We believe that participatory learning and decision-making should be accessible, affordable, and fun. We love to learn new things, exchange ideas, engage in brave conversations, and test theoretical models of restorative practices in the real world.
That’s why we design and host events that provide our learning community with regular opportunities for discovery, analysis, and praxis. We hope you’ll join us for the constellation of Building a New Reality events.
True Representation Webinar Series – Spring 2025
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 – noon Eastern US time (GMT -4)
The Systematic Use of Citizens’ Assemblies in Governance: Probability or Pipe Dream
The third and final webinar in the Building a New Reality (BANR) True Representation series will focus on the promise of Citizens’ Assemblies to be taken seriously and make a real difference in how we govern ourselves.
We will be joined by Marjan Ehsassi, director of FIDE North America, which is committed to democratic process through systems’ change and impactful citizens’ assemblies. Marjan is a fierce believer in the potential of citizen engagement, inclusiveness, and impactful government-initiated democratic innovations. She is the author of Activated Citizenship: The Transformative Power of Citizens’ Assemblies.
Our second guest will be filmmaker and journalist, Patrick Chalmers, who has made films about Citizens’ Assemblies in Ireland and Malawi. He is currently working on a film about the prospects of peace and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.
The webinar runs one hour followed by optional half hour small group discussions. If the time is not good for you, register anyway — we’ll be sending every registrant a link to the video recording after the event.
Past Events
December 4, 2024
Beyond the Schoolhouse
In the 4th and final installment in our Expanding Restorative Webinar series, we focused on a unique non-compulsory, student- and family-centered learning model, North Star Self-Directed Learning for Teens, featuring guests Ken Danford, Director, and Ellen Morbyrne, Core Staff, alum and parent.
November 6, 2024
True Representation
In the 3rd installment of the Expanding Restorative Webinar series, we focused on innovations in governance. Guests included researcher Ieva Cesnulaityte, Healthy Democracy Program Director Linn Davis, and Phil Lindsay of the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College.
October 16, 2024
Restorative Communities
During installment 2 of the Expanding Restorative Webinar series we explored how synergy can build across sectors to create Restorative Communities. Guests included author Kerra Bolton and Gloucestershire, UK, researchers Inger Brit Lowater and Benjamin Fisk.
September 25, 2024
Expanding Restorative
For the kickoff of our Fall 2024 Expanding Restorative Webinar series, Ted Wachtel shared his vision for taking restorative to scale and invited guests Terry O’Connell, a restorative practices pioneer, and IIRP President Linda Kligman to reflect and share work in their own areas, including workplaces and policing.
August 14, 2024
Deliberative Democracy
Chris Forman is a scientist, author and fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. In this presentation, he concisely explained “What Is Deliberative Democracy?”, shared some of his work with Braver Angels, and answered audience questions.
October 10, 2023
From Micro to Macro: Taking Restorative Practices to Scale in Governance and Enterprise
This webinar looked at developments in Europe in the areas of deliberative democracy and large-group decision making. Guests included Brett Hennig, founder of the Sortition Foundation, and Anke Siegers and Gert Jan Slump who have pioneered the use of Community Processing to resolve large-scale disputes in the Netherlands.
