If your organization, agency or school is struggling, here are five ways to be more democratic.
1: Engage the Disengaged. Perhaps you have disengaged staff members, volunteers, clients or students who should be involved but aren’t. Instead of creating more opportunities for those who are already engaged, you can be more democratic by engaging the disengaged.
- Real Actions: Create positions on committees and boards; recruit new members; focus on those who haven’t been traditionally engaged; learn about the value of diversity
2: Empower the Tech. Technology cannot fix all of our problems. However, the last 25 years have consistently shown us it can be useful for organizing, activating and sustaining democracy. Empower technology including social media, artificial intelligence, the internet and texting to make your org more democratic.
- Real Actions: Start social media accounts and use them consistently; reach out to your people and support their social media; create new content instead of regurgitating the old; connect, connect, connect
3: Be the Change. Democracy needs involvement at all levels by all people. Show the people you work with, work for, and work among that you are engaged, connected, caring and compassionate by showing up. Show up for community and individuals, for politics and performances, for purpose and passion.
- Real Actions: Go to peoples’ events, including other organizations’ and community events; Sit with others and listen to them on purpose without offering solutions; Speak up for democracy whenever possible
4: Lift Up Expectations. Your organization needs to show the people you support that they have democratic expectations to fulfill, and that your organization upholds those expectations. Open doors, make seats, build capacities and expand opportunities so that everyone can be engaged in democracy everyday in every way possible.
- Real Actions: Be plain with people about how they need to be involved, whether its voting or learning or attending or participating; Make public announcements and follow them up with practical actions; Provide engaging learning activities everyone can access
5: Sustain the Change. Don’t let democracy get comfortable, rest on its laurels or otherwise rest in complacency. Instead, constantly, deliberately, and consistently advocate, educate and activate the people you want to support and the organization you work for to be more democratic.
- Real Actions: Don’t wait for elections, campaigns or other special events to focus on democracy—instead, be democracy-minded 24/7/365; Make democracy central to your org’s mission everyday; Create spaces and places for democracy sustainability in the regular operations of your org
This work is never done and there’s always more to do and get done. When democracy isn’t democratic, we know we all have to do more. Let me know what you think in the comments section here!
Progressive Teachers Network 
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