My name is Shari Davis, and let's be honest, I'm a recovering government employee. And I say that with a huge shout-out to the folks that work in government and on systems change. It's hard. It can be isolating. And the work can feel impossible. But government is the people that show up. Really, it's the people that can show up and are committed to the promise that public service offers: service to people, democracy and fixing the problems that community members face.
我是夏利·戴维斯 (Shari Davis), 说实话, 我是“重建政府”的一名员工。 我想对所有在政府部门工作的员工 以及从事体制改变的人大声呼吁: 这很困难, 让人感到孤立无援, 甚至是不可能完成的工作。 但是政府恰恰就是需要 能够站出来参与的人。 是需要出面 为公共服务做出承诺的人: 服务人民、 民主, 解决社会中人们遇到的问题。
Seventeen years ago, I walked through city hall for the first time as a staff member. And that walk revealed something to me. I was a unicorn. There weren't many people who looked like me that worked in the building. And yet, there were folks committed to addressing hundreds of years of systemic inequity that left some behind and many ignored. Where there was promise, there was a huge problem. You see, democracy, as it was originally designed, had a fatal flaw. It only laid pipeline for rich white men to progress. And now, if you're a smart rich white man, you understand why I say that's a problem. Massive talent has been left off the field. Our moral imaginations have grown anemic. Our highest offices are plagued by corruption. We're on the brink of a sort of apathetic apocalypse, and it's not OK.
十七年前, 我作为工作人员 第一次走过市政厅。 这让我发现了一些事情: 我是独特的。 在这栋大楼里工作的人 很少有像我这样的。 当然,不乏有人致力于解决数百年来 系统的不平等问题, 这些导致许多人被抛弃、 被忽视的问题。 有承诺的地方, 就存在问题。 民主,在一开始被提出的时候, 就有致命的缺陷。 它只不过是为有钱的白人的进步 铺设的道路。 如果你是一个 聪明、富有的白人, 你就会理解为什么我说 这是一个问题。 许多有才华的人被忽视了。 我们的道德想象力变得贫乏。 我们的最高职位充斥着腐败。 我们正处于一种 冷漠的世界末日的边缘, 这需要改变。
We've got to open the doors to city halls and schools so wide that people can't help but walk in. We've got to throw out the old top-down processes that got us into this mess, and start over, with new faces around the table, new voices in the mix, and we have to welcome new perspectives every step of the way. Not because it's the right thing to do -- although it is -- but because that's the only way for us to all succeed together.
我们需要敞开 市政厅和学校的大门, 让它们对每个人开放。 我们需要放弃那些 使我们陷入困境的、 老旧的、自上而下的程序, 重新来过, 让新面孔加入, 鼓励新的声音, 在每一步我们都需要欢迎新事物。 不仅仅因为这是正确的—— 虽然它确实是—— 更是因为这是 能让我们走向成功的唯一方法。
And here's the best news of all. I know how to do it. The answer -- well, an answer, is participatory budgeting. That's right. Participatory budgeting, or "PB" for short.
最好的消息是, 我知道该怎么做。 答案就是: 参与式预算。 没错。 参与式预算,简称“PB”。
PB is a process that brings community and government together to ideate, develop concrete proposals and vote on projects that solve real problems in community.
PB 是一个能结合社区和政府, 去设想、提出具体建议, 并投票选出能真正解决 社区问题的计划的过程。
Now I realize that people don't get up and dance when I start talking about public budgets. But participatory budgeting is actually about collective, radical imagination. Everyone has a role to play in PB, and it works, because it allows community members to craft real solutions to real problems and provides the infrastructure for the promise of government. And honestly, it's how I saw a democracy actually work for the first time.
我意识到,当我谈到公共预算时, 人们总是表现得不以为意。 但是参与式预算的 重点在于集体的、激进的的想象力。 在 PB 中,每个人 都扮演着自己的角色, 这样做颇有成效, 因为社区成员可以根据实际的问题 去想出真正的解决方案, 为政府的承诺提供基础设施。 说实话, 这是我第一次看见 民主制度的正常运行。
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts, and mayor Menino asked me to launch the country's first youth-focused PB effort with one million dollars of city funds. Now, we didn't start with line items and limits or spreadsheets and formulas. We started with people. We wanted to make sure that everyone was listened to.
就像昨天发生的事情一样, 2014 年, 在马萨诸塞州的波士顿, 梅尼诺(Menino)市长让我 用一百万美元的市政资金, 发起全国第一个 以年轻人为中心的 PB 计划。 我们并不以规则、限制, 或是表格和公式为起点。 我们从人开始, 我们需要确保 每个人的意见都能被听到。
So we brought in young people from historically and traditionally marginalized neighborhoods, members of the queer community and youth that were formerly incarcerated, and together, often with pizza and a sugar-free beverage, we talked about how to make Boston better. And we designed a process that we called "Youth Lead the Change." We imagined a Boston where young people could access the information that they need to thrive. Where they could feel safe in their communities, and where they can transform public spaces into real hubs of life for all people.
所以我们邀请 历史上或传统上 被边缘化的社区的年轻人, 同性恋群体的成员, 和曾经进过监狱的年轻人, 为他们提供披萨和无糖饮料, 一起讨论如何让波士顿变得更好。 我们设计了名叫 “青年引领变革”的项目。 我们想象在波士顿, 年轻人可以得到 实现目标的过程中所需的信息。 让他们在社区中有安全感, 可以把公共空间变成 所有人真正的 生活中心。
And that's exactly what they did. In the first year, young people allocated 90,000 dollars to increase technology access for Boston public high school students, by delivering laptops right to Boston public high schools, so that students could thrive inside and outside of the classroom. They allocated 60,000 dollars to creating art walls that literally and figuratively brightened up public spaces. But they addressed a more important problem. Young people were being criminalized and pulled into the justice system for putting their art on walls. So this gave them a safe space to practice their craft. They allocated 400,000 dollars to renovating parks, to make them more accessible for all people of all bodies.
这正是他们在做的事。 第一年, 这些年轻人用 9 万美元 为波士顿公立高中的学生们 增添了科技设施, 把笔记本电脑送进了这些高中里, 以便学生们在课堂内外 都能不断学习。 他们还花费了 6 万美元 建造艺术墙, 去真正的为公共空间增光添彩。 他们还解决了一个更重要的问题。 一些年轻人曾经因为涂鸦 被定罪,并被司法系统处置, 而艺术墙给了他们 一个安全的空间去练习创作。 他们还用了 40 万美元 去重修公园, 更好的为所有人提供便利。
Now, admittedly, this didn't go as smoothly as we had planned. Right before we broke ground on the park, we actually found out that it was on top of an archaeological site and had to halt construction. I thought I broke PB. But because the city was so committed to the project, that's not what happened. They invited community in to do a dig, protected the site, found artifacts, extended Boston's history and then moved forward with the renovation. If that isn't a reflection of radical imagination in government, I don't know what is.
但同时,我也必须承认, 这并不像我们想象的一样顺利。 就在公园动工之前, 我们发现这其实是一个考古遗址, 所以不得不停止施工。 我认为我的 PB 计划要泡汤了。 然而,因为这座城市 对这一计划如此投入, 这实际上并没有阻止我们。 他们邀请相关人员进行挖掘, 保护现场, 抢救出土文物, 让波士顿的历史得以延续, 之后继续进行改造计划。 如果这都不能反映出 政府激进的想象力, 那我不知道什么才能。
What sounds simple is actually transformational for the people and communities involved. I'm seeing community members shape transportation access, improve their schools and even transform government buildings, so that there is space inside of them for them. Before we had PB, I would see people who look like me and come from where I come from walk in to government buildings for this new initiative or that new working group, and then I'd watch them walk right back out. Sometimes I wouldn't see them again. It's because their expertise was being unvalued. They weren't truly being engaged in the process. Put PB is different.
这些听起来很简单的事情 对参与的民众和社区来说 其实是变革性的。 我见证了社区成员 改造公共交通设施、 改善学校环境, 甚至改造政府大楼, 所以人们可以更好的学习与生活。 在参与式预算计划之前, 我看见和我一样 有着相同背景的人们, 走进政府大楼参与这项计划 或是参加新的工作小组, 之后我看见他们走出来。 有时就再也见不到他们了。 因为他们的专业技能被低估了, 他们并不能真正的参与整个过程。 但参与式预算计划是不同的。
When we started doing PB, I met amazing young leaders across the city. One in particular, a rock star, Malachi Hernandez, 15 years old, came into a community meeting -- shy, curious, a little quiet. Stuck around and became one of the young people hoping to lead the project. Now fast-forward a couple of years. Malachi was the first in his family to attend college. A couple of weeks ago, he was the first in his family to graduate. Malachi has appeared in the Obama White House several times as part of the My Brother's Keeper initiative. President Obama even quotes Malachi in interviews. It's true, you can look it up. Malachi got engaged, stayed engaged, and is out here changing the way we think about community leadership and potential.
当我们开始做 PB 计划时, 我见到了许多 才华横溢的年轻领导者。 其中有个年轻人令人印象非常深刻,他叫 马拉凯·埃尔南德斯(Malachi Hernandez), 当时只有 15 岁, 来参加了社区会议—— 他有点害羞,充满好奇, 且少言寡语。 他一直呆在那儿, 是希望成为 项目领导者的年轻人之一。 几年后, 马拉凯成为了他家里 第一个进入大学的人。 几周前, 他成功的毕业了。 马拉凯 曾多次参加 “兄弟守望” (My Brother's Keeper)计划。 并多次出现在 奥巴马执政时期的白宫。 奥巴马总统甚至在他的演讲中 提到过马拉凯。 这是真事儿,我们可以 查到相关的信息。 马拉凯参与了进来, 而且能够一直参与, 这也改变了我们对社区领导者 及其潜力的看法。
Or my friend Maria Hadden, who was involved in the first PB process in Chicago. Then went on to become a founding participatory budgeting project board member, eventually a staff member, and then unseated a 28-year incumbent, becoming the first queer Black alderperson in Chicago's history. That's real engagement. That's being taken seriously. That's building out and building on community leadership. That's system change.
又比如我的朋友 玛丽亚·哈登(Maria Hadden), 参加了芝加哥市第一个 PB 计划, 后来成为了 PB 项目的创始董事会成员, 随后又成为了工作人员, 取代了一个 在位 28 年的官员, 成为了芝加哥历史上 第一位黑人酷儿议员。 这就是真正的参与, 这就是被认真对待, 这就是建立并发展社区领导能力, 这——就是体系的改革。
And it's not just in the US either. After starting 30 years ago in Brazil, PB has spread to over 7,000 cities across the globe. In Paris, France, the mayor puts up five percent of her budget, over 100 million euros, for community members to decide on and shape their city. Globally, PB has been shown to improve public health, reduce corruption and increase trust in government.
而且这种改变不仅仅发生在美国。 自 30 年前诞生于巴西, PB 计划已遍布全球 超过 7000 个城市。 在法国巴黎, 市长拨出了 5% 的预算—— 超过 1 亿欧元—— 供社区成员用来 改造建造他们的城市。 在全球,PB 计划 可以有效改善公共卫生、 减少腐败, 并增加人们对政府的信任。
Now we know the challenges that we face in today's society. How can we expect people to feel motivated, to show up to the polls when they can't trust that government is run by and for the people. I argue that we haven't actually experienced true participatory democracy in these United States of America just yet. But democracy is a living, breathing thing. And it's still our birthright. It's time to renew trust, and that's not going to come easy. We have to build new ways of thinking, of talking, of working, of dreaming, of planning in its place. What would America look like if everyone had a seat at the table? If we took the time to reimagine what's possible, and then ask, "How do we get there?"
我们知道在当今社会 我们所面临的挑战。 我们该如何 在人们不相信 政府是为人民服务时。 去积极参与投票? 我认为在美国, 我们还没有实现 真正的参与民主制。 但民主是存在的, 是我们与生俱来的权利。 是时候重新建立信任了, 虽然这并不容易。 我们需要建立新的思维方式、 讨论方式、工作方式, 梦想以及计划。 如果能够实现人人平等, 美国会变成什么样? 我们需要去发现所有可能性, 并思考:“我们该如何实现?”
My favorite author, Octavia Butler, says it best. In "Parable of the Sower," basically my Bible, she says, "All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change. God Is Change." It's time for these 50 states to change. What got us here sure as hell won't get us there. We've got to kick the walls of power down and plant gardens of genuine democracy in their place. That's how we change systems. By opening doors so wide that people can't help but walk in.
我最喜欢的作家 奥克塔维娅·巴特勒(Octavia Butler) 在我视为圣经的 《播种者寓言》中说道: “你所触碰的一切都会因你而变。 你所改变的一切都会改变你。 唯一永恒的真理,就是改变。 上帝就是改变。” 现在是时候 让美国的 50 个州改变了。 把我们带到今天的, 肯定不会把我们带到未来。 我们必须把权力之墙推倒, 在原地播种真正的民主。 这就是我们改变体制的方式。 让每个人 都拥有平等的权利。
So what's stopping you from bringing participatory budgeting to your community?
是什么阻止了你 在你的社区中 开展参与式预算项目呢?