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  We offer a set of social innovations by which to facilitate "all" the people to come together as "We the People" and achieve breakthrough progress on society's most pressing, impossible-seeming issues. 

We are facing Monster Problems in our society ... i.e. BIG impossible-seeming existential issues that must be solved. These Monsters are occurring at every level of society, especially at the national (e.g partisan gridlock) and global levels (e.g. climate crisis). 

At the Center for Wise Democracy we offer a breakthrough strategy to solving these Monster issues, a way that "we" (a few of us) can facilitate "all the people" to face these Monster Issues; reach wise unity through shifts and breakthroughs; and provide responsible leadership to governments, the economy and the culture. This strategy leaves our current System alone, except it adds a new ongoing "We the People" conversation, which transforms the System. For the U.S. this simple change would transform our current "constitutional republic" into a "true democracy", which we call a "Wise Democracy".
In this webpage we highlight "Solution Strategies" for each level of society ... and the "Social Innovations" that provide for these strategies to work their magic.

 Solution Strategies ...

  1. ​​Global society...To solve issues like the climate crisis or to adequately manage the global commons (e.g. soils, fresh water, oceans, the gene pool, overfishing, species extinction, etc.) requires a collective thinking process that is creative and collaborative. It's not enough to just raise people's awareness. Or to involve people. Nor even to pass new legislation.  ... All of us need to start thinking together as a global "We the People", facing what's going on, discovering what we all want, and determining what to do. We (a few of us) can FACILITATE this essential "We the People" conversation into being.  See 1) Transforming Global Society.
  2. National society  (e.g The United States)  ... In the 18th century the founders of the United States designed a system of government based in competition. But this system naturally breaks down as we become less in-dependent and more inter-dependent. How do we preserve the amazing progress we've made, yet safely transition to the next viable system, based in collaboration? ... See 2) Solving National Issues.
  3. States... The Wisdom Council Process has already been adopted state-wide in two of the nine states of Austria. There it is being used to help resolve issues like the influx of Syrian refugees and land use planning. Here's a way to involve citizens in understanding the issues, clarifying what they want, and articulating the "will of the people". Elected officials benefit from this new voice of the "public will". It alleviates partisan wrangling. See 3) Solving STATE issues.
  4. Local towns, cities & communities ... A group of community leaders (or government) can implement the Wisdom Council Process at the local level to facilitate "the people" to address and solve difficult issues. See 4) Solving COMMUNITY issues
  5. Organizations ... The Wisdom Council Process can also be used in organizations, conferences and various human networks. (See examples:  a food co-op, a conference, corporations)

The Social Innovations are ...

  1. Choice-creating ... is a form of thinking where groups face impossible-seeming issues and reach clarity on what is the situation and what to do. Choice-creating is "opposite" to decision-making (See chart of comparison)
  2. Dynamic Facilitation (DF) ...  is a way to reliably facilitate groups into the spirit of choice-creating, where they face difficult issues and achieve win/win unity. 
  3. The Wisdom Council Process (WCP)...  is a way to facilitate large systems of people into the spirit of choice-creating. It combines an ongoing series of randomly selected people, Dynamic Facilitation and opportunities for the public to hear and consider the results. Using it a large system of people (e.g. community, corporation or nation) can face and solve big problems together (i.e. "wise democracy")
  4. ​Society's Breakthrough ... is when we apply the Wisdom Council Process to society itself, global or national.  Here's how a society can transform itself toward collective consciousness — i.e. economics, governance and civic life.

2 min video introduction to the social innovations

Two possibilities

The social innovations described here can spark a transition to "Wise Democracy" and provide a way for us all to participate in solving society's Monster issues. Here are two ways to gain experiential understanding of the validity of these claims.

Illustration ... for the U.S. (3.5 min video)

Currently in the United States bitter political battling obliterates the possibility of collective intelligence. Most people feel excluded from democratic participation. And elected leaders often represent moneyed interests more than their constituents. How might we (just a few of us) facilitate all the people to come together as a wise and responsible "We the People"?  ... where We reach shared conclusions and provide responsible leadership to elected leaders? Below is a short video describing how this might happen within a reality TV Show. (3.5 min video):

Examples from Austria

See the web site sponsored by the Vorarlberg government about their use of the Wisdom Council Process--Seven short videos IN ENGLISH! (https://www.buergerrat.net/english-version/) Below is one example, a short video illustrating how the state government of Voralberg in Austria used the Wisdom Council Process to help citizens address and solve a contentious issue ... the influx of refugees.
To understand this new-paradigm approach most people find it valuable to experience it by taking a seminar. See the seminars on  "Dynamic Facilitation."
Check out "Our Story" of how these social innovations and this whole-system strategy came about.
info@wisedemocracy.org
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