"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"

Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
(used with permission)



"If you don't like the news .... go out and make some of your own !!"

Wes "Scoop" Nisker, Newscaster



INTRODUCTION

Government is a slow and tedious process. While it often includes citizen and neighborhood involvement, non-governmental, private organizations have created movements and interesting groups which can create positive change in our cities and towns.

I am fascinated by the way groups are created and how they influence public decision making. This blog merely recognizes them and forwards the description of these groups from their own websites.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Reviving California

Location: Silicon Valley, CA

Website: www.asoft484.securesites.net/secure/alfsiliconvalley/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=reviving_ca_new_home

Reviving California is a project of the Common Good Collaborative, powered by American Leadership Forum – Silicon Valley.

Goals include:

- Bringing. diverse groups of people into a common dialogue and collaboration through nurtured community partnerships,

- Being an actively engaged Silicon Valley community that remains a strong voice for the common good,

- Joining forces in engaging the community on the issue of California reform,

- Informing organizations proposing reform about Silicon Valley ideas and collective input in a “bottoms-up” approach.

On November 6-7, 2008, immediately following the U.S. presidential election, ALF Senior Fellows celebrated 20 years of American Leadership Forum in Silicon Valley by participating in a special anniversary forum, "Reclaiming the California Dream," at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove.This forum was a time to look deeply at the leadership challenges facing California.

From that gathering, "Reviving California," a project of ALF's Common Good Collaborative, was born. With initial funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Reviving California - led by a steering committee of Senior Fellows - has played a significant role in reforming the state’s fiscal and governance policies. By harnessing the power of networked leadership, Reviving California has directly influenced reform legislation and initiatives, including Open primaries and the recently completed redistricting process.

As part of this process, ALF has been helping Californians replace political rhetoric with authentic conversations, moving beyond the blame game, and creating the conditions for individuals, networks and communities to engage in democracy in an increasingly complex and diverse state.

We have forged 30 partnerships with organizations from the Afghan Coalition to California Forward to SKYPE, and hosted more than 42 community dialogues/town halls/ summits/thought leader symposiums/affinity group conversations and real-time, online discussions on various aspects of reform involving 1650+ Californians.
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