Big City: Big Ideas: Funding Democracy: Participatory Budgeting in Canada
April 26, 2016 | By Public Policy Admin |
One of the most pressing challenges facing today’s cities is how to involve the public in the machinery of government and its fiscal decisions in a meaningful way. Participatory budgeting, a model derived from the Brazilian experience, gives the public the right to propose, deliberate, and vote on a part of the city budget. Does participatory budgeting actually improve democracy, transparency, and accountability, or is it simply another consultation tool in disguise? On May 5, join us for a panel discussion on the opportunities and challenges of implementing participatory budgeting in Canadian cities.
Keynote Speaker: Josh Lerner
Josh Lerner is the Executive Director of the Participatory Budgeting Project, the leading non-profit supporting participatory budgeting in the US and Canada. His work has been recognized by the White House as a model for open government, and by the Brown Democracy Medal as the best practical innovation advancing democracy around the world. He is the author of two books, Making Democracy Fun: How Game Design Can Empower Citizens and Transform Politics (MIT Press, 2014) and Everyone Counts: Could Participatory Budgeting Change Democracy? (Cornell University Press, 2014).
Panelists
- Shelley Carroll, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 33 Don Valley East
- Alex Mazer, Co-Founder, Better Budget TO
- Peter MacLeod (Moderator), Co-founder and principal of MASS LBP, and one of Canada’s leading experts in public engagement and deliberative democracy.
To register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/big-city-big-ideas-event-funding-democracy-participatory-budgeting-in-canada-registration-24598049428
Event Date
May 5, 2016
4:30 – 6:00 pm
Location
Vivian & David Campbell Conference Facility
1 Devonshire Place
