All levels of society currently face seemingly impossible problems … like money dominating politics, global warming, government debt, partisan paralysis, etc. At the Center for Wise Democracy, we think we have a solution, a strategy to achieve a breakthrough for all these issues at once.

At the Center for Wise Democracy we have developed a set of social innovations that can facilitate the necessary heartfelt, thoughtful conversation, evoke a thoughtful coming together of "We the People" and spark Wise Democracy. These innovations can be used at any level — organizations, communities, cities, nations, or the world. And they can be set in motion by governments or citizen groups.

At the Center for Wise Democracy we want to help you learn about these innovations and, if you are interested, to support you in experimenting with them.

The Wise Democracy strategy involves a "Wisdom Council," where we invite a small group of randomly selected citizens into a conversation about issues they care about. We use Dynamic Facilitation to assure that the conversation is collaborative and creative, what we call "choice-creating," where win/win, unified positions are determined. Then the "Wisdom Council" presents its shared perspective back to the whole community. They disband and the community begins talking about the issues, only now in a way that transcends the usual partisan positions. Here's a way to shift the quality of public conversation from a power struggle to a "We the People" conversation where most everyone supports the new results.

The benefit potential of transforming the public conversation in this way is enormous. ... What issue wouldn't benefit from a higher level of collective intelligence? ... What institution wouldn't benefit from the wise oversight of all people? Plus, the risks are so small they are difficult to find. ... Where's the risk in convening a random group that makes a speech and goes away?

Most people imagine that "Wise Democracy" is impossible because they know how difficult it is to have a creative meeting with just a few people, and they witness partisan gridlock every time they check the news. So, it's natural to ask, "How can a whole nation of people talk together creatively and determine near-unanimous choices?" We hope you will investigate further. Experiments with different forms of the Wisdom Council in six different countries, including in Victoria Canada, Ashland OR, Port Townsend WA, New Town CT, and many cities of Austria—show that it works.

Here is a way to really achieve what most people know in their hearts is needed but just can't believe it's possible, where all the people come together in the spirit of community, face the really big issues and achieve shifts and breakthroughs. And this strategy is accessible! With enough resources (money) and turned on people, we can facilitate this public conversation into being! Let's bring Wise Democracy into your community, state, nation and world.

See the introductory 9 minute video ... "A Simple Solution to Society's Big Issues"



Center for Wise Democracy PMB 578 1122 East Pike Street Seattle, WA 98122
206.459.8429 (or 360.385.7118) info@wisedemocracy.org www.wisedemocracy.org