10:20 AM — Panel: Re-discovery: Policy, Governance and Thinking… As If Democracy Matters

Description:  Rediscovery of the genius in the original design of the American Experiment and its revolutions in the ways the founding generation thought and fought. What the 1776 Revolution did in countering colonialism, Tyranny of the Mind and Oppression of the People was provide a template for all updated forms of colonization by our return to the design of governance. 

Theme: Thinking Differently about the radical design of the Democratic Republic and the tension, landscape of interactions designed about the ability to navigate change versus the power paradigm which freezes with current power-based constellations

Question:  Who are We and Why are We?

Concepts

Facilitators: 
Lowell Christy, Ph.D.       
Valarie Lamont, Ph.D.  

Presenters:
Lowell Christy and Valarie Lamont: “Seven pillars of American Exceptionalism: Design of the American Experiment, Body Politic as a Whole Living System”

Jerome Warren: “Indigenous sources to extend, deepen and realize American Democracy”

Video from Maine Penobscots: Leadership from the Edges, adapting to an evolving environment 

Morris Bosin: “Relationship between Governance Approaches and Societal Outcomes: Characteristics and consequences of design of Today’s Full, Hybrid and Failed democracies”

Moderator, Speaker:

• Lowell Christy, The Forum on democracy, Serial social systems entrepreneur. grounded in cultural anthropology specializing in how cultures change. Co-Founder, The Forum on democracy

• Valarie Lamont, The Forum on democracy, Political Science/Citizen Participation Co-Founder, The Forum on democracy

Speakers:

• Jerome Warren, SFPI Chairholder @ Académie royale de Belgique | Political Economy, Cooperative Studies & Sustainability

• Morris Bosin, The Forum on democracy, Retired Senior Federal Executive and Consultant, Author of “Governance in the 21st Century” Co-Founder, The Forum on democracy

11:40 AM — Panel: Re-thinking: Policy, Governance and Thinking… As If Democracy Matters

Description: Where are We?  Seeing and mapping the current dynamics of the American Experiment 

Theme:  Thinking differently about what we have learned from the past 250 years about paradigm change and evolutionary transformation of the Learning Nation leading to a differential diagnosis of the past 70 years. We must rethink today’s ways of seeing and thinking using the power of what we have seen in cybernetics and systems that are literally in your hands. The rediscovery in Panel #1 is the basis providing the necessary tools to relearn from our political and policy design failures countering the power and powerlessness that is inherent in the American Experiment

Question:  Where are we today? What have we done to ourselves?

Concepts:

Facilitator:  Valarie Lamont, Ph.D.

Presenters: 
David Apgar: “Three turning points in 20th-century philosophy help us see why we can no longer agree on facts. They reveal preconditions for factual agreement that are missing in America today”

 Jessica Santos & Valarie Lamont: “Application of Accimaps to the decline of democracy”

Eve Pinsker and Daniel Wolk: “Designing Participatory Discussion at Local Level Countering Debilitating Divides”

Jerry Chandler: “Reductivism vs Whole Systems” 

Moderator:

• Valarie Lamont, The Forum on democracy, Political Science/Citizen Participation Co-Founder, The Forum on democracy

Speakers:

• David Apgar, CircularIT Ventures, General Partner

• Jessica Santos, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Course Assistant

• Eve Pinsker, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Clinical Assistant Professor, Community Health Sciences Core faculty, DrPH in Leadership Program

• Daniel Wolk, Chicago Solutions Forum, President

• Jerry Chandler, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Studies for Consciousness of George Mason University and Formerly with U.S. Public Health Service, Research professor in mathematical biology

1:00 PM — Panel: Re-imagining: Policy, Governance and Thinking… As If Democracy Matters

Description: Re-imagining the American Experiment using the tools, methods, processes of constructive socio/political/economic therapeutics

Theme:  Thinking differently about Government, Governance and Governing with updated tools, methods, and processes of constructive, socio/political/economic therapeutics

Question: What needs to change in our policy, governance and thinking using new thinking tools about Systems, Cybernetics, and Design to create systemic Change?

Concepts:

Facilitator:  Robert Knisely

Presenters: 
Robert Knisely: “The Need for Radical Governance Reform, Not Just Government Reform.   New generation of methods, tools, tactics, and strategies for leveraging Systemic Change

Andy Williams: “General Collective Intelligence and the Force of Networks”

Claudia Westerman and Teresa Hoskyns: “Architecture of the Conversation Commons” 

Kerry Turner: “Relocalization of Creativity”

Richard Knowles: “Amplifying and Empowering the Voice of the Citizen”

Dorien DeTombe: “COMPRAM Methodology for Societal Complexity:  Managing Experts on Complex Issues”

Michele Friend: “The Policy Compass, Participatory Ground Level Navigation” 

Moderator, Speaker:

• Robert Knisely, The Forum on democracy, Former Senior Federal Executive, including Vice President Gore’s National Performance Review and started up the Bureau of Transportation Statistics at the Department of Transportation Co-Founder, The Forum on democracy

Speakers:

• Andy Williams, Nobeah Foundation, Executive Director

• Claudia Westermann, Department of Architecture Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Senior Associate Professor

• Teresa Hoskyns, CRAC- Cross-Cultural Research in Architecture Collective, Director

• Kerry Turner, Relocalize Creativity, Co-Founder

• Richard Knowles, The Forum on democracy, Organizational Anthropologist Consulting in Self-Organizing Leadership© and the Process Enneagram© Co-Founder, The Forum on democracy

• Dorien DeTombe, Sichuan University, Founder and Chair International Research Society on Methodology of Societal Complexity Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Europe

• Michele Friend, Department of Philosophy George Washington University Washington D.C., Associate professor

2:20 PM — Panel: Re-building: Policy, Governance and Thinking… As If Democracy Matters

Description: Re-building the American Experiment in Democracy…from the ground up with “We, the People” 

Theme:  Thinking differently about the Genius of the People and the Citizen's Agenda to revitalize and rebuild the shrunken Democracy side of the Republic

Question: Where are we going? Case studies to show the way to re-building the American Experiment

Concepts:

Facilitator: Egils Milbergs

Presenters: 
Egils Milbergs: “Organizing the Missing in Action (MIA) Citizen in the democratic experiment of self-organization and assembly of a new lens to see the world…Genius of the People

Stephen Nachmanovitch: Improvisation & Democracy, a video tape demonstration 

Laurence Richards: “A Conversational Approach to Governance as though Democracy Matters” 

Kathleen Lang: “Citizens in action; cracks in the System let the light in”

Al Cross: “Restoring democracy requires restoring trust between news media and their audiences”

Jessica Sutter: “Youth engagement, preparing youth for Citizenship and Opportunities for Citizen Participation”

Keisha McKenzie: “Role of Identity, Meaning and Religion”

Chris Casillas – “AZ Copper Basin, These are the things to facilitate local creatively and systemic change on the Democratic side of the democratic republic and its design by the founders”

Moderator, Speaker:

• Egils Milsberg, Center for Accelerating Innovation, Founder

Speakers:

• Stephen Nachmanovitch

• Larry Richards, Indiana University East, Operations Research, and Professor Emeritus of Management and Informatics

• Kathleen Lange, Habitat for Humanity, Executive Director

• Al Cross, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, Director Extension Professor, School of Journalism and Media College of Communication and Information, University of Kentucky

• Jessica Sutter, Chief of Civic Learning Initiatives, Institute for Citizens & Scholars

• Keisha McKenzie, McKenzie Consulting Group, Director

• Chris Casillas, Regenerating Sonora, Executive Director