WEBVTT 00:00:00.802 --> 00:00:02.563 My name is Shari Davis, 00:00:02.587 --> 00:00:03.874 and let's be honest, 00:00:03.898 --> 00:00:05.898 I'm a recovering government employee. 00:00:06.722 --> 00:00:10.594 And I say that with a huge shout-out to the folks that work in government 00:00:10.618 --> 00:00:12.474 and on systems change. 00:00:12.498 --> 00:00:13.839 It's hard. 00:00:13.863 --> 00:00:15.609 It can be isolating. 00:00:15.633 --> 00:00:18.233 And the work can feel impossible. 00:00:18.971 --> 00:00:21.796 But government is the people that show up. 00:00:22.614 --> 00:00:25.498 Really, it's the people that can show up 00:00:25.522 --> 00:00:29.085 and are committed to the promise that public service offers: 00:00:29.109 --> 00:00:30.839 service to people, 00:00:30.863 --> 00:00:32.237 democracy 00:00:32.261 --> 00:00:35.847 and fixing the problems that community members face. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:36.839 --> 00:00:38.197 Seventeen years ago, 00:00:38.221 --> 00:00:42.233 I walked through city hall for the first time as a staff member. 00:00:42.820 --> 00:00:45.002 And that walk revealed something to me. 00:00:45.780 --> 00:00:47.598 I was a unicorn. 00:00:47.622 --> 00:00:50.109 There weren't many people who looked like me 00:00:50.133 --> 00:00:51.482 that worked in the building. 00:00:51.871 --> 00:00:55.899 And yet, there were folks committed to addressing hundreds of years 00:00:55.923 --> 00:00:57.639 of systemic inequity 00:00:57.663 --> 00:01:00.987 that left some behind and many ignored. 00:01:01.011 --> 00:01:02.998 Where there was promise, 00:01:03.022 --> 00:01:04.910 there was a huge problem. 00:01:04.934 --> 00:01:08.370 You see, democracy, as it was originally designed, 00:01:08.394 --> 00:01:09.720 had a fatal flaw. 00:01:10.188 --> 00:01:15.640 It only laid pipeline for rich white men to progress. 00:01:15.958 --> 00:01:19.091 And now, if you're a smart rich white man, 00:01:19.115 --> 00:01:22.480 you understand why I say that's a problem. 00:01:22.504 --> 00:01:25.845 Massive talent has been left off the field. 00:01:26.201 --> 00:01:29.788 Our moral imaginations have grown anemic. 00:01:29.812 --> 00:01:33.760 Our highest offices are plagued by corruption. 00:01:33.784 --> 00:01:38.122 We're on the brink of a sort of apathetic apocalypse, 00:01:38.146 --> 00:01:40.939 and it's not OK. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:40.963 --> 00:01:42.598 We've got to open the doors 00:01:42.622 --> 00:01:44.014 to city halls and schools 00:01:44.038 --> 00:01:47.800 so wide that people can't help but walk in. 00:01:48.158 --> 00:01:51.245 We've got to throw out the old top-down processes 00:01:51.269 --> 00:01:53.150 that got us into this mess, 00:01:53.174 --> 00:01:54.682 and start over, 00:01:54.706 --> 00:01:57.060 with new faces around the table, 00:01:57.084 --> 00:01:59.115 new voices in the mix, 00:01:59.139 --> 00:02:03.607 and we have to welcome new perspectives every step of the way. 00:02:03.631 --> 00:02:06.108 Not because it's the right thing to do -- 00:02:06.132 --> 00:02:07.647 although it is -- 00:02:07.671 --> 00:02:12.005 but because that's the only way for us to all succeed together. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:12.355 --> 00:02:14.355 And here's the best news of all. 00:02:14.934 --> 00:02:16.514 I know how to do it. 00:02:16.538 --> 00:02:19.164 The answer -- well, an answer, 00:02:19.188 --> 00:02:21.482 is participatory budgeting. 00:02:21.839 --> 00:02:23.085 That's right. 00:02:23.109 --> 00:02:27.346 Participatory budgeting, or "PB" for short. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:27.370 --> 00:02:31.163 PB is a process that brings community and government together 00:02:31.187 --> 00:02:34.687 to ideate, develop concrete proposals 00:02:34.711 --> 00:02:38.826 and vote on projects that solve real problems in community. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:39.263 --> 00:02:42.334 Now I realize that people don't get up and dance 00:02:42.358 --> 00:02:44.755 when I start talking about public budgets. 00:02:45.096 --> 00:02:47.458 But participatory budgeting 00:02:47.482 --> 00:02:51.918 is actually about collective, radical imagination. 00:02:52.474 --> 00:02:55.134 Everyone has a role to play in PB, 00:02:55.158 --> 00:02:56.441 and it works, 00:02:56.465 --> 00:03:00.998 because it allows community members to craft real solutions 00:03:01.022 --> 00:03:02.514 to real problems 00:03:02.538 --> 00:03:07.018 and provides the infrastructure for the promise of government. 00:03:07.042 --> 00:03:08.193 And honestly, 00:03:08.217 --> 00:03:12.740 it's how I saw a democracy actually work for the first time. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:13.177 --> 00:03:15.420 I remember it like it was yesterday. 00:03:15.444 --> 00:03:17.849 It was 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts, 00:03:17.873 --> 00:03:19.676 and mayor Menino asked me 00:03:19.700 --> 00:03:23.225 to launch the country's first youth-focused PB effort 00:03:23.249 --> 00:03:25.923 with one million dollars of city funds. 00:03:26.312 --> 00:03:29.312 Now, we didn't start with line items and limits 00:03:29.336 --> 00:03:31.125 or spreadsheets and formulas. 00:03:31.149 --> 00:03:32.712 We started with people. 00:03:33.149 --> 00:03:36.702 We wanted to make sure that everyone was listened to. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:36.726 --> 00:03:38.132 So we brought in young people 00:03:38.156 --> 00:03:41.734 from historically and traditionally marginalized neighborhoods, 00:03:41.758 --> 00:03:43.815 members of the queer community 00:03:43.839 --> 00:03:45.871 and youth that were formerly incarcerated, 00:03:45.895 --> 00:03:50.320 and together, often with pizza and a sugar-free beverage, 00:03:50.344 --> 00:03:52.915 we talked about how to make Boston better. 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:57.066 And we designed a process that we called "Youth Lead the Change." 00:03:57.090 --> 00:03:59.349 We imagined a Boston 00:03:59.373 --> 00:04:02.333 where young people could access the information 00:04:02.357 --> 00:04:04.404 that they need to thrive. 00:04:04.428 --> 00:04:07.902 Where they could feel safe in their communities, 00:04:07.926 --> 00:04:12.791 and where they can transform public spaces into real hubs of life 00:04:12.815 --> 00:04:14.033 for all people. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:14.339 --> 00:04:16.299 And that's exactly what they did. 00:04:16.323 --> 00:04:17.760 In the first year, 00:04:17.784 --> 00:04:23.601 young people allocated 90,000 dollars to increase technology access 00:04:23.625 --> 00:04:25.772 for Boston public high school students, 00:04:25.796 --> 00:04:29.280 by delivering laptops right to Boston public high schools, 00:04:29.304 --> 00:04:33.567 so that students could thrive inside and outside of the classroom. 00:04:33.928 --> 00:04:37.325 They allocated 60,000 dollars to creating art walls 00:04:37.349 --> 00:04:41.807 that literally and figuratively brightened up public spaces. 00:04:42.220 --> 00:04:44.529 But they addressed a more important problem. 00:04:44.553 --> 00:04:48.799 Young people were being criminalized and pulled into the justice system 00:04:48.823 --> 00:04:52.125 for putting their art on walls. 00:04:52.149 --> 00:04:55.947 So this gave them a safe space to practice their craft. 00:04:56.249 --> 00:05:00.376 They allocated 400,000 dollars to renovating parks, 00:05:00.400 --> 00:05:04.874 to make them more accessible for all people of all bodies. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:04.898 --> 00:05:06.898 Now, admittedly, 00:05:06.922 --> 00:05:10.183 this didn't go as smoothly as we had planned. 00:05:10.676 --> 00:05:12.876 Right before we broke ground on the park, 00:05:12.900 --> 00:05:16.363 we actually found out that it was on top of an archaeological site 00:05:16.387 --> 00:05:18.387 and had to halt construction. 00:05:19.117 --> 00:05:20.867 I thought I broke PB. 00:05:21.241 --> 00:05:25.328 But because the city was so committed to the project, 00:05:25.352 --> 00:05:26.780 that's not what happened. 00:05:26.804 --> 00:05:29.783 They invited community in to do a dig, 00:05:29.807 --> 00:05:31.601 protected the site, 00:05:31.625 --> 00:05:33.143 found artifacts, 00:05:33.167 --> 00:05:35.680 extended Boston's history 00:05:35.704 --> 00:05:38.267 and then moved forward with the renovation. 00:05:38.942 --> 00:05:43.164 If that isn't a reflection of radical imagination in government, 00:05:43.188 --> 00:05:45.069 I don't know what is. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:45.093 --> 00:05:47.180 What sounds simple 00:05:47.204 --> 00:05:51.886 is actually transformational for the people and communities involved. 00:05:52.307 --> 00:05:56.490 I'm seeing community members shape transportation access, 00:05:56.514 --> 00:05:58.136 improve their schools 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:00.398 and even transform government buildings, 00:06:00.422 --> 00:06:03.683 so that there is space inside of them for them. 00:06:03.707 --> 00:06:05.514 Before we had PB, 00:06:05.538 --> 00:06:07.958 I would see people who look like me 00:06:07.982 --> 00:06:09.523 and come from where I come from 00:06:09.547 --> 00:06:12.824 walk in to government buildings for this new initiative 00:06:12.848 --> 00:06:14.609 or that new working group, 00:06:14.633 --> 00:06:17.172 and then I'd watch them walk right back out. 00:06:17.641 --> 00:06:19.934 Sometimes I wouldn't see them again. 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:24.498 It's because their expertise was being unvalued. 00:06:24.522 --> 00:06:27.820 They weren't truly being engaged in the process. 00:06:27.844 --> 00:06:30.494 Put PB is different. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:30.876 --> 00:06:32.176 When we started doing PB, 00:06:32.200 --> 00:06:35.437 I met amazing young leaders across the city. 00:06:35.961 --> 00:06:40.017 One in particular, a rock star, Malachi Hernandez, 00:06:40.041 --> 00:06:41.485 15 years old, 00:06:41.509 --> 00:06:43.111 came into a community meeting -- 00:06:43.135 --> 00:06:46.180 shy, curious, a little quiet. 00:06:46.204 --> 00:06:47.704 Stuck around 00:06:47.728 --> 00:06:50.656 and became one of the young people hoping to lead the project. 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:53.220 Now fast-forward a couple of years. 00:06:53.561 --> 00:06:57.910 Malachi was the first in his family to attend college. 00:06:57.934 --> 00:06:59.283 A couple of weeks ago, 00:06:59.307 --> 00:07:02.569 he was the first in his family to graduate. 00:07:02.966 --> 00:07:04.688 Malachi has appeared 00:07:04.712 --> 00:07:07.355 in the Obama White House several times 00:07:07.379 --> 00:07:09.931 as part of the My Brother's Keeper initiative. 00:07:09.955 --> 00:07:14.431 President Obama even quotes Malachi in interviews. 00:07:14.455 --> 00:07:16.832 It's true, you can look it up. 00:07:16.856 --> 00:07:19.934 Malachi got engaged, stayed engaged, 00:07:19.958 --> 00:07:24.336 and is out here changing the way we think about community leadership 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:25.812 and potential. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:25.836 --> 00:07:27.629 Or my friend Maria Hadden, 00:07:27.653 --> 00:07:31.200 who was involved in the first PB process in Chicago. 00:07:31.595 --> 00:07:33.509 Then went on to become a founding 00:07:33.533 --> 00:07:36.412 participatory budgeting project board member, 00:07:36.436 --> 00:07:38.458 eventually a staff member, 00:07:38.482 --> 00:07:41.649 and then unseated a 28-year incumbent, 00:07:41.673 --> 00:07:44.879 becoming the first queer Black alderperson 00:07:44.903 --> 00:07:47.300 in Chicago's history. 00:07:47.641 --> 00:07:49.641 That's real engagement. 00:07:50.022 --> 00:07:52.188 That's being taken seriously. 00:07:52.530 --> 00:07:56.067 That's building out and building on community leadership. 00:07:56.546 --> 00:07:58.569 That's system change. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:58.593 --> 00:08:00.950 And it's not just in the US either. 00:08:00.974 --> 00:08:03.585 After starting 30 years ago in Brazil, 00:08:03.609 --> 00:08:07.774 PB has spread to over 7,000 cities across the globe. 00:08:08.107 --> 00:08:09.481 In Paris, France, 00:08:09.505 --> 00:08:12.393 the mayor puts up five percent of her budget, 00:08:12.417 --> 00:08:14.561 over 100 million euros, 00:08:14.585 --> 00:08:18.533 for community members to decide on and shape their city. 00:08:18.950 --> 00:08:24.062 Globally, PB has been shown to improve public health, 00:08:24.086 --> 00:08:25.554 reduce corruption 00:08:25.578 --> 00:08:27.894 and increase trust in government. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:28.331 --> 00:08:32.180 Now we know the challenges that we face in today's society. 00:08:32.871 --> 00:08:36.005 How can we expect people to feel motivated, 00:08:36.029 --> 00:08:37.656 to show up to the polls 00:08:37.680 --> 00:08:42.863 when they can't trust that government is run by and for the people. 00:08:43.482 --> 00:08:46.409 I argue that we haven't actually experienced 00:08:46.433 --> 00:08:48.545 true participatory democracy 00:08:48.569 --> 00:08:51.760 in these United States of America just yet. 00:08:51.784 --> 00:08:54.967 But democracy is a living, breathing thing. 00:08:55.409 --> 00:08:58.226 And it's still our birthright. 00:08:58.655 --> 00:09:02.403 It's time to renew trust, and that's not going to come easy. 00:09:02.427 --> 00:09:04.717 We have to build new ways of thinking, 00:09:04.741 --> 00:09:08.622 of talking, of working, of dreaming, of planning 00:09:08.646 --> 00:09:09.891 in it's place. 00:09:09.915 --> 00:09:14.807 What would America look like if everyone had a seat at the table? 00:09:14.831 --> 00:09:18.768 If we took the time to reimagine what's possible, 00:09:18.792 --> 00:09:22.067 and then ask, "How do we get there?" NOTE Paragraph 00:09:22.593 --> 00:09:26.855 My favorite author, Octavia Butler, says it best. 00:09:27.188 --> 00:09:30.910 In "Parable of the Sower," basically my Bible, she says, 00:09:30.934 --> 00:09:34.483 "All that you touch You Change. 00:09:34.507 --> 00:09:37.790 All that you Change Changes you. 00:09:37.814 --> 00:09:41.750 The only lasting truth Is Change. 00:09:41.774 --> 00:09:44.180 God Is Change." 00:09:44.204 --> 00:09:48.561 It's time for these 50 states to change. 00:09:48.585 --> 00:09:52.820 What got us here sure as hell won't get us there. 00:09:52.844 --> 00:09:55.129 We've got to kick the walls of power down 00:09:55.153 --> 00:09:59.745 and plant gardens of genuine democracy in their place. 00:09:59.769 --> 00:10:02.547 That's how we change systems. 00:10:02.571 --> 00:10:04.682 By opening doors so wide 00:10:04.706 --> 00:10:07.348 that people can't help but walk in. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:09.825 So what's stopping you 00:10:09.849 --> 00:10:13.769 from bringing participatory budgeting to your community?