What is a Gathering?
In The Gatherings screenplay, the main character, Allison, was determined to start by creating a Gathering. But why?
A Gathering is an in-person meeting of about 12 individuals and two Facilitators that takes place over a Friday evening and all day Saturday. The participants can be anyone who lives in or has an interest in the neighborhood. During their time together, participants begin with this question:
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"What is one meaningful step we might
take together to improve the
quality of life for everyone in our community?"
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Facilitators use the Co-Creating Desired Futures (CCDF) facilitation process, They provide an opportunity for participants to identify and articulate their ideas and concerns, and hear the ideas and concerns of others in an emotionally safe setting where creativity is invited and protected. A kind of "magic" happens when people feel heard and are able to take in what others have to say. A shift. An alignmnent. An energy of "I am not alone. We can do this together". Things are different after a Gathering.
“…until the whole political system is set up with intrinsically dialogic structures (such as [Gatherings and] citizen deliberative councils), many powerholders will naturally tend to use power politics and domination whenever they think they can get what they want.” p 260
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"Of course, such councils don’t just happen. They must be envisioned, established, empowered and convened." p 195
"What would happen if these citizen deliberative councils became a central feature of our political system? What if we used them not only to wrestle with specific issues, but also to provide the overall common sense needed to guide our communities, our societies, our governments?" p 173
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From The Tao of Democracy by Tom Atlee with Rosa Zubizarreta
Published by The Writers Collective, 2003
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