23
Feb
Camera Obscura / AS220 Youth Program at FSFA Office
FSFA is looking forward to hosting the AS220 youth program led by Scott Lapham. This afternoon, a Camera Obscura project will “unfold” in our office, very exciting.
AS220 youth is a free arts education program serving young people ages 14-21 with special focus on those in the care and custody of the state. The program’s goal is to engage the youth in a creative process that will lead to positive social, educational, and vocational outcomes. More Info HERE.
Owen, thanks for ninciotg I noticed! Congratulations on a very engaging site and a great concept.I think you’re right that civic engagement (and an informed debate at local level) is the key to good representative elections: we’ve got to make the existing processes work better, and we can’t do that without an engaged citizenry. Personally, I’d take that further, and say that the work of a representative has to be constantly challenged and overseen by a far more engaged voting population (that we’re moving from mandates to conversations, in other words).I think the challenge is to marry that new conversational open politics with a (partial and flawed) political selection process that’s going on at the same time. There is a legitimacy in political election processes that technocracy can’t match.Different attempts at doing that (independent MPs here in the UK, for instance) have faced the problem that the big parties have a recognised brand and position, so voters feel they know what they’re buying when they buy Republican/Democrat/Tory/Labour even if they don’t like it much.How much do you think Uncaucus can influence the candidate selection between the two main parties? I’m afraid I don’t know RI politics very well I’m assuming that Providence is a Democratic city, so is the real battle the one for the Dem nomination or is there a chance that an well-known independent might come in?