Root Council: Democracy
🌱 How can we build democratic structures that truly reflect the will, values, and interests of the people?
🙋 And how can we motivate people to actually use those systems, when everyone is trapped by the status quo?
Last month, we defined a shared set of values and ‘seeded’ them into OHM’s governing documents. This month, we begin to ‘root’ those values — by electing a body of representatives to steward and nourish OHM throughout the year.
This is the first session of the Root Council Series, a four-part exploration of Participatory Democracy. Each session builds on the last, laying the groundwork for a decentralised, transparent governance model that reflects our collective intentions.
What to expect:
📊 Project updates — Cooper presents the results of last month's experiment on collective value mapping
🗣 Jonathan Sri — artist, activist, and former Greens councillor — shares lessons from 8 years at the frontlines of participatory democracy.
🗳 WisdOHM experiment — Cooper presents our participatory experiment for this month: electing OHM’s incoming charity board.
🌀 This is for you if:
• You’re curious about collective governance systems, or how decisions can be made with rather than for people
• You believe modern politics is broken and needs a reboot
• You think elected representatives should be held dynamically accountable to their communities
OHM is an experimental, gift-based community working at the intersection of art, science, and culture. While the outcomes of this Root Series will shape local governance in Brisbane, Australia, the systems we’re building are global — free, open-source, and adaptable to diverse communities around the world.
🌐 Learn more at openheartmind.org
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