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4.3.5 'America Speaks' - USA
'America Speaks' is an organisation which was established in 1995 in the
USA to facilitate the involvement of citizens with decision makers in proc-
esses that affect their lives http://www.americaspeaks.org. The organisa-
tion was founded by Carolyn Lukensmeyer, now president of 'America
Speaks', who had formerly been active in public service for 10 years. In
1994, motivated by concern that citizens were being shut out of policy-
making processes, she travelled the USA to explore how citizens had
organised themselves effectively, made an impact on local policy concerns
and sustained their engagement over time.
In January 1995, armed with the results of her findings, she brought to-
gether 50 elected representatives, journalists, community activists, organ-
isational developmental consultants and foundation representatives to work
out how best to be able to involve citizens in policy making. The meeting
evolved a concept of large-scale citizen forums, which could be used in
national dialogue on key public policy issues. These forums, known as
21st Century Town Meetings, involve hundreds of thousands of people in
meetings where they can discuss and deliberate on issues. Participants are
recruited across all demographic groups. Up to five thousand people at a
time may be invited to such a forum, meeting around tables in groups of
10-12 to share ideas and opinions. Each table is assigned a facilitator
skilled in small group dynamics who ensures that the group stays focused
on the topic under discussion and follows a democratic process. Ideas are
recorded on a laptop on each table, connected by wireless to a central con-
sole of computers managed by a Theme Team, whose responsibility is to
collate and record the deliberations of the forum. Each participant can vote
on an issue using a polling keypad. Decision makers take part in table dis-
cussions, observe the process, and respond to input by answering questions
at the end of the meeting. A preliminary report on the day's meeting is dis-
tributed to participants before they leave.
Since 1997, 'America Speaks' has conducted forty-five 21st Century
Town Meetings in 31 states around the U.S. and in the District of Colum-
bia. Projects have included helping the District of Columbia and New
York to target changes in budgetary policies needed to improve fiscal
status. Since 1999, 10,000 citizens of Washington D.C. have held Citizen
Summits every two years to help develop the city's budget and strategic
plan.
In 1999, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, 'America Speaks' engaged
a broad cross-section of Americans in a national dialogue about Social Secu-
rity reform and urged Congress to support legislation that reflected citizen
preferences.
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