Recognizing Philadelphia as the host city for the TED Democracy Fireside Chats, a pioneering event series from TED and Visit Philadelphia that engages national thought leaders in critical discussions on the evolving role of democracy in our society leading up to America's 250th anniversary.

WHEREAS, Visit Philadelphia, the region's official tourism marketing agency, hosted the second TED Democracy Fireside Chat,

The Power of Participation

on September 19th in partnership with TED, a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, aims to bring together thinkers, doers, and change-makers to address the challenges and possibilities facing democracy today; and

WHEREAS, Political commentator and community organizer Sally Kohn moderated a thought-provoking conversation between two of the nation’s most influential voices for voting opportunity - Katie Fahey and Desmond Meade; and

WHEREAS, Katie Fahey, founder of Voters Not Politicians and current executive director of The People, began a grassroots, nonpartisan campaign that ran a successful effort to end gerrymandering in Michigan by amending the state constitution in 2018 with 61% of the vote; and

WHEREAS, Desmond Meade is a formerly homeless returning citizen who overcame many obstacles to eventually become president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition; chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, and a published author of “Let My People Vote”; and

WHEREAS, Meade led the successful passage for Amendment 4 that restored voting rights to over 1.4 million Floridians and represented the single largest expansion of voting rights in the United States in half a century, bringing an end to 150 years of a Jim Crow-era law in Florida; and

WHEREAS, The event was hosted at Eastern State Penitentiary, with community members also encouraged to join remotely or in person via watch parties at satellite locations, including Crane Community Center hosted by the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation and Tierra Colombiana; and

WHEREAS, The Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan civic leadership organization that advances representative, ethical, and effective government in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania through citizen engagement and public policy advocacy, had voter information hubs at Eastern State Penitentiary and each satellite location to encourage participants to learn more about voting and how to be an engaged citizen in their communities; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy, is a fitting location for this important event, serving as a reminder of the ongoing work required to uphold and strengthen democratic values; and

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia recognizes the importance of civic engagement and encourages all residents to participate in the democratic process; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby recognize Visit Philadelphia and their partners for hosting the TED Democracy Series as a valuable opportunity for Philadelphians to engage in meaningful dialogue and action around the future of our democracy.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this Resolution be transmitted to Visit Philadelphia and to the organizers of the TED Democracy Event.

End