I've been asked why I haven't reported further on the recent deliberative poll in Canberra.
It isn't because of laziness, although I am a major procrastinator at times. And it isn't because of any disinterest in the topic or a dwindling motivation to see the issues resolved.
My silence has primarily been due to a critical lack of direction or sense of conclusion. I left Canberra feeling at a loss and with some disappointment in how the proceedings were brought to a swift and insalubrious end.
"Fill out a survey, here's a cheque for $100, buses will leave at the appointed times and thank you ... now go and have lunch and listen to Bob Hawke sing Waltzing Matilda"Ummm! But, excuse me ... What should we do now?
We had several dozen groups of people from all over the nation, brought together as strangers, all leaving with a sense that more needed to be done. Our work wasn't complete. We couldn't just send everyone away without some conclusion, some closure, some sense of a future direction. Yet, that's exactly what happened.
Most of us want to help break down these barriers; to keep the media accountable for their biased reporting; to educate others and facilitate harmony and interaction and pursue the goal of a truly multicultural society where no-one was abused for their beliefs or threatened by the beliefs of others.Come in, spinner!
Alas, this weekend was not about developing solutions. It had very little to do with Islam in Australian society, and it certainly had nothing to achieve except to promote a system of political polling and facilitating some behavioural research.
It has taken me all this time to admit to myself the futility of this process in facilitating change on a large scale. Certainly, there were many individuals who were inspired to be better people; to take the message of unity back to their local communities, their families, workplaces and schools. But very little can be accomplished on a broader scale when the participants were swiftly dispersed without so much as a brief discussion on taking "the next step".
Perhaps I misled myself into thinking that a forum such as this would be a catalyst for change. No-one promised me that the weekend would provide answers, yet I went fully expecting to be part of the grand solution. Nobody suggested that this was an exercise in negotiation or diplomacy, but still my expectations were high for an outcome of significant proportions.
Three weeks after this extraordinary weekend, I am left sullen and void of satisfaction. It was a great holiday and an awesome opportunity to visit Canberra. It was also a wonderful way to meet some colourful characters and interesting individuals, partake of some excellent education and stimulating discourse. However, it was merely a talk fest amidst a series of research projects - nothing more!Of course, there is a lot that I can do (and will do) as an individual, but I really feel that without some groundswell of support from the wider community, there will be little to achieve in pushing this barrow.
C'est la vie!
Collin, thank you for your post (which I found with an active Bloglines search feed). It is always interesting to get an opinion of somebody on the inside, rather than a newspaper article, for example. Also, waiting for the organiser's report in July requires patience.
ReplyDeleteWhat deliberative polling is supposed to do is leave you with a mind more open than when you began. With new insights, you are to return to your community and evangelise with better information and a shifted perspective, a situation can be addressed more civilly, with less polarisation. But in the Canberra DP you are not the first to report that the panel was unable to lift the horizon of perspective.
My academic interest right now is in how learning occurs in deliberative event, although I am more focused on small-scale formats like Citizens Juries.
Again, thanks for your post!
Thanks for your comment, Ron.
ReplyDeleteHaving a mind opened is a great aim for such a gathering - and I saw a lot of that over the weekend. I have been "evangelising" for respect and understanding since I was old enough to have my own opinion, which is probably why this weekend disappointed me so much!
I believe that any report delivered by IDA in July 2007 can only announce the measured shift in attitudes of the participants under that environment. It cannot propose a direction for the future of a nation.
There is no mechanism for concluding about what actions to take, except to suggest that deliberative polls be run in every community around the nation with the aim of obtaining a similar result on a larger scale.
The organisers have missed a brilliant opportunity for the participants to work on real and powerful solutions that could have been taken back into communities to effect positive change.
Instead, they will present a report about the effect of deliberative polling. And from that report it will be left to politicians and government departments to decide if they can use any of the research to devise the propaganda that they wish to push onto the community.
Meanwhile, the media will continue to do what it does best - perpetuate the version of truth that makes commercial sense, while the populace will continue to fear the unknown and loathe change until the next generation brings a renewed sense of perspective.
Without action, such events are mere talkfests.
I don't disagree with our desire for change. But I reiterate that Deliberative Polling is not intended in itself to come up with solutions. The mismatch was in your expectations and the intentions of the process. But please don't brand all deliberative processes as talkfests. Small-scale processes like Citizens Juries and large scale events like World Cafe encourage participants to literally design solutions. The irony is that DP is designed to feed the media, yet when it falls flat it really doesn't do the mission of deliberation any good at all. IDP needed to inform the participants and the media better in advance about its expectations. This happens a lot in deliberative circles.
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