FIRST INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY "WISDOM COUNCIL" TO BE HELD HERE

by Tom Atlee

A "Wisdom Council" is a political innovation created by Port Townsend, WA,
consultant and political theorist Jim Rough. It is based on the idea that
-- under the right circumstances -- ordinary people together can discover
or create the wisdom they need to solve their shared problems and improve
their shared future.

A Wisdom Council (see http://www.co-intelligence.org/P-wisdomcouncil.html )
involves choosing a diverse group of one or two dozen people at random from
a particular population -- from an organization, community, country, etc.
These folks are then brought together to talk about issues of special
importance to that population. They are facilitated using one of the most
creative dialogue methods in existence -- a lively process called "dynamic
facilitation" (see
http://www.co-intelligence.org/P-dynamicfacilitation.html ). They explore
their shared concerns in ways that uncover insights and possibilities they
never thought of before. This new wisdom comes right out of their own
experience, passion and creativity -- listened to and let loose at last.

Many people have had very bad experiences with committees and so are
understandably skeptical about the potential of Wisdom Councils. However,
Wisdom Councils do not behave like committees. Dynamic facilitation is
unique in the way it evokes and follows the group's energy. It keeps
meetings more fruitful, alive and creative than those most of us are used
to.

At the end of a Wisdom Council, the group's discoveries and realizations
are disseminated to the broader population (organization, community,
country, whatever) to stimulate further conversations, creative thinking
and -- usually -- action. If Wisdom Councils are done regularly, they can
sustain a sense of engaged possibility in a whole community. They provide
a coherent, wise "Voice of the People" -- the thoughtful consensus of truly
diverse people, not factional or official pronouncements or divisive,
shallow opinion polls. When I first thought about this, I was shocked to
realize that this is a voice we've actually never heard before!

This community Wisdom Council idea is a mix of elements -- some
tried-and-true and some daringly innovative. Dynamic facilitation, as a
process, has been used in hundreds of meetings, mostly in companies,
non-profit groups, educational institutions and government agencies
(although activists are starting to pick up on it rapidly). That's the
tried and true part. The Wisdom Council model, however -- although it has
been used in a number of institutions -- has yet to be tried in a
community. The diversity of random selection will likely be more
challenging in a community setting than in an institutional one. But it is
precisely in community settings where Wisdom Councils may ultimately have
their most profound effect. By freeing the people's voice and awakening
the people's wisdom, they could turn politics upside down and inside out.

And wouldn't you know it.... The first-ever community Wisdom Council is
being organized right here in Eugene. It will be about the needs of low
income people and will be made up entirely of low income people. This "Low
Income People's Wisdom Council" is being sponsored and supported by the
Lane County Human Services Commission's Community Action Advisory Committee
(CAAC). CAAC has asked the local Wisdom Council Project to organize this
process to provide more citizen involvement in the Human Services
Commission's policy and budget planning.

The Wisdom Council will be made up of 15 to 20 low income people, randomly
selected from a pool of low income community citizens who respond to a call
for participants. According to a flier that is being distributed through
many low income service providers, these people "will meet for two days in
January 2001 to share ideas, feelings and experiences. They will develop
new ideas and make key statements about poverty in Lane County -- about
what works and what doesn't, about its gifts and problems, and about what
needs to change. Their ideas will be shared with the rest of the low income
community and in one voice, will be voiced to Lane County and beyond."

This project assumes that "Low income people are experts on poverty....
They need to help the community, government and service providers
understand poverty better. We all need new and better ideas to REALLY
address the problems of poverty." If progressives spread the word about
this effort, it will not only help the project get a good cross section of
participants, but will enhance the Wisdom Council's ultimate ability to
engage the minds and hearts of Lane County and make a real difference in
how poverty is dealt with here.

The Wisdom Council Project Director, Eugene resident Adin Rogovin, would be
happy to talk with anyone interested in this project. His phone number is
484-1156. His email is adin@lostvalley.org.

Note: Although Wisdom Councils have not been used in community, political
or governmental settings, similar councils have been -- especially in
Canada and Denmark -- and have proven remarkably successful. For more
information on such "Citizen Consensus Councils" see
http://www.co-intelligence.org/P-citizenCC.html.

AFTERWARDS

LOW INCOME PEOPLE'S "WISDOM COUNCIL" CHOOSES SELF-SUFFICIENCY

By Tom Atlee

Nobody knew what would happen when a dozen randomly-selected volunteer
low-income people gathered a semi-circle on Inauguration Day with two
professional facilitators in a community college classroom in downtown
Eugene, Oregon. They were to talk about what it was like to be poor in
Lane County, and what could be done about it. This sort of community
"Wisdom Council" had never been tried before. Variations had been done in
a number of businesses, but never with a random selection of ordinary
citizens.

What happened first in that classroom was a torrent of stories.

* One sturdy man had been offered a high-paying construction job in Salt
Lake City, but he didn't have the money to travel there and stay over until
his first pay check. He was stymied.

* A single mother was being paid $6.50 an hour in her job, but was being
charged $5.00 an hour for child care. "I feel stuck!" she said. It was
more a statement of fact than a complaint.

* A number of people explained how homeless people come to Oregon without
Oregon tags or an Oregon license, living in their car. They are often
stopped by police for minor infractions like a broken headlight. They're
given a 30 day warning to get Oregon tags and license. But they're homeless
-- and without an address, they can't get the tags and license. A month
later, if they're stopped, the police may impound their car, and suddenly
they're out on the street with nothing.

Stories like these flowed for several hours, as if no one had ever bothered
to listen before. The handful of middle-class organizers and observers
were getting an earful -- and their eyes were opened real wide. It became
abundantly clear that being on the bottom was a real hard place to get out
of. And there was strong dissatisfaction with the institutionalized
services for poor people, many of which these folks felt were designed to
keep them poor. Could it be that, for many low income people, the "safety
net" turns into a trap?

All was not unity, though. There were intense moments when deeply
Christian fundamentalist poor people -- who wanted the group to focus on
moral values (especially traditional sexuality and "family values"), God
and the Bible -- clashed with passionate liberals and feminists who felt
these matters did not belong in their Wisdom Council dialogue. The
Christians left, returned, and then left again -- several times -- and
one of the more outspoken feminists became too upset to stay. Several
other people left at various times for various reasons. Those who remained
in the group expressed real sadness when anyone departed, despite the
conflict, and warmly welcomed anyone who returned. On the second day, they
welcomed the teenage daughter of one of their members, as a full member of
their Wisdom Council. And then they pressed on. (At one point, the
teenager decided she wanted to organize a Low Income Teen Wisdom Council.)

The Council identified dozens of possible solutions and over the two days
these ideas coalesced into a vision of a Lane County Low Income People's
Advocacy Center staffed by savvy low income people to serve the whole low
income community. They were delighted with the acronym for Low Income
People (LIP), and they liked the idea of calling their newsletter "LIP
Service" -- or even "Hot LIPs". They imagined community gardens, and job
references, low-income oversight committees, and helping each other
bootstrap out of poverty. "Self-sufficiency" was their motto -- for
themselves, for their families, and for their neighborhoods and communities.

The Wisdom Council's final statement, which reflected their political and
social awareness, included this paragraph: "Our current class system is
designed to keep the rich rich. Those of us less fortunate are a very
diverse group. The result of our meeting together is to create an advocacy
center to help empower people to reach their full potentials. We will do
this through sharing knowledge of available tools in our community,
providing validation and hope for people who may feel stuck. And to ensure
that all individuals are treated with respect."

When the Council ended on Sunday afternoon, the low income people, the
facilitators, and the observers all commented on what a profound, deeply
moving and empowering learning experience it had been. With many
heart-felt hugs and great expectations, they took down the dozens of chart
pad pages hanging on the walls, and walked back into their lives, changed.

I suspect we haven't heard the last from them.

(The Lane County Low Income People's Wisdom Council was sponsored by the
Lane County Human Services Commission's Community Action Advisory Committee
and organized by volunteers from The Co-Intelligence Institute. For more
information on Wisdom Councils, see
http://www.co-intelligence.org/P-wisdomcouncil.html.)