Sortition and Socialism Online Conference: Call for presenters

Sortition and Socialism Online Conference

Call for Presenters

The International Network of Sortition Advocates (INSA) is proud to announce our first conference, ‘Sortition and Socialism’, on Saturday the 31st of August. The aim of the conference is to help develop the theory of sortitional-democratic models of plebeian power and socialism, and build closer connections between theorists of sortition and deliberative democracy and leftwing theoreticians and activists. We invite speakers from both scholarly and activist backgrounds to explore the role of appointment by random selection within struggles for liberation and proposed alternatives to capitalism.

Invited speaker: Camila Vergara (University of Essex)


Presenter Information

Conference Date & Time: Saturday 31st August 2024, 15:00-19:00 UTC

The deadline for applications is the 7th of July. Talks should be no longer than 25 minutes; there will be a 20-minute Q&A after each talk, and a panel discussion at the end of the day in which all speakers are invited to participate. Applicants should email an abstract of their proposed presentation, along with a short bio, to <facilitator@insa.site>.


INSA is a volunteer organisation aimed at connecting pro-sortition academics, advocates, and activists around the world, to share resources and tactics and advance the theoretical understanding of sortition. As a functionally-defined network, we are multi-partisan, acting as a clearing house for sortition advocates of many different political stripes, conditionally brought together by our common interest in advancing sortition in theory and practice.

If you are a supporter of the use of sortition in politics or other realms, or interested in learning more about what sortition has to offer, you are invited to join our Discord server at <https://discord.gg/6sgnrphp6w>.

Online meeting: Scheming for Democracy

Scheming for Democracy

Presented by Wayne Liebman, M.D., American activist, advocate, and strategist for democratic lotteries and deliberation based in California.

Our deliberative ecosystem has a linguistic blind spot.  In thinking about lottery based democracy, we often leave strategy off the table.  It’s actually the conversation that we should always be having: ABC–Always Be Calculating.  What strategy to use depends on the goal, but whatever your goal, thinking strategically will ease the way.

Let’s talk about how!


Date: Wednesday, 27 March · (Thursday, 28 March in Australia)

Time: 18:00 – 19:00 UTC/GMT [19:00 Europe]

Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/bct-xucx-gep

Or dial: ‪(DK) +45 70 71 41 04‬ PIN: ‪464 474 557‬#  — More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/bct-xucx-gep?pin=1550818843600


International Network of Sortition Advocates Presents

Scheming for Democracy

Our deliberative ecosystem has a linguistic blind spot.  In thinking about lottery based democracy, we often leave strategy off the table.  It’s actually the conversation that we should always be having: ABC–Always Be Calculating.  What strategy to use depends on the goal, but whatever your goal, thinking strategically will ease the way.

Let’s talk about how!


Date:

Wednesday, 27 March · 18:00 – 19:00 UTC/GMT

Thursday, 28 March in Australia

Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/bct-xucx-gep

Or dial: ‪(DK) +45 70 71 41 04‬ PIN: ‪464 474 557‬#  — More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/bct-xucx-gep?pin=1550818843600


About the Speaker: Wayne Liebman, M.D. is an American activist, advocate, and strategist for democratic lotteries and deliberation based in California.  In 2020, he founded Public Access Democracy (PAD) an advocacy group that aims to catalyze the formation of deliberative citizen groups chosen by lot.  PAD provided the impetus for the 2022 City of Petaluma Fairgrounds Citizens’ Assembly. In addition, as a project of PAD in concert with the Berggruen Institute, Healthy Democracy, and other democratic organizations, he co-initiated the Public Democracy LA project with the goal of setting up a citizens’ assembly in Los Angeles by 2026. 


This event is hosted by the International Network of Sortition Advocates (INSA), a network committed to championing sortition across the globe as a transformative approach to political decision-making.

The Role of Sortition in Organizations

Join us for an enlightening dive into an underexplored dimension of sortition — its role in organisations. This event is hosted by the International Network of Sortition Advocates (INSA), a network committed to championing sortition across the globe as a transformative approach to political decision-making.

The main topics that this event will explore are:

 How does sortition in organisations fit into the broader advocacy landscape?

 Learn from instances where sortition has been used within organisational setups.

 Understanding the narrative around sortition and how it can be better positioned within

organisations.

 Where and how can sortition be introduced effectively within an organisational context?

**Q&A discussion to follow the presentation


About the Speaker: We’re honoured to feature Ben Redhead as our main speaker. As an Associate at Sortition Foundation and Co-Founder of INSA, Ben brings to the table a rich tapestry of experience. His journey as a strategy consultant, facilitator, and project manager has afforded him a unique perspective on the transformative power of sortition. Recently, he launched his own organisation, SORTED, an initiative that aims to merge innovations in democracy and organisational development. Ben’s insights aren’t just limited to offline platforms; he passionately shares his expertise and observations through his blog, also named “SORTED”.


This is more than just an event. It’s an opportunity to explore, engage with, and be inspired by the tremendous potential sortition holds within organisations. We’re not just discussing change; we’re laying the foundation for it.

Event Details:

  • Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023
  • Time: 6:00 PM GMT [19:00 Europe, 20:00 Israel, 1:00 PM in USA- EST, 5:00 AEDT (Thursday, 14th December for Australia)]
  • Location: Online – Registration on Eventbrite

Be a part of this transformative conversation and the global movement advocating for a better way to make decisions.

Reserve your spot now!

International Network of Sortition Advocates

The State of Deliberative Democracy in the World


– Monday, September 25th in Australia – 

19:00 GMT, 20:00 Europe, 21:00 Israel, 14:00 EST (2:00 PM), 6:00 AEDT


JOIN US for an informal summit about the status of sortition events and activities in countries around the world. Western nations will be highlighted in this initial 1-hour summit. 

INSA is actively recruiting members from non-Western nations for future presentations


Attend the Summit on Discord

https://discord.com/invite/6sgnrphp6w

Doing Democracy Differently

Doing Democracy Differently

Teaching About Deliberative Democracy

in the Secondary Classroom

On April 3rd at 6 PM EST, we are hosting a short online Zoom call for anyone interested in learning more about this upcoming course. 

Register for the Zoom Call Here

Course Date: May 20-21 

Course Location: Manhattan (Barnard’s Milstein Center for Learning)

*Tuition-Free Teachers Fellowship Available & 10-CTLE Training Course in NYC*

**Limited travel funds available**

Doing Democracy Differently: Teaching Deliberative Democracy in the Secondary Classroom – March 11-12, 2023

On March 11 & 12, 2023, the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College (New York) and Democracy Without Elections (DWE), a member-run nonprofit organization in the US that promotes the use of randomly selected deliberative bodies, are offering a course to teachers for recertification credit called Doing Democracy Differently: Teaching Deliberative Democracy in the Secondary Classroom.

This college level training course for high school educators to be held in New York City will encourage teachers to include the study of randomly selected bodies and other democratic reform initiatives in their secondary school civics curriculum. The hope is that the course will both raise awareness in high schoolers of new democratic tools and fuel their active participation in future democratic reform.

The DWE Education Group has for the last year been exploring ways to initiate young people into the movement advocating for deliberative democracy, citizens’ assemblies, democratic lotteries, and other randomly selected deliberative bodies. Recently, the committee received a $10,000 grant earmarked for tuition support for teachers enrolling in this training course. They also have been searching for partners and reached out to Stanford University, Bard College, and Colorado State University, who all have strong connections to the democratic reform movement. The goal was to find an academic host for the training course who could offer college credit to interested teachers as well as connections to large numbers of potential participants.
Continue reading

Meeting: Sunday, October 23, 2022 – International Network of Sortition Advocates

The International Network of Sortition Advocates will have our next meeting on, Sunday, October 23, 2022, at 19:00 GMT (London) [20:00 Europe, 21:00 Israel, 14:00 EST (2:00 PM), 6:00 AED].

The meeting will be held on our Discord platform. You must register on the app to attend the meeting. Here is your Discord invitation: https://discord.gg/6sgnrphp6w.

Once you have completed registration, to join the meeting:

  • Navigate to the heading “Talekanaler” on the left side of your screen (it’s before the “Linguistic Regions”)
  • Click on: “🔊General”
  • Click on: “Video

*Please note our desire to keep the meetings to a maximum of 1-hour in length.

Meeting: Thursday, September 22, 2022 – International Network of Sortition Advocates

The International Network of Sortition Advocates will have our next meeting on, Thursday, September 22, 2022, at 19:00 GMT [20:00 Europe, 21:00 Israel, 14:00 EST (2:00 PM), 6:00 AED].

The meeting will be held on our Discord platform. You must register on the app to attend the meeting. If you’re interested in registering on on the Discord platform and attending the upcoming meeting contact: Rich Brown at rbrowncmt@yahoo.com.

*Please note our desire to keep the meetings to a maximum of 1-hour in length.

Meeting: Sunday, August 21, 2022 – International Network of Sortition Advocates

The International Network of Sortition Advocates will have our next meeting on, Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 19:00 GMT [20:00 Europe, 21:00 Israel, 14:00 EST (2:00 PM), 6:00 AED].

The meeting will be held on our Discord platform. You must register on the app to attend the meeting. If you’re interested in registering on on the Discord platform and attending the upcoming meeting contact: Rich Brown at rbrowncmt@yahoo.com.

*Please note our desire to keep the meetings to a maximum of 1-hour in length.