Page 61 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

and deliberative engagement recognize the intersections between public forms of expression by

citizens as a vehicle for influencing the decisions of government leaders and elected officials.

Potentials of Public Engagement

Public engagement invokes activism, and a means of advancing a collective voice for the

greater good. I can imagine the potential of Community Conversations as a people-wide organized

effort that coordinates citizen engaged dialogues addressing a series of crucial core social issues.

We can look at what is trending in the media and what occupies the national narrative such as

gender issues, race concerns and collective actions like the ‘Woman’s March on DC’, ‘Black Lives

Matter’, “Me Too” and the ‘long ago’ stifled “Occupied Movement” are responses worthy of study

and altruist motivation can be a consideration within a Community Conversation or may spur it as

could the opioid crises, school shootings and gun violence, impacts of poverty, environmental

degradation and global warming all can be topics for civil engagement and reflect fundamental

concerns that are affecting the future of humanity and direct attention to better societal aspirations.

Inequality Equality (IE) can be understood as parity in the enjoyment of fundamental rights

and freedoms, and equality of opportunities with regards to education and work and the fulfillment

of one’s potential. Equity relates to a degree of equality in the living conditions of people,

especially in terms of income and wealth, that society considers desirable. Reduction of

inequalities is then justified by equity considerations. Community Conversations could encourage

a people-centered approach to development based on the principles of equity and equality, so that

all individuals have access to resources and opportunities. In the Copenhagen Declaration and

Program of Action social justice, equity and equality reflect the concept of a just society ensuring

the equitable distribution of income and greater access to resources through equity and equality of

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