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November 24, 2008
CSI, in conjunction with Adult Learning Australia, has hosted Martha McCoy, the Executive Director of Everyday Democracy, and Dr Patrick Scully, the Deputy Director at an event where they discussed the importance of deliberative democracy and problem solving.
Everyday Democracy is a Connecticut-based organisation that helps local communities build their capacity to organise large-scale, diverse dialogue towards problem solving. At the Canberra event on November 5, McCoy discussed the importance of strong local communities in initiating and driving public dialogue and problem solving in order for a vibrant national democracy.
A number of the audience were public servants with responsibility for community consultation who took the opportunity to tap into practical techniques for improving current practices. Their questions enlivened the discussion and helped give the talk local context and relevance.
McCoy began at Everyday Democracy in 1991, helping take it from a small, start-up organisation to being at the leading edge of connecting public dialogue to collective action and democratic governance. Everyday Democracy supports local communities worldwide, including the Australian Study Circles Association.
In June 1996, McCoy was awarded the YWCA of the USA Racial Justice Award for Civil/Human Rights and in 1997, Los Angeles City Council recognised the organisation for assisting in the city's ongoing dialogue efforts to build working relationships among the city's diverse cultures. Also in 1997, the organisation received the first ‘Making Democratic Work' Award from the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma. In 1998, Everyday Democracy was invited to work with President Clinton's Initiative on Race, which named study circles as one of the top four ‘best practices' in race dialogue.
Dr Patrick Scully holds an interdisciplinary doctorate degree in social science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and, prior to joining the foundation, served for nine years as a program officer and director of research at the Kettering Foundation. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest, Hungary in 1993-94, assisting some of East Central Europe's newly formed civic associations in the development of grassroots public-policy discussion groups.