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What If We Replaced Partisan Elections With Democratic Lotteries? by of by for [US] // CONVERSATION

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George Zisiadis and Adam Cronkright are the co-coordinators at of by for  and their mission is to get beyond parties and politicians, putting everyday people in front and center. In this discussion, George and Adam will share more about their new vision to replace partisan elections with democratic lotteries. This is a vision now you haven’t heard of yet. But it’s rooted in ancient Athenian democracy, and is re-emerging in the Lottery-drawn Citizens’ Assemblies that are shaping politics around the world.
Participants are invited to partake in small group discussions in breakout rooms, to ask questions, and to share both what excites them and what they’d like to know more about regarding democratic lotteries.
Adam Cronkright is on the Coordinating Committee for Democracy R&D, a network of close to 40 organizations advancing democratic Lotteries in 18 countries around the world.
Before dedicating himself to of by for , Adam co-founded Democracy In Practice , whose work reinventing student government with democratic Lotteries was a finalist for the Council of Europe 2016 Democracy Innovation Award. Democracy in Practice’s work was recently featured on Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast. Adam was Deeply involved in the Occupy Wall Street protests in Manhattan, and Deeply immersed in the peaceful grassroots’ Uprising that toppled an unpopular government in Bolivia in 2019.
George Zisiadis is an artist and designer who leads large, complex projects that speak to People’s hearts. His site-specific public artwork, utilizing the latest technologies, has reimagined San Francisco’s most iconic public spaces – including the Civic Center and Grace Cathedral – and consistently moved people of all ages and backgrounds. His work has been featured in TIME, NPR, WIRED, FastCompany, and more. Two years ago he set aside his art practice to dedicate himself to the study of social movements from past to present

Twitter: @adamcronkright
Website: joinofbyfor.us

Related Untitled Agenda Themes : Reimagining power, Reimagining the contract

Photos: Adam Cronkright and George Zisiadis, joinofbyfor.us (c)

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Building Infrastructure That Transforms Democracy by Anthony Zacharzewski [UK] // CONVERSATION & EXPERIMENT WORKSHOP

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We have to reimagine the democratic process by breaking out of the traditional governmental pattern of “decide, do, defend”. In an age of personalization, people feel left behind by government – decisions are remote and inflexible, and they cannot easily make real changes in their communities and societies. How can we develop a more participatory, conversational, Collaborative and inclusive way of democracy, where participation opportunities are paired with the skills for effective participation, and voices from every community are heard?

Is it possible to break up the concept of democracy as an every-five-year process and bring it directly to People’s daily lives? How can we engage in frequent democratic participation beyond the traditional spaces of government? How can we root social conversations into governance systems? Where could democracy be, on a positive timeline, after 10 years? What changes would be needed? How would decisions be different?

The conversation on Day 1 tackle the long-term vision in preperation for Day 2, where we will think about what the first year of that transformation looks like. What can we do in the present, within a year? What are some practical ways to put down the first brick of the new government model depicted? Decision makers, politicians, policy makers, local organizations, emerging or big corporations, citizens, and really anyone interested in social participation, engagement, democracy and collaboration are all welcome to the sessions.

Anthony Zacharzewski is the founder and president of  The Democratic Society [DemSoc], a non-profit organization focusing on Civic participation and new models of governance. DemSoc works for greater participation and dialogue in democracy. Anthony is interested in supporting governments, parliaments and any organization in the process of decision making. He is also interested in understanding how the sporadic and developing practice of democratic participation can become a stable, sustainable way of working.

Twitter: @demsoc; @anthonyzach

Website:  https://www.demsoc.org/

 

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Trees as Infrastructure by EIT Climate-KIC [EU] // EXPERIMENT WORKSHOPS

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Within cities, trees and humans are enmeshed in a rich network of agencies and dependencies sharing intimate relations and mutual obligations towards preserving a common, liveable place. Recognizing urban trees beyond their Aesthetic presence and treating them as city co-inhabitants might offer a better way to attend to our relations and establish a tangled web of links to support living processes. Urban trees can be companions, communities, providers, expert Witnesses, economies, data stories or resourceful Ancestors.

Using the lens of Trees as Infrastructure, we will imagine and identify the most controversi al to pics. For example – what happens when this topic becomes (inevitabl y) political? What happens if the media use it as a ‘greenwashed feel good piece’ without thoroughly discussing the full breadth of the story? How does this apply to marginalized communities? 

In the workshops, participants will develop, refine, demonstrate, prototype, and launch or initiate transformative experiments. All participants are welcome. Leaders from city and regional governments will also be in attendance, alongside artists, business and other thought leaders. As the Deep Dive session on Day 2 will build on context from Day 1, either of the sessions on Thursday are a pre-requisite for Friday’s session.

PLEASE REGISTER TO THE COGNITIVE CITY HERE if you are participating: https://untitled.cognitive.city

Recommended Readings : Reading 1 and Reading 2 . 

EIT Climate-KIC  is the EU’s climate innovation agency, working to Accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon and resilient world by enabling systems Transformation.

Twitter: @ClimateKIC

Website: www.climate-kic.org

 

Related Untitled Agenda Themes : Reimagining the contract, Reimagining climate, Reimagining power, Reimaging human, Reimagining the economy

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New Metaphors by The Imaginaries Lab [US] // ART & IMAGINATION

Metaphors are central to how we imagine and describe the experiences and systems of everyday life, from climate to pandemic, governments to economies, education to care. Once we notice and think about the metaphors we’re using, it can prompt us to understand our situation better, but also to re-imagine, to use alternative metaphors to think in new ways. 

In this fun session we’ll be exploring how re-imagining, through new metaphors, can help us re-imagine the world, and create new ways of thinking and living. We’ll use the New Metaphors cards along with your own ideas and experiences to experiment with and generate ideas for transforming our imaginaries of some major issues for humanity and the planet. 

The session is run by Dan Lockton and Sanika Sahasrabuddhe from the Imaginaries Lab, an international research studio creating design tools to support people’s imagining, with the aim of more equitable socially and environmentally sustainable futures. Bridging research and practice, we work extensively with Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design and Tepper School of Business, and collaborate internationally with a variety of organisations in Europe and North America. 

Twitter handles: @imaginari_es and @soopersawnic

Website: imaginari.es 

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Futures frequency – Reimagine the future by Sitra [FI] // Experiment Workshop

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By 2030 our average carbon footprint should be significantly lower to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. We need to reimagine our Everyday lives, governance, businesses, work – every aspect of our lives to match the earth’s carrying capacity.

Futures Frequency is a 3 hour workshop developed by Sitra . It challenges our assumptions about the future, leads us to imagine preferred Futures and build actions towards it. We will come together to practice Futures thinking and challenge ourselves to see the possibilities for change making. The maximum amount of participants is 20. We will use Zoom and Miro in the workshop. 

Futures Frequency is a workshop method in progress and at the Untitled Festival we test its Prototype to help develop it. We welcome you to this pilot workshop that aims at using the workshop method as a tool to popularize Futures thinking and strengthen the link between Futures thinking and change making. The workshop will be targeted to people and organizations who are interested in these topics, but does not necessarily have any previous experience about them. The workshop is structured around three themes 1) Challenge existing assumptions about the future, 2) Imagine a preferred future, 3) Take action and shape the future. 

Our aim is to use the workshop method as a tool to popularize Futures thinking and strengthen the link between Futures thinking and change making. If we are going to succeed in the transition to a fair and ecologically sustainable society, we need more people to have agency and ownership and to feel that they can have an impact towards the future and to have skills to do that.

We would like to find partners who would be interested in developing the Futures Frequency method further with Sitra. Also, we will make thematic versions of the workshop, meaning Futures Frequency about climate, democracy, data etc, and would love to find partners who work with a specific theme and would be interested in developing these thematic versions with us.

Sitra is an active fund for the future who studies, researches and brings together partners from different sectors in open-minded Trials and reforms. Its future-oriented works are aimed at making Finland succeed as a pioneer of sustainable wellbeing. This session will be Hosted by Jenna Lähdemäki-Pekkinen and Liisa Poussa. Jenna works as a social foresight specialist in Sitra’s Foresight and insight team and Liisa works in Sitra’s Foresight team, producing long-term foresight data in anticipation of the future.

Twitter handle: @SitraFund ,@jennalahdemaki_,@Lillinen
Website: www.sitra.fi/en 

Related Untitled Themes:  Reimagining Human, Reimagining Climate, Reimagining Economy, Reimagining Work, Reimagining the Contract, Reimagining Cities

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Reimagine Rewarding Work by PAM [FI] // CONVERSATION

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What is rewarding work? It is something we think work should be for everyone: that the work each and every one of us does feels rewarding, but just as importantly we don’t forget to reward the work of others.

For us, the concept of Rewarding Work embodies the collective future. A future where we care for ourselves but also for each other. It is through the concept of Rewarding Work that we want to take an open-minded look at the future of work life, society and the role of trade unions in them.

In this session participants are asked to open their minds and step into the shoes of others. We work together in order to form a vision of collective future where Rewarding Work – in all it’s many shapes and forms – is something that belongs to us all.  

Service Union PAM wants to be a strong, relevant, modern union for years to come. We realize that we need to throw many balls into the air and Rethink, redo and maybe even restart our union movement. We want to listen to the views of a wide array of people on the role of the Union in shaping the future of work and society. What concrete steps should we take? How would you define a Union if the movement was created today?

PAM logoWith its 220,000 members Service Union PAM is the biggest trade union in Finland. We represent people employed in the private service sector. So next time in Finland you visit a store, a restaurant or see your office Cleaner, say hi! They are now likely to be a member of PAM. Check out this video for more about PAM’s work.

Twitter handle (s): @pamliitto  @mlaakkonen @AVeirto
Website: pam.fi

Related Untitled Agenda Themes : Reimagining the Contract, Reimagining Economy

 

Image: PAM, pam.fi

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Reimagine Data Ownership by TOKEN [EU] // CONVERSATION

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This conversation reimagines models of data ownership: Who has a say on how data is used, collected and made available for others to use? For citizens, companies and NGOs alike, how can we ensure that the data produced by them and about themselves is used in a way that they desire? And what are the consequences of moving away from extractivist data practices, towards an era of data agency?

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and the immutability of the transactions they record offer one possible tool to move forwards: models of data ownership and especially the effects of transparency are explored in four experiments run by Token project, where public organisations are implementing DLT-based solutions in their services such as public grant distribution, mobility, smart city services and public procurement. 

Launched in January 2020, TOKEN (Transformative Impact Of BlocKchain tEchnologies iN Public Services) is an EU funded project. Its ultimate goal is to develop an experimental ecosystem enabling the adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology and to prove its value as a driver for the transformation of public services, via highly replicable Use Cases. TOKEN has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement No. 825268. 

Twitter handle: @TOKEN_EU
Website: token-project.eu

Related Untitled Agenda Theme: Reimagining power, Reimagining the contract

 

Image: TOKEN, token-project.eu

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Björn Müller, STRIDE the unSchool [CH] // PEOPLE

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The concept of innovation is still deeply associated with technological innovation as motor for societal progress, emerging out of a competition of ideas. But is it possible to shift this perspective to social innovation, a process of learning collaboratively how to live better together? How might we involve mainstream stakeholders in the process of turning innovation to a public level in order to build dedicated infrastructures, and make it more accessible by communities?

Björn Müller @bjObj0
Co-founder and manager at STRIDE the unSchool,
an education provider and think tank supporting individuals, organisations and cities to turn social innovation into a transformative process of learning, stride-learning.ch

 

What could be reimagined now?

At the moment, we witness at the same time too much and not enough novelty. On one hand, there’s a whole infrastructure, from incubators to accelerators and competitions, dedicated to bringing innovation at a global level. But on the other hand, the fundamental issues and problems for which the world is suffering are not addressed, therefore we don’t see any concrete and deep change.

For this reason social innovation seems to be an opportunity. Is there a space or infrastructure to do social innovation across different sectors, not confining it to any sector?

How could we experiment with innovation as such?

Everything starts with challenging a very modern way of understanding innovation which is tied to the idea of continuous growth. This is coupled with the belief that a good life is reached by ever-increasing access and range into the world, making life as easy and fast as possible. Conversely, innovation can deal with a much more life-affirming side, based on participatory and collaborative aspects, putting life at the center, for example in our political, economical and social agendas.

How could social innovation be supported and look like in ten years’ time?

We can imagine a world where social innovation could be publicly supported by states and therefore having the chance to launch social experiments and endeavors at a different scale. Mainstream actors could be involved in shifting their orientation or innovation efforts to contribute in building a sustainable and meaningful lifestyle. In doing so, it is also possible to move away from the concept that makes innovation revolve just around technology. Innovation could then reconnect to its Enlightenment roots, turning it into a force of bettering (quality of) life for all.

 

Image: Björn Müller, twitter.com/bjObj0

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Mikko Laakkonen, PAM [FI] // ALLIANCE

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At the moment trade unions probably have slightly less influence in the civic discussion and have progressively lost their relevance. Mikko is proposing to get back to people and make them feel empowered by unions that can safeguard their rights on a professional level.

 

Mikko Laakkonen @mlaakkonen
Member of Palvelualojen Ammattiliitto (PAM),
The biggest trade union in Finland helping people working in private service sectors, pam.fi

 

 

What could be reimagined now?

We can reimagine the role of trade unions in the civic discussion, reaffirming their position within the society as strong advocates for social improvements. These days the unions are facing some difficulties in coping with changes in the society, because people have a broader range of uncertainties and they still don’t have a concrete way to tackle them.

How could we experiment with the role of the trade union?

Tackling insecurities can be done through the collectiveness of the trade unions, which is the basis of the union’s action. A union is its members, so how is it possible to use this collective identity of a group of people? By being a meaningful partner for them and supporting collaboration among both single members and partners, whom they usually do not work with. 

How social innovation could be supported and look like in ten years’ time?

Trade unions could be also interpreted and implemented as a democratic platform to ease civic discussion and collect feedback from people.

 

Image: Mikko Laakonen, twitter.com/mlaakkonen

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