In 1995, civic and educational organizations from many countries formed the International Civil Society for Public Deliberation. The aim of the consortium is to enhance international cooperation in promoting responsible democratic, and widely participatory deliberation on public issues around the world. Members of the consortium and other organizations interested in starting issues forums are invtied to attend the annual International Civil Society Workshop held each summer by the Kettering Foundation in Dayton, Ohio, and at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Some people think citizen meetings are a little old- fashioned in this electronic age. The need for citizen activism is greater now than ever before.
Governments can no longer afford to engage in a patron-client relationship with their citizens.
The information revolution and technological innovations are fast turning us into a truly global village where citizens are no longer able to plead ignorance of the issues to justify disengagement from the political process. It simply cannot be left up to the experts. Reductions in public funding are the most serious threat to the survival of civic organizations. With an increasing number of governments confronted by pressures to reduce public spending, including the United States government which currently provides much of the public funding, civic organizations must become more enterprising in searching for private and local funding to fill the gap. Those that survive will be the organizations that make these kinds of transitions and that also consider for-profit as well as nonprofit activities.