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Voices Exchange is a unique, not-for-profit organization which provides dynamic speakers and performers on a wide range of issues prevalent in society today. The organization provides civil society a voice with the strength to balance that of government and monopoly power. The mission of Voices Exchange is to promote informed democratic participation toward true peace and justice.
Bill Barclay, co-founder
of Voices Exchange summarizes the aim of the organization with a quote
from the famous writer A.J. Liebling:
“Freedom of
the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.”
The organization
works to put an end to this limited societal voice.
"Voices Exchange has two roles, suporting the existence of voluntary
organizations in civil society and keeping other government power bases
in-line and honest," said co-founder Jean Darling.
Voices Exchange is the child of three parent organizations: American Friends
Service Committee (AFSC), Oak Park Coalition
for Truth and Justice (OPCTJ) and United
for Peace-Faithful Citizenship.
“There was an existing network of individuals in these groups who
knew each other and knew that the groups, particularly AFSC, were already
involved in providing speakers and performers in response to request,”
said Barclay. The formation of the new organization can now provide a
stronger base of speakers/performers to a wider range of hosts.
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Within the organization, presentations are given by either speakers or
performers, but the overall format is tailored to the host and audience
for each event. Depending on the needs of the host organization, speakers’
presentations range from informational lectures to much more interactive
discussions. Performers differ in that their presentations are more entertainment
based and may consist of poetry readings, performances of plays or interactive
workshops.
A good example of a performer in Darling's opinion, is "Folk Labor" musician Bucky Hawker. "He doesn't feel like he has to stay in a particular genre and he can be creative," said Darling of his moving performances.
“Voices Exchange encourages our speakers to think about ways to stimulate audience participation, whether thorough Q&A at the end of a presentation, role playing during a presentation, dialogues between a speaker/performer and audience, or whatever style best suits the speaker/performer and the content of their presentation,” said Barclay.
The importance of audience participation is greatly stressed in each presentation. This idea contributes to the concept of Voices Exchange working as a voice, not only for prevalent media figures such as the speakers, but the average, concerned public in the audience. Barclay has said that providing this voice to those even as young as high school students is “essential” in the democratic process of the United States.
Presentations are available on a number of different topics such as economic
justice, equitable education, peace building, interfaith tolerance, global
conflicts, environmental sustainability, universal health care and other
social issues. More in-depth information about particular topics and speakers
will soon be found in an online
database.
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