Standing Up for Truth in Political Advertising

By Elana Goldstein

We are all familiar with the arguments for governmental accountability and openness, but our ability to hold power accountable can be severely limited by misinformation and misdirection. Unfortunately, this campaign cycle has already proved itself to be negative, nasty, and in many cases, misleading.

AmericaSpeaks at the American Bar Association Annual Conference

By Andrea Scallon

On April 19th, AmericaSpeaks facilitated a session of the 14th Annual Spring Conference of the American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section.  During the session about 100 professional Mediators and Arbitrators discussed if and how they should be regulated. Participants also had some time to discuss how they could bring in pieces of the AmericaSpeaks method into their work.

Advancing Global Public Engagement through the Open Government Partnership

By David Stern

My colleague Daniel Clark and I were fortunate to participate in last week’s Open Government Partnership (OGP) meeting in Brasilia.  It was a unique moment for open government communities in the US and throughout the world.

Power to Prepare Tucson Summit

By Steve Brigham

The Earth Hour City Challenge, conducted by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is a year-long competition among cities to prepare for increasingly extreme weather and to promote renewable energy. Participating U.S. cities receive resources and gain recognition for their efforts to curb carbon pollution and prepare their communities for the harmful consequences of climate change.

Demonstrating Participatory Values at the OGP Brasilia Meeting

By Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer

During the past few weeks AmericaSpeaks and Global Voices have been working with a number of partners to develop a series of online activites to support online participation and transparency during the upcoming OGP Annual Meeting in Brasilia, including a webcast and live blog. In addition to our online work, Global Voices will also be on the ground in Brasilia with a side panel on how to create meaningful opportunities for public involvement in policy formation.

Democracy Does Have Enemies

By Peter Hardie

Peter Hardie is the new Executive Director at the Campaign for Stronger Democracy.  Here are his thoughts on some internal challenges we face in our democracy, which the Campaign will be focusing on in the coming year.

No one admits to being an enemy of democracy. And yet, we are everywhere.

Theme Team Perspective on the 2012 Enterprise Green Communities Summit

By Peter Yost, BuildingGreen, Inc.

Cross-Posted from Enterprise Green Communities

At the very end of February, I participated in this one-day Call to Action for affordable green housing, with a goal to make green building best practices available to every publicly subsidized housing project in the US by 2020.

Chicago Convening on Community Engagement

By Daniel Clark

On March 7, I had the honor of working with the Chicago’s Donors Forum and its partners to facilitate a convening on the power of community engagement.  The event was a kick-off for a continuing conversation about the foundation and non-profit sector in the Chicago metropolitan area, also known as Chicagoland. The conversation focused on the opportunities and challenges for utilizing community engagement to achieve organizational missions and build greater social capital in Chicago communities.

Green Communities National Summit: (Re)Build it Better 2020

By Daniel Clark

Enterprise is a national leader in the development of affordable and low-income housing.  The organization has raised and invested more than $11 billion to help build healthy and affordable communities across the country.  It also provides a wide range of technical assistance to developers, municipalities, and state and federal agencies.

Big News – and Lessons Learned – on The American Square

By David Stern

We’ve got some exciting news to share: AmericaSpeaks is handing the keys to The American Square over to the Concord Coalition!