Promise USA - National Network of Citizen Conversation
Christine Whitney Sanchez
cwhitneysanchez at gmail.com
Fri May 22 12:21:36 PDT 2009
Dear Open Space Friends,
I invite you to read and consider voting for the Promise USA proposal
for the Open Government Initiative - http://opengov.ideascale.com/akira/dtd/2632-4049
(see the text version below my signature)
Promise USA proposes a series of national conversations, initiated by
the Obamas, which invite citizens to explore questions of importance
to all.
The Promise USA Team responded to the question: How can we
strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness by
making government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative?
On January 21st, the President issued the Memorandum on Transparency
and Open Government, calling for an unprecedented level of openness in
government. In the memorandum, the President outlined three principles
for promoting a transparent and open government: transparency,
participation, and collaboration. Now, the President is calling on you
to help shape how that commitment is fulfilled.
This online brainstorming session is only open from May 21st to 28th,
2009. Please vote at http://opengov.ideascale.com/akira/dtd/2632-4049.
Please pass this along to your own networks. Imagine the possibilities!
With appreciation,
Christine
Christine Whitney Sanchez
Collaborative Wisdom & Strategy
480.759.0262
www.christinewhitneysanchez.com
Skype: christinewhitneysanchez
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
PROMISE USA - NATIONAL NETWORK OF CITIZEN CONVERSATION
What if Americans of all ages, races, backgrounds and beliefs could
come together in a series of national conversations on topics of
significant importance to the nation?
What if we could create a listening and learning environment through
structured conversations to lead us to better understand one another,
establish common ground and transform ideas into action?
What if all of us had a role in making this a reality?
Promise USA proposes a series of national conversations, initiated by
the Obamas, which invite citizens to explore questions of importance
to all.
Until now, it was impossible to have a two-way Fireside Chat. Today,
we have well-researched and documented dialogic methodologies that
make it possible to engage citizens in a networked, real-time, face-to-
face, national conversation. Our Promise USA Team is comprised of
respected experts in large-scale conversation who will partner with
many other dialogue and deliberation facilitators throughout the nation.
What if we brought our collective expertise in conversational
leadership forward to confront the challenges that the nation faces?
Promise USA Conversations would begin with the President or First Lady
posing the questions for national intergenerational conversations.
These questions would enable citizens to focus on strengths and
opportunities that inspire personal commitment and action.
In venues as small as living rooms and as large as auditoriums or
convention centers, people would be seated together at tables of four
or five. These Promise USA Conversations would start with a question
on a national issue. People would explore ideas for 30 minutes and
then move to a new table to discuss a related question on a local
level, concluding with a final round that brings the conversation to
an individual level and encourages commitment to action. Ideas
generated at tables and commitments to action would be shared and
recorded across the nation.
To generate momentum and urgency, President and First Lady would
attend one of these conversations. After brief introductory remarks,
broadcast nationwide to all locations, the President would pose a
single question that engages groups in every venue in compelling
conversation on topics such as education, health care, energy and the
environment.
Several “Citizen Conversations” would be scheduled throughout the
year, with the President and First Lady beginning each subsequent
event with a quick update on their learning and highlights of actions
taken as a result of a previous Promise USA event.
Having youth organizations such as the Girl Scouts facilitate the
pilot conversations would enrich Promise USA. Other promising young
people would be engaged to co-host subsequent conversations. Creating
an intergenerational environment whenever possible will enliven the
learning and allow community understanding to emerge. When people of
all ages are invited into conversations that matter, people listen
better, work harder to understand and consider the future with their
heads and hearts.
We have many thoughts about variations on this process and welcome
your ideas and input.
We promise to build on our experience as pioneers in large-scale
change and community dialogue.
We promise to quickly and efficiently engage as many Americans as
possible in the work of changing this country.
We promise to ignite social networks to spark a new way for
communities and our nation to work together.
We will activate grass roots youth movements such as the Girl Scouts,
as we have in the past, to pilot the conversations across the
country. We will invite other young people to co-host subsequent
conversations.
We will engage those working in the fields of dialogue and
deliberation, large-scale change and Asset Based Community Development
and use the power of self-organization to stimulate strength-based
citizen action.
We will scale the intergenerational conversations to exponentially
increase the number of facilitators, conversations and citizens
involved. By November 2012, a connected web of thousands of cities
and towns across the land will be providing citizen perspectives and
innovative solutions to our local and national challenges.
We invite you, President and First Lady Obama, to join us with your
sponsorship, leadership and presence.
We invite you to attend at least the first Promise USA National
Conversation.
We invite you to provide a live or recorded update on your learning
and highlights of actions taken as a result of the previous Promise
USA event.
Together, we will invite the American people to fulfill the promise of
the USA: of the people, by the people, for the people.
PROMISE USA TEAM
CHRISTINE WHITNEY SANCHEZ has coordinated and facilitated some of the
largest intergenerational conversations in the world. At the 2005 and
2008 Girl Scout National Conventions, she facilitated over thirteen
thousand girls and adults in face-to-face dialogue. Christine is a
social entrepreneur, consultant, coach, teacher and pioneer in
blending collaborative methods, reflective practices and conscious
leadership. Christine has collaborated with leaders from over eighty
organizations and communities across four continents to transform
culture and collaborative practices, to research and nurture self-
organization and distributed leadership, to tap collective wisdom and
to foster dynamic and sustainable collaboration. She has led and
virtually coordinated dozens of corporate, government and nonprofit
groups in delivering large-scale change events and has trained
hundreds of facilitators around the world in strength-based approaches
for self-organizing in their own communities. Christine holds a Master
of Counseling degree from Arizona State University.
JUANITA BROWN, PH.D with her partner, David Isaacs, is the co-founder
of the World Café, a unique approach to large group dialogue, which is
rapidly spreading throughout North America, Europe, Latin America,
Africa, and Asia. The World Café is being used in a growing number of
corporate, community, government, health, education, NGO and multi-
stakeholder settings to engage “conversations that matter” across
traditional boundaries. Juanita served as a Senior Affiliate at the
MIT Sloan School's Organizational Learning Center, an Associate with
the Norwegian Center for Leadership Development, a Research Affiliate
with the Institute for the Future, and program faculty at the John F.
Kennedy University School of Management, the California Institute of
Integral Studies, Columbia University, and the University of
Monterrey, Mexico. She is a Fellow of the World Business Academy and
has been honored in the World's Who's Who of Business and Professional
Women. She is the co-author of the “award winning book The World Café:
Shaping our Futures Through Conversations that Matter, now being
widely used to support civic engagement efforts both in the United
States and abroad.
DIANE OETTINGER brings over thirty years of experience assisting
teams, groups and organizations to develop the leadership, culture and
aligned systems that enable innovation and sustainable change. She
has held senior leadership positions in the corporate arena, served as
a change and leadership advisor to organizations across the private
and non-profit sector, and is presently the Chief Learning Officer for
the Girl Scouts of the USA. She has served as an executive coach to
many organizational leaders, and has experience as executive education
adjunct faculty. Diane combines these diverse perspectives and
experiences to design and facilitate engagement-based programs that
deliver results. She is a proud alumnus of Cornell University.
NANCY MARGULIES began developing her visual recording technique in
1984 and is a pioneer in graphic facilitation. She has worked with
corporations and educational groups worldwide and facilitated
workshops in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Switzerland, Turkey,
South Africa and India. Her books on visual recording have been
translated into five languages. She is on the online faculty of the
Bainbridge Graduate Institute, a Green MNA program in sustainability
and social justice and is a visual facilitator for the online
dialogues at The Global Dialogue Center. Nancy is currently
collaborating on a book about building healthy communities with Meg
Wheatley. She worked with President Clinton and the Cabinet visually
recording strategic planning meetings in which the President, Vice
President and each Cabinet Secretary presented their top strategies
for the coming year. She did the same for other senior policy meetings
including the USDA.
REUBEN SANCHEZ brings twenty-seven years providing consultation,
training, facilitation, organizational development, and coaching with
clients in manufacturing, mental health, medicine, and educational
settings. He developed start-up Employee Assistance operations in
Latin America for a multinational manufacturing corporation. He has
built his success on his ability to establish relationships of trust
and collaboration to achieve personal goals and objectives that
benefit the community or organization he serves. Reuben’s first
language was Spanish and he was the first child in his family to be
born in the United States. As founder of ShapeShifter Productions, he
applies his artistic abilities in creative ways that keep him thinking
outside the box. Reuben holds a Master of Counseling degree from
Arizona State University.
DAVID ISAACS is a co-founder of the World Café is President of
Clearing Communications, an organizational and communications strategy
company working with senior executives in the United States and
abroad. David has collaborated with a wide range of corporate clients
and has served as adjunct faculty at the California Institute for
Integral Studies and the University of San Antonio Business School's
executive MBA Program. His not-for-profit work has included hosting
World Cafe dialogues with the Shambhala Institute, Society for
Organizational Learning, and the Alliance for Transforming the Lives
of Children. David co-authored The World Café: Shaping our Futures
Through Conversations that Matter.
JIM MYRACLE focuses on partnering with organizations to build the
leadership, processes and cultures necessary to support adaptive
strategies and innovation. He has extensive experience in new product
development, strategic planning, and change initiatives, and has
evolved an inclusive, inquiry-based approach to planning that
energizes organizational understanding and commitment. Prior to co-
founding TMT Associates, he spent 22 years in the corporate sector,
holding senior leadership positions in New Product Development, New
Technology, Quality Systems, and Strategic Planning. Jim holds a
degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Catholic University of
America, and has been awarded seven U.S. patents.
EMMETT MILLER, M.D. is best known for his seminal work in the field of
holistic health and Mind-Body Medicine, especially his invention of
the relaxation/guided imagery cassette in 1970, soon after receiving
his M.D. from The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is also an
accomplished musician, scientist, mathematician and living systems
specialist. His chief contributions have been his discoveries of how
thoughts, emotions, and mental images can be guided to have a profound
impact on illnesses, wellness, and performance. Dr. Miller is a
trainer, coach, speaker, and tireless worker in the service of
planetary transformation. His most recent books include: Deep Healing;
The Essence of Mind-Body Medicine, presenting tools for self-healing
and optimal performance, and Our Culture on the Couch; Seven Steps to
Global Healing, presenting perspectives on the use of Self-awareness
and social networking to awaken the leader within and transform our
lives and our world.
For more information, please contact:
Christine Whitney Sanchez
480.759.0262
cwhitneysanchez at gmail.com
You can download a PDF of the proposal at www.christinewhitneysanchez.com
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