Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • This High School Gave Spending Power to Students

    February 23, 2023 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Central Falls, Rhode Island

    An elective course at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island allows students to research and propose improvement projects for their school, which are then voted on and implemented using earmarked funding for the program. The participatory budgeting process has helped revamp the school cafeteria, upgrade the library furniture, replace outdated bathroom mirrors, and more.

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  • How New York Is Giving Residents A Voice In The City Budget

    December 16, 2022 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    New York City's Civic Engagement Commission has run two pilot projects implementing participatory budgeting, a process in which local residents help decide how local funding should be allocated. The latest pilot project allocated $1.3 million to 33 projects in "priority" neighborhoods, including youth sports programs and culturally-based mental health workshops.

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  • Beyond the US midterms: The Swiss answer to congressional gridlock

    October 26, 2022 |

    BBC |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Switzerland

    Switzerland has a long tradition of national referendums to decide issues ranging from retirement structures to vacation requirements to voting rights. Citizens can gather signatures — 50,000 or 100,000, depending on whether they want to reconsider an already-passed law or propose new legislation — to put their issue on the ballot.

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  • The Democracy Deficit

    August 09, 2022 |

    Foreign Policy |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: France

    In response to the yellow vest movement, France decided to experiment with "open democracy" by convening the French Citizens Convention on Climate, which asked 150 randomly-selected citizens to consider ways for the country to curb greenhouse gas emissions. With the help of more than 100 experts, the convention developed 149 recommendations that were used as the basis for France's most ambitious climate legislation proposal to date.

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  • For the many or the few?

    August 01, 2022 |

    When the People Decide |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Florida

    In Florida, formerly incarcerated people were at the forefront of efforts to rally support for a ballot initiative to allow residents with certain felony convictions back into the voting booth. Amendment 4 was successfully passed, restoring voting rights for many formerly incarcerated Floridians, and research studying other ballot initiatives in the United States has shown that these direct referendums have given the majority of the country's population policies that they approve of.

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  • ‘It's a beautiful thing': how one Paris district rediscovered conviviality

    July 14, 2022 |

    The Guardian |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: France, Paris

    The République des Hyper Voisins, or the Republic of Super Neighbors, is an experiment organized by residents of Paris's 14th arrondissement to encourage community engagement, combat social isolation, and improve how the neighborhood functions. The group has organized mutual aid efforts, installed compost collection points, facilitated the launch of a new health clinic, and given residents opportunities to weigh in on local development projects.

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  • Residents 13 and up get another pick of city projects to receive funding

    June 20, 2022 |

    Hartford Courant |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Hartford, Connecticut

    Hartford residents 13 and older can decide how some public funds are spent. The Hartford Decides participatory budgeting initiative considers public input on small capital projects that cost between $10,000 and $25,000 and have a useful life of at least five years. City officials vet the projects for feasibility and those that pass are put on a ballot for the public to vote on. Previous winning projects include improvements to libraries, schools, and other publicly accessible resources. Residents can vote online or in-person and, depending on available funding, two to four projects can win approval.

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  • Public Art Project Is Reimagining Philly's Budget, One Poster at a Time

    June 17, 2022 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    “A People’s Budget,” produced by Mural Arts Philadelphia, uses art to engage residents in reimagining how the city spends public funds. In addition to public art installations, the group holds teach-ins, organizes gatherings, and brought together local artists to research different sections of the budget and create 30-plus posters, in English and Spanish, that are handed out at events and other public spaces. The group has increased awareness, sparked important conversations about participatory budgeting, and brought together residents to collaborate for change.

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  • What happens when the people decide?

    June 13, 2022 |

    When the People Decide |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Michigan

    In a truly grassroots effort, organizers of a campaign to end partisan gerrymandering in Michigan mobilized more than 10,000 volunteers to rally support for establishing an independent redistricting commission. Through building meaningful relationships with everyday voters in each of the state's 83 counties, the campaign successfully gathered more than 400,000 signatures to get the proposal on the ballot, and the constitutional amendment was ultimately approved in 2018.

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  • How citizens' assemblies are revitalizing democracy

    June 09, 2022 |

    Waging Nonviolence |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Ireland

    Citizens’ assemblies bring together a sample of the population that reflects the overall demographic composition. The group gathers in person or virtually, is generally compensated in some way, receives information from experts, and then deliberate together to craft policy recommendations for government officials. Several countries, like Ireland and France, have achieved success with this form of participatory democracy.

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