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International PB Conference - Registration Open!

Registration is now open for the first International Conference on Participatory Budgeting in the US and Canada, March 30-31, 2012, in New York City. We've also announced a new batch of speakers and co-sponsors - see the conference website for more info!

 

 

2012 PB Conference Updates

We look forward to seeing you soon at the first International Conference on Participatory Budgeting in the US and Canada. Due to popular demand, the deadline for proposals has been extended to January 31st. Please see the call for proposals for submission guidelines, and feel free to ask us about your session ideas.

The conference dates have also been set - March 30-31, 2012. The conference organizers are already planning an exciting lineup of sessions and activities. Here’s a taste of what to expect:
- Site Visits to Observe PB Voting in NYC
- Presentations on PB processes in New York, Chicago, Toronto Community Housing, Guelph, Montreal, Porto Alegre, the UK, and elsewhere
- Sessions on e-Participatory Budgeting & Digital Media, Community Organizing, Arts & Culture, Public Housing, and Youth Engagement
- Focused discussions for elected officials, practitioners, and community organizations

Stay tuned to the new conference website for updates!

 

 

Los Angeles PB Event - Jan 12th

The PB Project is speaking at a public event next week in Los Angeles - see the announcement below!

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Participatory Budgeting: From Budget Cuts to the People's Budget
An introductory event Thursday, January 12th 7pm @ Haines Hall 279 on UCLA’s Campus

Are you interested in real world solutions to the budget crises we face?

Do you want to learn about a new approach to democracy being implemented NOW in over 1000 cities world wide including places like New York City and Chicago?

Would you like to discuss how participatory budgeting can be applied to the city of LA, UCLA and the UC graduate TA union (UAW 2865)?

Then please join us Thursday, January 12th, 7pm at UCLA, Haines Hall 279, for a panel discussion on the Participatory Budgeting (PB) movement. We will be joined by New York City Council Member Brad Lander, Pam Jennings from The Participatory Budgeting Project, and community representatives from NYC's 39th District. The discussants are part of a larger group of four NYC districts who are using participatory budgeting to allocate nearly 6 million dollars in capital discretionary funds. We will learn more about participatory budgeting, the challenges of implementing it in NYC, and discuss ways participatory budgeting can be used in LA and within the UC system. Refreshments will be provided. Hope you can join us!

Please use this google map to find Haines Hall. Once you enter Haines Hall go up the main stairs to the 2nd floor and room 279 will be at the north end of the building on your left.

 

 

New Orleans event

The Participatory Budgeting Project is traveling to New Orleans next week, and we'll be speaking at a public forum on Wednesday December 14th. 6pm at Grace Episcopal Church – 3700 Canal Street. The event is sponsored by the Committee for a Better New Orleans and the New Orleans Coalition on Open Governance. For more information visit their event announcement.

 

 

PBP in Baltimore, New Haven, New Orleans & Porto Alegre

The PB Project is hitting the road! In the next month we'll be speaking at the following events:

November 23-26: Porto Alegre, Brazil
10th World Congress of Metropolis

November 25: Baltimore
4:00pm, at The Baltimore Free School (1323 N. Calvert, corner of Calvert and Mt. Royal)
Event hosted by Occupy Baltimore organizers.
More info.

December 6: New Haven
7:00pm at the Hall of Records - City of New Haven (200 Orange Street)
More info.

December 13-15: New Orleans
Visit organized by The Committee for a Better New Orleans and the Open Society Foundation.

 

 

International PB Conference: March 2012, NYC

Please share with your networks:

International Conference: Participatory Budgeting in the US and Canada
March 30-31, 2012, New York City

CALL FOR PROPOSALS--EXTENDED DEADLINE: JANUARY 31, 2012
Conference Website: http://pbconference.wordpress.com/

In a time of widespread budget crises and plummeting trust in government, politicians and community members are searching for more democratic and accountable ways to manage public money. Participatory Budgeting (PB) offers an alternative. PB is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. The process was first developed in Brazil in 1989, and there are now over 1,000 participatory budgets around the world. Most are for city budgets, but counties, states, towns, housing authorities, schools, and other institutions have also used PB to open up public spending to public participation.

PB is now common in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa - and in some cases even required by law. Yet it has only recently appeared on the radar in the US and Canada, with a few Canadian processes starting in 2001 and some initial US experiments starting in 2009.

This first regional conference on PB will take place in New York City to allow participants to observe and celebrate the closing of the city’s first PB cycle. The conference will provide a space for participants and organizers of the initial PB processes in the US and Canada to share and reflect on their experiences so far, alongside interested activists, practitioners, and scholars.

Dates
March 30-31, 2012

Note: The conference will coincide with the final vote for the New York City Participatory Budgeting process. The dates of the vote have not been finalized yet, but we expect them to be one of these two weekends. We will confirm the dates as soon as possible.

Locations
New York City: Pratt Institute (Brooklyn), Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, and other locations throughout the city

Organizers
Pratt Institute, Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development
The Participatory Budgeting Project
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College (CUNY)

Conference Themes
As an opportunity to reflect upon early PB initiatives in the US and Canada, and build new relationships and collaborations between practitioners, the conference will focus on the following questions. We encourage all submissions relating to these and other similar themes.

1) What is the current state of PB practice in the United States and Canada? How are current experiments progressing and what efforts to establish new PB’s are underway?
2) What common themes or conditions underlie PB experiences in the US ad Canada?
3) How do experiences in these countries differ from PB in other parts of the world?
4) How do PB experiences in the US and Canada inform key ongoing debates on PB worldwide?
5) How can PB practitioners, activists, and participants in the US and Canada support each others’ efforts?

Session Types
We encourage presenters to submit proposals for a variety of session formats. These may include, but are not limited to: panel discussions, workshops, presentations, and videos. Sessions are scheduled to last 1.5 hours, but some sessions may group together shorter activities. Though the conference’s primary focus is on PB in the US and Canada, proposals dealing with broader PB issues or other locations will also be considered. Proposals that reflect a diversity of opinions, experiences and backgrounds will be given priority.

Panel Discussions: Panel discussions should be facilitated by a moderator (please indicate in your proposal whether you would like us to help identify a moderator/discussant) and should be composed of 3-5 panelists. Panels should leave adequate time for discussion.

Workshops: The goal of proposed workshops should be the participation of workshop participants in a discussion or other activity designed to learn, communicate, debate, etc. Workshops can be led by a single person, although workshops led by a diverse range of people are preferred. “Presenting” by workshop leader/s should be limited.

Presentations: Presentations of PB experiences and academic papers are also welcome. Presentations will be grouped together based on subject, geography or theme. Academic paper presentations will be limited to 15 minutes, and all presenters should be prepared for discussion with other participants.

Videos and Other Formats: We welcome video screenings and other artistic or creative proposals.

Conference Fees
There will be a sliding scale conference fee from $10 for students and low-income people to $50 for full registration. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Submission Guidelines
Session proposals should include the following information:
● Title
● Abstract (200-400 words)
● Name(s) and/or organizations of authors, presenters, panelists, workshop leaders, etc
● Special arrangements or other considerations (space requirements, scheduling requests, etc)

EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION--January 31st, 2012

Please submit proposals by email to: pbconference.info@gmail.com

 

 

Occupy Baltimore calls for participatory budgeting

Organizers with Occupy Baltimore called for participatory budgeting at a public hearing they organized with the Baltimore Development Corporation. Read more.

 

 

New Project: Environmental Justice PB in Louisiana

The PB Project is partnering with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade to launch a new PB process for environmental justice funds in Louisiana, with support from the Fund for Democratic Communities. Faced with widespread industrial pollution, Louisiana communities are struggling to protect their environment, public health, and local economies. Oil refineries in the state experience an average of 10 chemical accidents per week, releasing up to 80 different chemicals into surrounding communities. Grassroots groups are struggling to document these environmental injustices, educate residents, and advocate for change.

Through a PB process, the Bucket Brigade will invite these groups to directly allocate $100,000 for local projects and to shape hundreds of thousands of dollars of general organizational spending. We hope that the initiative will help local groups develop the budgeting and fundraising skills needed to sustain campaigns and engage community members, while enabling the Bucket Brigade to better support grassroots action. At the same time, it will model a new use for PB, showing how organizations and coalitions at the state or regional level can engage members in deciding collective budgets. More info coming soon!

 

 

Full Steam Ahead in NYC

PBNYC is well into its Neighborhood Assemblies stage! Across the four participating City Council Districts, community members are coming out en masse to learn about PB and share project ideas. Roughly half of the Neighborhood Assembly participants so far have volunteered to serve as budget delegates and work over the next several months to turn the ideas collected into a final ballot.

The PB Project has been busy supporting the more than 25 assemblies city-wide in October and November. Starting in a few weeks, hundreds of budget delegates will begin meeting - and organizers will start planning the final vote and expansion for next year. For updates and more info, check out the PBNYC website and Facebook page.

 

 

PB at Occupy Wall Street

As the Occupy movement is inspiring people around the world, it is turning to PB for inspiration. The PB Project has been invited to help facilitate teach-ins this Sunday (October 23rd) at 6pm at Occupy Wall Street and at 2pm at Occupy Providence. Occupiers in Boston, Greensboro, and other cities are also reaching out, to see how PB can fit into the movement's diverse tactics and demands.

OWS and PB assemblies are both drawing out hundreds of people to build a new form of democracy, in New York and elsewhere. Mainstream media and organizers on the ground are starting to draw connections.

Occupiers could use PB to manage the funds they have raised (over $300,000 at OWS!), modelling a more democratic economy. PB is also one of the more winnable demands occupiers could make, since it's already happening in over 1,000 cities around the world. Existing PB processes could likewise benefit from new support, if occupiers can push for more public control over more money.