Here you can find a link to a discussion that was recently held in a commission of the Scotish Parliament.

Around minute 36 Mike McCarron briefly mentions the talk Manfred Hellrigle gave in Glasgow + the Wisdom Councils! :-)

news.bbc.co.uk

If you're German speaking, listen to the austrian Radio Ö1 next Monday, 30th April at 4pm.

On air: Jim Rough, Anneliese Rohrer, Rita Trattnigg and Manfred Hellrigl talking about "Getting Engaged! How Can We Organize Participative Democracy" (recorded in February at Radiokulturhaus Vienna).

Link Webradio: oe1.orf.at (there is also an 7 day archive available for later listening).

BTW: If you are on Facebook, additional information and photos of this discussion can be found on the fanpage of "Dynamic Facilitation"

Michael Lederer works with the Office of Future Related Issues (OFRI), Vorarlberg Austria. He often hast the lead in setting Wisdom Councils for communities. Jim Rough interviews Michael the day before the conference "Surfing Democracy." (17minutes)

www.metacafe.com

He asks how we could better communicate the "Culture Change element" which all particpants experience. Good question! Any ideas?

Beginning of March, Chris Zumbrunn, Thomas Bänninger and Jan Maisenbacher founded a new association in Switzerland called participate.ch

Right now they are pionieering DF and WC via a hot national issue. WCs are not know in Switzerland (except within Swisscom and in the community of Thalwil)

You can contact the association via info@participate.ch

I am always encouraged when I recall that DF is a route to solving impossible problems as it gives me the confidence to accept any job I am offered no matter how complex. Next week I am walking into a room where everyone believes there is not a solution without there being winners and losers. I have told them individually that the conversation they are about to have is not a negotiation, not a compromise, not a confrontation, not about winning and losing and it is not about fixing something. It is about working together to create something new that works for everyone. Only time will tell whether I have the DF skills to pull this off so wish me luck.

On a partially related issue I was watching one of the new www.ted.com videos this week and was amused by this quote: -
"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off".

I carried out a DF session with a group from a Council in the Highlands & Islands area of Scotland to look at forming a multi-agency partnership around education.

This was the beginning of the process, which is a very good place to start. Having no set agenda was perhaps the most challenging element of the day, but the outcome was creative and effective and serves as an excellent platform to build on for the future.