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Helping our communities learn to create a stronger democracy... and the civic culture to sustain it

The Hands Across North Quabbin Network (HANDS) is a network of networks, individuals and organizations that serves the rural, nine-town, North Quabbin community of north-central Massachusetts. HANDS is dedicated to creating a local democracy which has a strong capacity to help residents with competing ideas find common ground about how to address our community’s toughest challenges.

Help us win $25,000!! VOTE NOW Our Deliberative Democracy project is a top 20 finalist in the Make It Your Own Awards sponsored by The Case Foundation! Deadline to vote is April 22, 2008 The four projects will the most votes each win $25,000 - and we can be one of them with your support!  For more information click here

Action Forum May 3rd 2008: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Mahar High School in Orange Draws diverse citizens into public conversation to identify priority community issues and people to implement the actions that address these. Our hope is that you will attend this event yourself as well as bring other people with you who are of different backgrounds and points of view.   For more information click here

HANDS’ mission: helping our community change its civic culture, so that the vision of a more deliberative and collaborative local democracy can be achieved. To accomplish this mission, we use a five-pronged strategy, playing roles such as civic educator, organizer, and developer of a community climate conducive to cooperation and learning:

1. We conduct or help support demonstration projects that point to the exciting potential of the new methods for reaching agreement among large and diverse groups of people.
   • See Helping to catalyze the Athol-Royalston Regional School District Strategic Planning Process
   • See HANDS’ firstAction Forum to be held May 3, 2008 at the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School, Orange MA
2. We help create the conditions necessary for successful dialogue and collaboration across social and political divides. These conditions include mutual trust,new hope that such cooperation is possible, and new community norms that motivate residents to try hard to unite rather than divide people.
   • See Pavilion Project
• See Dinner Conversations Project
3. We provide civic education for youth by engaging them in all aspects of our work to change our community’s civic culture.
   • See Youth Summit
4. We keep track of and help communicate back to our community the new guiding philosophy of democracy building that is emerging in the region.
5. We continuously expand the size and diversity of our “network of networks” so that we can successfully mobilize the large number of people and resources needed to achieve our difficult mission.

 

 

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