Civic Engagement: What Can Residents Do? Addendum Two

As stated previously, I believe that the only authentic way to improve local governance on a long-term basis is to 'increase the relationship of engagement between the residents and their Councillors'.

The direction of the engagement is paramount. It has to come from the citizenry to be authentic and longstanding. The primary impetus has to come from us.

'One thing leads to another.'

Not just the lyric to a great song by The Fixx. Especially where The WWW is concerned. You do a search for one thing, something unexpected pops up along the way...and before you know it, you're the beneficiary of a gem. 

'Conversation Cafés'. 

Here's a quick description: 

"Conversation Cafe is an informal dialogue method which invites people to take part in hosted discussions about topical issues in  cafes, bookshops and other public places."

And here are some sites where you can find more information about the notion's background, as well as tips and suggestions as to how to use such get-togethers effectively:

Conversation Café is probably the best online resource. (It's pretty cool to see there are already Canadian locations listed.) Here's what its founder has to say about the site's history:

"In the summer of 2001, three Seattle friends, Susan Partnow, Habib Rose and Vicki Robin, ran an experiment. They believed that more spontaneous and drop-in public dialogue would serve democracy, critical thinking and neighborliness. So each sat in a different café once a week and invited whoever was there, plus friends, to dialogue about things that really mattered. Thus the Conversation Café Method was born. At the end of the summer they met to plan an outreach method so that in-depth conversations would take place more often in Seattle. That was September 10, 2001. The next day made it clear that Conversation Cafes could help diverse people process 9/11."

Here's their Facebook page. 

People and Participation reference the above, but they're such a good starting point for all manner of civic engagement that I'm including them. 

Finally, here's a Louisville site dealing with conversation cafés and community dialogue in general.