Democracy in Hard Places

  • 2014 Apr 22

    The Tea Party and MoveOn: Finding Common Ground?

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA

    thought bubblesA Challenges to Democracy Conversation with

    Joan Blades, co-founder of MoveOn.org, MomsRising.org, and LivingRoomConversations.org
    Mark Meckler, President of Citizens for Self-Governance, Co-Founder and former National Coordinator, Tea Party Patriots
    Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship (Moderator)

    Co-sponsored with the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum.

    About the Event
    There are some who argue that the gridlock and partisanship affecting Washington is simply a reflection of the polarizing discourse and growing divide within the American public. Can we engage in more civil conversations and find common ground between the political left and right in the U.S.? Two great American leaders representing the left and the right, Joan Blades, co-founder of Momsrising.org and Moveon.org, and Mark Meckler, co-founder of Citizens for Self Governance and Tea Party Patriots, have come together to promote and encourage a safe format to build trust, appreciation for other views, and relationships.... Read more about The Tea Party and MoveOn: Finding Common Ground?

  • 2014 Apr 16

    Digital Democracy: Is Digital Technology Transforming the US Political Landscape as Expected?

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    shadow handsMatt Lira, National Republican Senatorial Committee Macon Phillips, U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Information Programs
    Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship (Moderator)

    About the Event
    This panel will feature a discussion between two of Washington’s best known digital media experts-representing both the right and the left side of the political spectrum – on the potential of digital technology to influence American democracy. There is disagreement about the significance and character of how digital technology is transforming the political process. Panelists will discuss how digital media has transformed the U.S. political landscape, or at least political communication, within both the realm of electoral politics and issue advocacy? Specifically, how have political parties and institutions differed in their attempts to harness the power of digital media to communicate with voters or potential voters?... Read more about Digital Democracy: Is Digital Technology Transforming the US Political Landscape as Expected?

  • 2014 Mar 31

    Integrating Immigrant Communities into Civic and Political Life

    5:30pm to 7:30pm

    Location: 

    Qniversity, Union Crossing, 2nd Floor, 50 Island Street, Lawrence, MA

    Lawrence, MAA Panel Discussion on the Lawrence Experience
    Welcome Remarks by Daniel Rivera, Mayor of Lawrence

    Featuring
    Jessica Andors, Executive Director, Lawrence Community Works
    Sr. Eileen Burns, SNDdeN, Executive Director, Notre Dame Education Center–Lawrence
    Zoila Gomez, Immigration Attorney
    Eliana Martinez, Teacher, Lawrence International High School
    Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship, Harvard Kennedy School
    Asma Khalid, Reporter, WBUR (Moderator)

    Reception and Panel Discussion

    This event is free and open to the public, no RSVP required.

    About the Event
    Immigration policy and paths to citizenship are hotly contested topics on the national stage, yet the impact of immigration is most often experienced on the local level. Lawrence and communities like it across the country are on the frontlines dealing with important questions and tensions that immigration can present.... Read more about Integrating Immigrant Communities into Civic and Political Life

  • 2014 Mar 26

    Cities, Technology and Democracy Study Group Session 3: From Potholes to Policies

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mount Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    Baby in crowdUsing Technology to Increase Civic Engagement in Public Decision Making

    Quinton Mayne, Assistant Professor of Public Policy
    Tom Cosgrove, Co-Founder and Current Board Member, New Voice Strategies

    About the Session
    This interactive session will focus on ways that traditional organizing and mobilizing campaigns are incorporating digital strategies to increase engagement in the policy making process by both the public and interest groups. What are effective strategies to connect digital platforms with on-the-ground, face-to-face organizing? What are the challenges to engaging with local policy making in different sectors from education to conservation?... Read more about Cities, Technology and Democracy Study Group Session 3: From Potholes to Policies

  • 2014 Mar 12

    Cities, Technology and Democracy Study Group Session 2: The Responsive City

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn St., Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    City HallSusan Crawford, John A. Reilly Visiting Professor in Intellectual Property at Harvard Law School and faculty co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University

    About the Session
    This interactive session will focus on government officials and civic activists using new data tools to transform city government, in particular on the institutional and cultural considerations of organizational change, from bureaucratic hurdles to communicating and sharing data across departments and across sectors to the importance of leadership.

    Read the Challenges to Democracy blog post about this event
    ... Read more about Cities, Technology and Democracy Study Group Session 2: The Responsive City

  • 2014 Feb 26

    The Unknown Known: Film Screening and Discussion Featuring Director Errol Morris

    6:00pm

    Location: 

    Wiener Auditorium, Ground Floor, Taubman Building, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA

    EUnknown Known posterrrol Morris, Filmmaker and AuthorArchon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship (Moderator)

    Seats are limited and will be first come first serve.

    About the Event
    Join us for a screening of The Unknown Known, Errol Morris’ latest documentary film profiling former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Following the screening, Morris will participate in a discussion, moderated by Archon Fung, on the expansion of presidential power and the potential threats it poses to our democracy’s compact between the chief executive, Congress, the courts, and the people. In The Unknown Known, Rumsfeld gives unprecedented access to the Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris. Whether you think Rumsfeld is a patriot or a liar, he is always fascinating.... Read more about The Unknown Known: Film Screening and Discussion Featuring Director Errol Morris

  • 2014 Feb 19

    Cities, Technology and Democracy Study Group Session 1: Participatory Budgeting

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    124 Mt. Auburn St., Suite 200-North, Cambridge, MA

    MeetingArchon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship
    Chris Osgood, Co-chair, Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics
    Shari Davis, Executive Director, Boston Youth Fund

    About the Session
    This interactive session will focus on innovations in participatory democracy including Boston’s youth participatory budgeting project, the first ever in the country. Guests will include Chris Osgood, co-chair of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, and Shari Davis, Executive Director of the Boston Youth Fund.... Read more about Cities, Technology and Democracy Study Group Session 1: Participatory Budgeting

  • 2013 Dec 15

    The Heart of Robin Hood

    2:00pm

    Location: 

    American Repertory Theater, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA

    Robin Hood photoPerformance at the American Repertory Theater
    Followed by a discussion on inequality and the quest of a modern Robin Hood

    Steve Meacham, City Life/Vida Urbana
    Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship

    About the Event
    “In this spectacular rendition of the English legend, the notorious Robin Hood and his band of merry men steal from the rich, but refuse to share with the oppressed peasantry. As the wicked Prince John threatens all of England, it is down to Marion to boldly protect the poor and convert Robin Hood from outlaw to hero. First seen at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2011, this new production is filled with high adventure, epic romance, amazing fight choreography, and an original score inspired by contemporary British folk music.”

  • 2013 Dec 06

    All the King’s Men

    7:00pm

    Location: 

    Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

    Movie stillAll the King’s Men (1949) with Harvard Film Archive

    About the Event
    Join us for a screening of the 1949 classic All the King’s Men at Harvard Film Archive’s Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. Directed by Robert Rossen, All the King’s Men was based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren chronicling the rise and fall of local politician Willie Stark (based loosely on a former governor of Louisiana named Huey Long). Ash Center Director Tony Saich will introduce the film with brief remarks on how politics has or has not changed in the last six decades and on the health of American democracy today.... Read more about All the King’s Men

  • 2013 Nov 06

    Too Many Checks, No Balance: Partisan Brinkmanship or a Shrinking Presidency as the New Normal?

    4:10pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    Malkin Penthouse, Littaeur Building, 79 JFK St, Cambridge, MA

    White HouseTom Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, David King, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, and Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship (Moderator)

    About the Event
    Coming close on the heels of the recent federal government shutdown and narrowly avoided default, this discussion will explore the relationship between the president and Congress. What have we learned from recent events about the shifting nature of power between the executive and legislative branches? How have different presidents, in relation to Congress, approached leadership and authority; negotiation and compromise? Is partisan brinksmanship the new norm both in Congress and in the relationship between the president and Congress? What is driving the gridlock? Where is the greatest potential for change? What can individual citizens do?... Read more about Too Many Checks, No Balance: Partisan Brinkmanship or a Shrinking Presidency as the New Normal?

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