(Bonus Webinar) NAC Encore - Civic Engagement 3.0: Making Public Participation Powerful and Sexy

A reprise of one of the more popular sessions at the 2021 IAP2 North American Conference.

Public meetings reinforce existing power structures where white men tend to dominate. In Western culture, men are the authoritative voice because when they speak, people listen. A 2018 Boston University study confirmed that those who engage in public meetings are older, male, whiter and wealthier than the rest of the community. Why does this matter? Because whole groups of people can feel marginalized from the process, leaving decision makers to cater to 'stakeholders' who are much narrower and homogenous in their views and interests. This can lead to further disenfranchisement because those groups continue to feel invisible or unrepresented. This vicious cycle can be turned into a virtuous circle by transforming the traditional public meeting. But first, we'll take a deep dive into the history of the public meeting, and how it was never meant be equitable or democratic.

Speaker: Nancy Pearson, Founder & Chief Transformation Officer at Mind the Gap