Hi Downtown folks,

I am a music teacher on Church Street but also work for an organization called Democracy Creative, which is putting on an event about Citizens' Assemblies in City Hall at the end of the month. Here's our blurb about it:

Citizens' assemblies are a promising antidote to the polarization, short-term thinking, and partisan gridlock that have come to define modern politics across the world. They are panels of everyday people chosen by lottery to learn deeply about, thoroughly discuss, and finally offer policy recommendations to government on ways to address a public issue.

While still rare in the US, citizens' assemblies have been convened nearly 1,000 times globally over the past decade on a wide variety of topics such as climate adaptation, assisted dying, and the revival of dormant public spaces – offering a replicable model for overcoming the gridlock and division inherent to electoral politics.

Join us for a public information session with Burlington's own Terry Bouricius, a globally known citizens' assembly theorist, and Alex Renirie, Program Co-Director at Healthy Democracy — one of the leading organizers of citizens' assemblies in the USA.

We'll kick it off with apple pie and short musical set from artist Hannah Hannah before hearing from Terry and Alex.

We hope this event leaves you feeling optimistic for once about the future of democracy in America, and can't wait to see you in City Hall on May 31st!

PS: In the meantime, you can watch a 2-minute video explaining citizens' assemblies in more detail at https://democracycreative.com

Apr 29, 2024, 6:30 to 8 PM

May 2, 2024, 6:30 to 8 PM

May 3, 2024, 6 to 9 PM