Student Documentary Sparks Conversation at International Conference on Participatory Budgeting

Andreas Hernandez, Ph.D., assistant professor of international studies at MMC, whose academic work examines the cultural, religious and ecological dimensions of Latin American social movements, was appointed by the Participatory Budgeting Project as a member of the City-Wide Steering Committee in October 2011. Hernandez was invited to serve on the committee for his research concerning Brazilian social reforms, particularly his scholarship about the ways of life in Brazil’s Landless Movement, the country where participatory budgeting began in 1989. 

In fall 2011, Hernandez taught an upper level “Contemporary Social Movements” course that examined grassroots social, cultural, political and ecological struggles from around the world, where he discussed the developments of the participatory budgeting meetings. Many of these students along with his students from last year’s “Latin America in Historical Perspective” course joined forces to document the participatory budgeting process in New York City through film. 

“Students have done an amazing job documenting the process all over the city, filming assemblies, conducting interviews with participants, community groups and council members,” Hernandez said about the interdisciplinary student group that formed the International Studies Film Collective. “They have also done a fantastic job in editing down the material.” 

In 2011, New York City Council Members Brad Lander (District 39), Melissa Mark-Viverito (District 8), Eric Ulrich (District 32) and Jumaane Williams (Distrit 45) decided to use participatory budgeting to allocate part of their capital discretionary funds. Over six months, 250 New York City residents from four Council Districts decided in a democratic process how to spend at least $1 million of public money allocated to each district. 

“Despite the fact it’s at a time when people feel skeptical and disappointed in government, maybe even down on democracy, the idea of participatory budgeting is that if you give people a real say in decision making and they come out and work with their neighbors and come up with projects, they really take part,” Council Member Brad Lander said in the documentary. 

“I really like the title of our documentary in progress, From Budget Cuts to a People’s Budget,” Hernandez said, “because PB is not a replacement for our representative democracy but adds a deeper level of democracy in decision making and prioritization. PB requires people to not simply vote but to deliberate and come up with solutions. It can be a wonderful bridge between government and civil society. At a time when budgets, including New York City’s, have been slashed due to a recession initiated on Wall Street, and at a time when government is more willing to bail out banks and insurance houses, PB could be one important way for citizens to reclaim government.” 

Members of the International Studies Film Collective include Thomas Watson, Nancy Baez, Jaleh Rendall, Martha Geier, Kelsey Yucius, Bakht Arif, Kiley Griffith and Kaitlin Nichols. Two other MMC students, Sarah Brodine and Katie Sives, conducted internships with two of the lead organizations, The Participatory Budgeting Project and Community Voices Heard, respectively. 

Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.

Published: April 09, 2012