#civicsunday

[wezzo69]

Some say im a madman...#oakley #madman #raresunglasses #civicsunday #breakfastrun #carsandcoffee

[joe-heaukulani]

Civic Sunday - Honolulu Soup

HNL Soup is happening again Wednesday, Jan 14, 2015, 6:00-800pm at Fishcake. I missed the last one, and from what I hear it was amazing. Unfortunately, I will be missing this one too, but I have a few friends that will be presenting so I hope others might make it.

HNL Soup

HNL SOUP is a micro-granting dinner celebrating and supporting creative projects in Honolulu.

Sometimes we can make big things happen with very little. I like this crowdfunded, micro-grant activity taking place and hope other people will replicate it for more projects.

For a donation of $12 attendees receive soup, salad, bread and a vote. Throughout the evening participants will hear from three presentations ranging from urban agriculture to social entrepreneurship. Each presenter will have six minutes to share their idea and answer four questions from the audience.

I think events like these are great ways to increase civic engagement. You get food. You get great ideas. You get to vote. 

At the event, attendees eat, talk, share resources, enjoy art, and vote on the project they think benefits the city the most. At the end of the night, the organizers will collect the ballots and the winner goes home with all of the money raised to carry out their project.

This is the most awesome part. People talking and sharing, and voting for what they think best helps Honolulu.

Winners come back to a future HNL SOUP dinner to report their project’s progress and how they utilized funding provided.

Accountability. Another sign of a good program.

We hope that HNL SOUP will change the way people engage with the democratic process by establishing neighborhood relational hubs across the city.

"Neighborhood relational hubs". Maybe this is how the Neighborhood Boards should be, haha.

At the core, HNL SOUP embodies creativity, community, collaboration, change, democracy, trust, and fun!

I can't wait for the next one. Hopefully I will be able to make it.

frolichawaii.com

I found some awesome art on Frolic Hawaii by Sergio Garzon of the last HNL Soup event at ProtoHUB.

[joe-heaukulani]

Civic Sunday - Citizen Solutions

It's a few days before the State of Hawaii begins its next legislative session. Legislation is just one way to change the way Hawaii works. There are a many other ways people can have an impact on their community.

Think about an issue you care about, whether it be homelessness, biking, clean beaches, or ensuring there will be ahi for generations to come. There are different groups all working on these different issues and they all could use your help. If you can't find any groups, start one yourself.

Groups can have all different types of focus. Some can be more policy oriented, and others may be more geared toward community building, and often times they will be somewhere in the middle. Use whatever skills you have and find ways to participate and engage.

Here are some of the issues I will be focusing on this year:

Homelessness

Housing

Biking

Transit Oriented Development

Food Security

Diversity in Tech

Open Data

So what keeps you up at night? How do you want to impact your community this year? Whatever it is, just know that you are not alone.