Healthy Democracy is focused on improving the democratic process across the state. They do this through a variety of large-scale projects that focus on increasing the spread of information to inform voters and increasing engagement between people in different parts of Oregon with different life experiences. Our project seeks to expand on both aspects of this work and use online tools to increase the reach of all of this work. In line with this, our main goals for the project are…
- To have people from across the state be involved be a part of these discussions. The more people we reach, the greater the work is both in its statewide impact as well as its inclusion of viewpoints.
- To include people who are not usually involved in the political process or political advocacy. Democracy is the inclusion of people in the political process, both through knowledge sharing and action. Including people who are not normally a part of these conversations or given a seat at the table works to improve the democratic process.
- To have this work persist over time so it’s able to help discuss multiple issues. The focus of Healthy Democracy and this program is not limited to one specific issue, but rather to the way we discuss and deal with many issues as a statewide community over time. As a result it will be important to keep the program going because the need for it will not end after any one particular issue does.
- To have participants grow in their knowledge and appreciation of viewpoints from different parts of the state. Our program is designed to increase understanding and knowledge of viewpoints from people throughout the state on various local and national issues in an effort to decrease polarity.