Deliberative Democracy Comes to Cuba

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 / 6:00pm / IdeATe Lab, Studio A, 1^st floor, Hunt Library, CMU’s campus

REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT!

Deliberative Democracy Comes to Cuba – A Conversation with Professor Robert Cavalier

Philosophy professor, Robert Cavalier, leads us in what will be an interesting and provocative discussion about Cuba and its evolving political and social state on Tuesday, April 21.  He is speaking as part of the Pittsburgh Alumni Network’s new speaker series, "Off the Fence," which was aptly named not only because of our iconic tradition on The Cut, but also because we don’t want to be "on the fence" about any particular issue. Join us next month and see which side of the fence you stand.  In May and June of 2014 hundreds of Mesas de Iniciativa constitucional (MIC) took place across Cuba, marking the first modern grassroots effort to employ the principles and practices of deliberative democracy at the local level with an eye toward achieving a "constitutional consensus" at the national level. The movement is guided by Cuban political scientist Manuel Cuesta Morua and influenced in part by the work of CMU faculty member, Dr. Robert Cavalier. In this talk, Cavalier will describe the concept of “Deliberative Democracy” and show how this democratic process of civic engagement is already influencing the practice of local government in Pittsburgh and how it might have the potential to do the same in Cuba. Be sure to read his opinion piece for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addressing this topic.

When:
6 p.m. Informal networking and check-in
6:30 p.m. Presentation & Discussion
Evening parking is available, first come-first served, on Frew and Tech Streets. East campus garage also is open.
Cost:
$5 to cover cost of light refreshments.
No charge for current students.
Register Now »  http://alumni.cmu.edu/s/1410/alumni/index-social.aspx?sid=1410&gid=1&pgid=5123&content_id=4084.