What if you could help decide how the government spends public funds? | Shari Davis

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Business, Modupe Akinola, Ted Business Podcast, Business Leadership Podcast, Ted Talks Business, Ted Modupe, Ted Talks

4 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2022

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if citizens got more of a say in how public funds are spent? That's the idea behind participatory budgeting, a process that brings local residents and governments together to develop concrete solutions to real problems close to home. In this inspiring call to action, community leader Shari Davis shows how participatory budgeting can strengthen democracy, transform neighborhoods and cities -- and give everyone a seat at the table. "We've got to open the doors to city halls and schools so wide that people can't help but walk in," they say. Join Modupe after the talk to hear about how this can be done at a community level.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ted Audio Collective
0:07.3	I'm going to take you back.
0:09.6	Back to history class in 7th or 8th grade, maybe even high school, when you learned about
0:14.7	the Gettysburg address given by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.
0:21.5	In this speech, he talked about a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
0:29.1	The intention was for government to be participatory, but sadly, this intention hasn't always
0:34.2	matched reality.
0:36.0	Today, getting more people involved in our democratic institutions is challenging, and
0:41.4	broad participation doesn't happen as often as we would like.
0:45.2	There are so many processes and rules that dictate who gets to see to the table, and
0:49.3	who doesn't.
0:50.6	But once someone has pulled up their chair, what happens next?
0:55.2	Americans' voice might have been heard to get them at the table.
0:58.5	But how can they meaningfully participate, translating this voice into action?
1:03.8	And more important, how can we give everyday people a voice?
1:08.4	How do we broaden access and interest in the political process, while also giving folks
1:13.4	autonomy over what happens in their communities?
1:20.9	I'm Madu Backanola.
1:22.6	This is Ted Business.
1:24.3	Our speaker today is Sherry Davis, who has been working on giving people the power to
1:28.5	decide how to spend government dollars set aside for their communities.
1:33.0	In this talk, Sherry reveals how something called participatory budgeting can bring
	...

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