Five things we learned at the 2023 AWC Annual Conference

Nearly 500 city councilmembers, mayors, and city partners came together in Spokane for AWC's 90th Annual Conference. This year’s theme was 90 years of building bridges, and leaders from 140 cities and towns across the state celebrated cities working together for nearly a century.

Leaders networked, shared challenges and opportunities, and gave one another inspiring ideas to take back home. If you weren’t able to attend—or even if you were—it’s not too late to download the AWC events app and check out the conference session materials and PowerPoints.

Here are five of the buzziest takeaways from this year’s conference:

1. Belonging is big! As our National League of Cities President, Mayor Victoria Woodards of Tacoma likes to share, “People + Partnerships = Possibilities.” Multiple sessions, and lots of conversations, centered around the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion. City leaders learned the importance of expanding that equation to specifically include B for belonging. We begin to achieve belonging by increasing D, E, and I—and understanding what it means to belong in a specific city is how we create a vision for that city’s future. We start by building trust with those who live, work, and play there, incorporate goals across plans and processes, and discover new ways to measure our success in the process.

2. Keep discourse civil. Multiple sessions, including ones with Ann Macfarlane of Jurassic Parliament and with Mónica Guzmán of Braver Angels, focused on how to improve our communication and build trust—whether with our colleagues, our neighbors, our councils, or our ideological opponents. Guzmán stressed that if compromise seems impossible, we can start with finding common ground, and she reminded us that trust doesn’t happen at scale, but in one-on-one conversations. AWC’s research shows that constituents across the state value leaders who can work together respectfully and have meaningful conversations. This year, for the first time, Annual Conference incorporated “Dialogue Hubs.” This impactful opportunity was led by AWC’s new DEIB consultant, Benita Horn, and provided small groups of leaders with space and time to meet and talk about topics important to them.

3. Artificial intelligence is coming (is here) and will impact you and your city. Consensus is in—AI is the most profound and pervasive technological change on the horizon since the advent of the internet. Whether it’s identifying “deep fakes” or considering the ethical implications of the shifting technological landscape, it’s clear that getting familiar with the subject is only the beginning. Mayor Josh Penner of Orting gave a great overview of some of the challenges and major opportunities that are already arising, and Jevin West (colloquially known as Professor BS) of UW and the Center for an Informed Public, brought us an eye-opening plenary, deep-diving into the whys and the ways we should begin to think offensively about misinformation, disinformation, rogue players, and both intentional and unintentional data reporting errors.

4. A lot has changed in 90 years (but a lot has stayed the same). Research affirms that local government is the most trusted level of government. That’s likely been true since AWC’s inception in 1933, when Prohibition ended, and city leaders gathered to try and secure a funding source to meet local public safety needs. While many legislative priorities over the years may have changed or shifted, Washington’s cities still work together strongly to secure funding, bring city issues to the forefront on a larger scale, ensure that residents remain safe, healthy, and heard—and that everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. For 90 years, cities have been discovering innovative ways to accomplish those goals, through partnerships, civil discourse, and leveraging the power of their voices together. We at AWC couldn’t be prouder to represent this diverse and impactful group of leaders.

5. The kids are alright —so get them involved. Attendees heard in person from four of this year’s eight rising stars—students who received the 2023 Center for Quality Communities (CQC) $2,500 scholarship, including one who was also the recipient of the prestigious UW Presidential Scholar Award. Each of these student leaders was inspiring, and each was clear about their ambitions to make a difference in the world. They all spoke to the importance of having their voices heard and included by their local leaders, and shared how those experiences shifted their perspectives on their futures. The value of youth councils and youth consultants was emphasized both by the students’ city sponsors and by the students themselves as being impactful, meaningful, and eye-opening. You can read about this year’s recipients and support scholarships for future student leaders on the CQC page.