Upcoming Events

Join us to discuss Making Democracy Fun: How Game Design Can Empower Citizens and Transform Politics by Josh A. Lerner.

We at Local Return are interested in how we incorporate meaningful, productive, and engaging participation opportunities into our public and community processes. Community solutions co-created by community members are better, more relevant, and more long-lasting.

Josh Lerner, the founder of The Participatory Budgeting Project, takes on participatory democracy in Making Democracy Fun. From the publisher:

“Anyone who has ever been to a public hearing or community meeting would agree that participatory democracy can be boring. Hours of repetitive presentations, alternatingly alarmist or complacent, for or against, accompanied by constant heckling, often with no clear outcome or decision. Is this the best democracy can offer? In Making Democracy Fun, Josh Lerner offers a novel solution for the sad state of our deliberative democracy: the power of good game design. What if public meetings featured competition and collaboration (such as team challenges), clear rules (presented and modeled in multiple ways), measurable progress (such as scores and levels), and engaging sounds and visuals? These game mechanics would make meetings more effective and more enjoyable—even fun.”

This will be an in-person event at the Urban Greens Community Room, 93 Cranston Street, Providence.

Register here.