Local government must often make decisions on multifaceted issues, and those choices have substantial implications for our community. But when those choices are made without robust citizen input, the quality of our governance suffers. Now, more than ever, it's important that each one of us assumes the burden of civic participation.

Ben Warner is the President & CEO of Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (JCCI).
The model that JCCI uses invites the community to discuss a topic with subject matter experts resulting in months of study aimed at finding real solutions that work, he said. It’s a model that’s gained international attention for JCCI, which has fine tuned its approach since 1975.

Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, invited Warner to speak before the G8 about the way JCCI implements change through involvement of the community. He’s also spoke on this topic in Berlin, Brazil and Paris.



This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx