual level as well as policy levels.
Want to learn more? Visit the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation by following this link.
