League of Women Voters and California State Library Team Up on Quality of Life Project

(SACRAMENTO, CA, June 26, 2001)--The League of Women Voters Education Fund and the California State Library are teaming up on the League's Sustainability/Quality of Life project. One hundred seventy nine library directors were recently mailed two League publications, Choices for a Vital Community: Which Way Do We Go? and the Convener's and Moderator's Guide. Next month, 357 rural libraries throughout the state will receive copies of the Choices book and the Guide. These publications are used in conjunction with Quality of Life Forums that the League is holding and promoting throughout the state.

The purpose of the Choices for a Vital Community: Which Way Do We Go? issue book is to engage people in a discussion about the quality of life they want for their community, their state and their future. The book has been prepared by the League for use in public forums that include participants from diverse parts of the community. The Convener's and Moderator's Guide provides information about convening and moderating forums using the issue book.

The issue book, the guide and the forums are part of the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund Civic Education Project, funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The goal of the forums is to provide a venue for diverse citizens to engage in public deliberation about quality of life in California and to determine for themselves the common ground among major perspectives in their community. Forums using this guide are a useful tool for organizations that seek to engage their community on the issue of sustainability and to build civic engagement for a dialogue about land use, governance and fiscal reform in California.

During the past year the League held test forums using the issue book. The forums were held in Woodland (rural community), Berkeley and San Diego (urban communities). The responses of test forum participants showed enthusiasm for both the written materials and the forums themselves. Some comments of participants:

• "The choices provoked a lot of thought, discussion and deliberation. Isolating the philosophies allows an opportunity to explore the strengths and weaknesses of each one."

• "The issues are not simple--trying to integrate all choices will demand we think about trade-offs."
• "The materials and the process made me believe resolution is possible. I leave with a personal sense of hope."
• "The discussion brought out relationships and helped define values; we can align with the same goals even when we disagree on specifics."

• "We were not forced into a conclusion, but we ended up in a different place than where we started."

The League of Women Voters of Merced held an open forum using Choices for a Vital Community: Which Way Do We Go? When asked about their experience of the forum:

• About 20% of the respondents felt that they weren't very focused on quality of life before this forum but now think there is an urgent need to address quality of life in their community.

• More than 75% felt they heard new perspectives, developed a new understanding or appreciation for perspectives different from their own, and changed or expanded their perspective during the course of the forum.
• More than 60% of the respondents felt that because of the forum, they are:
• more aware of the different kinds of choices they have for addressing quality of life in their community;
• more aware of the costs, consequences and trade-offs in the different kinds of choices they have for addressing quality of life in their community;
• interested in learning more about how to address quality of life in their community.
• More than half (52%) of the respondents felt that because of the forum, they see more possibilities for their own role in improving their community's quality of life.

As these results suggest, the framework for dialogue provided in Choices for a Vital Community: Which Way Do We Go? initiated a genuine deliberation in the forums and engaged participants in the process of addressing quality of life in their community.

For more information about where and when quality of life forums will be held, please contact the local League of Women Voters in your community and let them know that you're interested in participating.

The booklet and a two page summary of the choices are available in PDF (portable document format) from our website. This two-page summary is a great tool for you to use to review the content of the entire publication. To locate the materials, go to the League of Women Voters homepage at www.ca.lwv.org and click on the link to Choices for a Vital Community, or simply go to www.ca.lwv.org/lwvc/edfund/citizened/sustcomm.html.

-30-