Democracy is a Public Conversation
Democracy is about “having ideas” on how to decide what is best for our communities and negotiating how our values and priorities should translate into public policy.
Since, we express our ideas through conversations, it might be said that ...... “democracy is a public conversation”
What is Public Conversation?
Public Conversation takes place in settings where citizens from all walks of life can come together in an honest and forthright manner to contribute to the conversation, without privileging anyone's ideas or opinions.
Types of Public Conversation
There are three main types of public conversation:
discussion, public deliberation, and debate.
Citizens for Democracy promotes the practice of public deliberation as a way for citizens to seek 'the common ground in order to achieve the common good'.
Click on the labels below for an explanation of public deliberation and how it differs from discussion and debate:
