If you were the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, what would you do?

This question was posed to our Moldovan delegation near the end of their stay in Madison.  Throughout the week, they had visited many government offices and agencies and participated in numerous discussions on the roles and responsibilities of government officials.  They had talked about how the government manages its funds, raises more, and provides services to its constituency.  They had heard how elected officials at all levels of government interact with citizens.  And then they’d seen it all in action at the Dane County Board of Supervisors meeting.

So, what would they do as the mayor of Madison?  Here’s the list:

• Find out the needs of the people and the community - by direct interaction with the citizenry.
• Figure out appropriate solutions with input from the citizens.
• Work with the population to implement the solutions.
• Make the public aware of what's going on in other cities and countries - this will help them understand and appreciate what they have, and prevent them from reinventing the wheel.
• Initiate an exchange between associations in Madison and those in Moldova.

While these might not seem to be particularly complex approaches to mayorship, they are very telling and really demonstrate the benefit of the delegates’ participation in the Open World program.  At the beginning of the week, outreach to and inclusion of the citizens in a government process would not have even made the list, and it certainly wouldn’t have taken the first five spots on it! 

But now, after this amazing week of learning and sharing, the delegates feel compelled, as elected officials, to be more accessible to the citizens in their towns and villages, to reach out and include them in government decisions, and to build processes that encourage civic participation.

I guess we'll call this one a success!