Category Archives: youth & student engagement

National Civic Review Fall Edition Recently Released with Kettering Foundation

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NCDD member org, The National Civic League released the 2020 Fall Edition of the National Civic Review, published in collaboration with NCDD member, the Kettering Foundation. This esteemed quarterly journal offers insights and examples of civic engagement and deliberative governance from around the country. Friendly reminder that NCDD members receive the digital copy of the National Civic Review for free! (Find the access code below.) We strongly encourage our members to check out this great resource and there is an open invite for NCDD members to contribute to the NCR. You can read about NCR in the post below and find it on NCL’s site here.

National Civic Review Fall Edition 2020 – Access Code: NCDD20

As this edition of the National Civic Review goes out, our nation is approaching a crucial presidential election, dealing with a terrible pandemic and grappling with vexing racial disparities. An article by Martín Carcasson discusses approaching the challenge of public deliberation as a “wicked problem,” in other words, an issue or challenge with conflicting underlying values and no technical solution. Perhaps at this juncture we are in a wicked time, a period with similar attributes of conflicting values and complexity. This edition of the Review was published in collaboration with  Charles F. Kettering Foundation. We hope the articles in the edition will provide some ideas and tools to rally communities across the country to address complex issues and thrive.

You can access this edition by going directly to the table of contents and entering your access code (NCDD20) when prompted.

One of the Nation’s Oldest and Most Respected Journals of Civic Affairs

Its cases studies, reports, interviews and essays help communities learn about the latest developments in collaborative problem-solving, civic engagement, local government innovation and democratic governance. Some of the country’s leading doers and thinkers have contributed articles to this invaluable resource for elected officials, public managers, nonprofit leaders, grassroots activists, and public administration scholars seeking to make America’s communities more inclusive, participatory, innovative and successful.

Joy of Voting Youth Video Contest Open Until October 23rd

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Everyday Democracy, an NCDD member org, announced they are hosting a Joy of Voting Youth Video Challenge and submissions are being accepted until Friday, October 23rd. This contest is an opportunity for youth, ages 14-25, to submit a short video on the importance of voting, and which issues being voted on during Election Day, are the most impactful for their communities and our democracy.

Please note, that submissions are limited to residents of Connecticut or those students enrolled at a Connecticut school. Read more about the contest requirements below and find the original posting here.

Everyday Democracy Announces Joy of Voting Youth Video Challenge

The Joy of Voting Youth Video Challenge invites youth and young adults ages 14-25 to submit a video entry between October 1 through noon EST on October 23, 2020 sharing why voting is important. 

Inspired by Eric Liu’s TED Talk on the importance of voting and his Joy of Voting initiative, the Joy of Voting Youth Video Challenge is an opportunity for youth to engage in civic action through a creative medium—videography! Participants in the challenge are invited to create and submit short (1-2 minutes) videos on how voting connects with issues they care about, their communities, and our democracy. What policies or initiatives could be impacted by their vote on Election Day? 

Participants are encouraged to celebrate and promote voting with their peers! 

The 1 to 2 minute videos can include interviews, collages and public domain pictures or images, non-copyrighted music, or employ any other creative means in a video format. Some of the criteria for judging the video entries will include: technical quality and presentation, power of the message conveyed, relevance to the upcoming general election, enthusiasm, and creativity. Participants can submit videos in the 14-17 or 18-25 age categories. Participants must complete an entry form prior to submitting their videos.

A panel of independent judges will establish ranking criteria and help select the winning videos. The public, including participants of the challenge, will then be able to vote on their favorite videos from October 26 to October 30, 2020! More information about this will be made available later in October. The winners will be announced on November 2, 2020 right before the election! The top two finalist videos in each age category will receive $150 and $100 cash prizes and have their videos posted online on Everyday Democracy’s Facebook page and YouTube channel! 

Steps to Enter

  1. Create your 1-2 minute video and give it a name.
  2. Register by visiting: http://www.123formbuilder.com/form-5651380/form 
    • IMPORTANT: Only submit your application to register once you are finished with your video and are ready to submit!
  3. Upload your video here: https://filmfreeway.com/TheJoyofVotingYouthVideoChallengeCT
    • IMPORTANT: If you are under 18 years of age, you must also submit a parent consent form with your written application.
  4. Email Zoya Ali at zali@everyday-democracy.org with any questions

Guidelines 

Your submission should focus on the importance of voting. Perhaps there is a specific cause, such as environmentalism or police brutality, that you think could be impacted by voting on Election Day. That being said, we want you to have fun and use your creativity! You can shoot your film through whatever technology you have access to, whether it be your phone or a camera. Feel free to use some of these free online programs to edit, including WeVideo, TikTok, Animoto, or GoAnimate to name a few. Just be sure not to fall under the one-minute minimum or exceed the two-minute maximum. 

All video submissions must feature original non-copyrighted or public domain content. Videos must contain non-partisan content. This challenge is about the importance of voting, not the specific candidates.

Participants must be either residents of Connecticut or enrolled in a Connecticut school/college.

Where to submit your video:

Please complete your video entry form here: http://www.123formbuilder.com/form-5651380/form. At the bottom of the written application is a link that will take you to the video submission page on Film Freeway where you will send us your video. Make sure that the title of your video is the same on both the entry form and the video. If you are under 18 years of age, you must also submit a parent consent form with your written application.

To give you some ideas and get you thinking about the importance of voting, here are some relevant links to videos, readings, and tools:

You can find the original version on this on the EvDem’s site at www.everyday-democracy.org/news/everyday-democracy-announces-joy-voting-youth-video-challenge.

Exciting Updates from the Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life

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We received this announcement from NCDDer Peter Levine at Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life, sharing many exciting updates happening at Tisch that we wanted to help boost to the larger NCDD network. Don’t miss out on the next announcement and sign up for this newsletter via the Frontiers of Democracy Updates Email List linked here. Do you have information you’d like to share with the NCDD network? Then check out this page to learn how to boost information with the expansive coalition.

Update about Frontiers of Democracy and Civic Initiatives at Tufts

Via Peter Levine on email list for the annual Frontiers of Democracy conference at Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life.

RE: Frontiers of Democracy conference and/or the Summer Institute of Civic Studies at Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life. We canceled both of those events in 2020 due to COVID-19. We will make decisions early in 2021 about whether to hold them in-person or to offer online programming instead next summer. The dates for Frontiers will be June 25-27, 2021; the Summer Institute will be June 21-25.

In the meantime, we wanted to update you about several projects involving Tisch College that may interest you.

CivicGreen is a new collaborative project (and website) meant to enrich our democratic imagination and to expand our policy options for sustainable, resilient, and just responses to climate crisis in the United States in the coming decades. It locates civic engagement at the heart of work that needs to occur in communities of all kinds, across cities and regions, and among professional and other institutional partners that are key to solving problems for the long run. CivicGreen is fundamentally about civic democracy at the intersection of green strategies to address our ecological and climate crises and to build healthy and sustainable communities for all.

Equity in America is a new online tool that allows anyone to explore dimensions of equity and inequity in the USA and generate easily-interpreted statistics and graphics. It is meant to inform public debate and deliberation (including in classrooms). The site also presents “research briefs” on current topics, including COVID-19 and policing.

Political scientists may be interested in the new Civic Engagement Section of the American Political Science Association, which is open to all members of APSA, and the APSA’s Institute of Civically Engaged Research, which is also held annually at Tisch College.

In the domain of k-12 civic education, please stay tuned for Educating for American Democracy: A Roadmap for Excellence in History and Civics Education for All Learners, a major project of iCivics, the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, Tisch College’s CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), and Tisch College itself.

For youth voting and civic engagement and college students’ political engagement, please follow CIRCLE and the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education.

The Civic Studies Major at Tufts is going strong and offers a distinctive mix of theoretical, empirical, and applied courses.

Applications for Libby Kingseed Memorial Award Due 9/30

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We want to take a moment to recognize exceptional individuals in our field by extending this invitation from NCDD member org, National Issues Forums Institute, to submit your applications for the Elizabeth “Libby” Kingseed Teaching with Deliberation Memorial Award Libby’s commitment to civic education and deliberation continue to be an inspiration; and it is in this spirit that NIFI has created this award to grant $500 to any K-12 teacher working to implement deliberation or deliberative pedagogy in the classroom.

Applications will be accepted until next Wednesday, September 30th; so make sure you apply ASAP! Learn more about Libby Kingseed and the award in the post below, and find the original post here.

Elizabeth “Libby” Kingseed Teaching with Deliberation Memorial Award

The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) is now accepting applications for the Elizabeth “Libby” Kingseed Teaching with Deliberation Memorial Award at this time. A fund established to commemorate and in memory of Libby Kingseed.

Application Process

  • September 30, 2020: Deadline for applications
  • November 2, 2020: Applicants will be notified of the selection committee’s decision
  • Grant Period: December 1, 2020 – November 30, 2021

This grant is not open to organizations. The $500 annual award will be granted to an individual.

Click here to complete the online application form. If you have questions, please contact Darla Minnich at dminnich[at]nifi[dot]org.

About the Grant

The Elizabeth “Libby” Kingseed Teaching with Deliberation Memorial Award recognizes the commitment that she had to civic education, especially her support of teacher networking, experimentation, and reflection on the use of deliberation in the classroom. We anticipate presenting up to three awards to eligible K-12 educators engaged in deliberative practices.

This $500 award is open to any K-12 teacher who is inspired to implement deliberation or deliberative pedagogy in the classroom and who is new to using the practices. The teacher should have a demonstrated commitment to fostering the civic development of students, though it is not necessary that they be a civics or social studies teacher. All K-12 teachers are encouraged to apply.

In addition to completing an application, candidates will be asked to provide:

  • A plan for how deliberation will be used to support student learning, including the resources that will be needed and a draft unit plan.
  • An identified mentor OR evidence of completion of a course or workshop focused on deliberation or deliberative pedagogy
  • Prior to the end of the grant period, awardees will be required to submit a two-page written reflection on what they did and what they learned.

Libby Kingseed was a program officer, and archivist at the Kettering Foundation. Libby was a passionate leader of the foundation’s K-12 civic education research. She worked closely with teachers using National Issues Forums in the classroom. Libby recognized the need for civic education to be included in the education of children in order to help them understand how to be active, engaged citizens in the future.

You can find the original version on this on the NIFI site at https://www.nifi.org/en/elizabeth-“libby”-kingseed-teaching-deliberation-memorial-award.

Apply for a Nevins Fellow through October 15th!

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NCDD Member Organization the McCourtney Institute for Democracy is offering the incredible opportunity for D&D organizations to take advantage of their Nevins Democracy Leaders Program. The 2021 application is open now through Thursday, October 15th, for organizations who want to host a bright, motivated, D&D-trained student at no-cost!

Read below for all the details and watch their video for more info on this great program.

Nevins Fellowship Applications due Oct 15th

We are ready to start receiving applications for sponsoring organizations for our 2021 Nevins Fellows program.  

For those of you unfamiliar, here are some key points:

Nevins Fellows are Penn State students who are selected for a summer internship program with organizations doing innovative work in democracy. Students complete a course in democratic leadership and then apply for fellowships. Stipends and living expenses are provided to the students through the program so there are no costs for the organizations. This video provides a good overview of the program and its benefits: https://youtu.be/kTzBz8S0K1s. 

To make things easier for you this year, we have placed the application for organizations on the McCourtney Institute website. [And the application is directly linked here.] 

As you may know, this past summer all of our fellows worked virtually at  their placements. Students and organizations worked hard to make this experience as useful and productive as possible, but of course, it was not ideal.  Our hope is that by the summer of 2021, we will be able to return to a normal fellowship experience. But of course, that might not happen.  We would suggest that you plan for both contingencies.

One more thing: Students select their fellowship organizations. Please keep that in mind as you write up your application. 

Applications are due Thursday, October 15. 

If you have any questions about the program or the application, please email Chris Beem at cxb518@psu.edu.

Purpose at the Center Allows for Greater Online Success

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In this article, Essential Partners, an NCDD sponsor organization, explores the challenges of adapting to the shift to online engagement, both creatively and effectively!  As we continue to rely on virtual spaces to convene due to the Covid-19 outbreak, we may have felt the limitations of online conferencing as a work alternative or for keeping up with loved ones.  Most of us find, that it simply does not capture the presence, nor the energy that meeting in real life does. EP finds that placing purpose at the center acts as a pathway to alignment and greater connectivity. You can read the article below and find the original posting here.

FOR A SUCCESSFUL SHIFT TO VIRTUAL WORK, LEAN INTO PURPOSE

“We cannot simply retrofit our in-person reality to the online space. But we can stay grounded in our shared purpose, and design accordingly.”

As the whole world (seemingly) makes the shift to working and convening online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, one big question keeps coming up. How can we not just adjust our work to the virtual space but actually adapt, so we meet our shared purposes online just as well as we would in person?

As an Essential Partners Associate, I am currently engaged with several projects—in higher education, theatre, non-profits, and high schools. In each of these, our partners are navigating many uncertainties. They’re being forced to make decisions that impact people’s health and safety as well as their livelihoods, access to basic needs, future prospects, sense of community, and more.

Holding these tensions is incredibly challenging. In one project, we are helping a large institution design a strategy for listening and constructive communication. Before the pandemic, we imagined doing so through in-person facilitation, training, and designing new communication systems.

But that’s not possible now. And for a long time, we were stuck. How could we possibly achieve the same outcomes without being in the room together?

My colleague, Meenakshi, offered a brilliant solution. She suggested that we acknowledge and leverage this moment of uncertainty and stress—that we work with and within it, rather than trying to work around and through it. Instead of focusing on circumstances, we focus instead on purpose.

The purpose of this project was to develop a culture and strategy of constructive (internal) communication, which led to contingency planning once the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.

Image: Video ConferenceWe designed a new exercise to use collective reflection as a way to observe this moment of dynamism and change more deeply and clearly. We invited the participants to reflect on the negative patterns exacerbated by the transition to virtual spaces, as well as the patterns that are serving their community well in this stressful moment.

We cannot simply retrofit our in-person reality to the online space. But we can stay grounded in our shared purpose, and design accordingly.

Download our new free resource, Designing for Purpose in Virtual Engagements, to help you plan your next online meeting, training, dialogue, or convening!

This period of physical distancing invites us to meet challenges with fresh eyes. If we are to pursue our goals creatively and effectively, we must design from scratch, navigating uncertainties with purpose as our anchor.

You can find the original version of this announcement on the Essential Partners site at  www.whatisessential.org/successful-shift-virtual-work-lean-purpose

Join in on the AllSides Connect “Hackathon” Starting Today!

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All are invited to test drive the freshly renamed civil discourse digital platform, AllSides Connect, and give your feedback! For the next three days, August 18th, 19th, and 20th –  NCDDers AllSides and Living Room Conversations are hosting the AllSides Connect “Hackathon”, and we encourage you to check it out! Folks may remember the platform by its’ former name, “Mismatch”. This platform is an opportunity to build connections and share conversation, which many of us are greatly in need of during these times of increased physical distancing due to the coronavirus. Read more in the post below and sign up here! Thank you so much to Kristin Hansen, Director of AllSides Connect, for sharing this announcement with us!

AllSides Connect “Hackathon!”

AllSides and Living Room Conversations request your help! Please sign up for the AllSides Connect “Hackathon,” taking place this week – August 18th, 19th, and 20th.
 
What is AllSides Connect?
A realtime video platform that is purpose-built to foster civil discourse and dialogue across geographic distance and political, racial, faith-based, and other divides in America. AllSides Connect has been built collaboratively by Living Room Conversations, AllSides, and Bridge the Divide. AllSides Connect is intended to broadly serve and scale the bridging/dialogue/civil discourse field. (You might know the platform by its prior name, “Mismatch.”)

What’s the Hackathon, and how do I sign up?
Join the hackathon to experience online civil discourse, test drive the realtime video platform, and give the AllSides Connect team your feedback on the experience … all in 30 minutes or less!

Best of all, you don’t need to be a techie to “hack” AllSides Connect … non-techies needed!

All you need to do is sign up for one 30-minute slot on Tues Aug 18, Wed Aug 19, or Thurs Aug 20. Up to six people can sign up for each time slot.

Here’s the link to sign up: AllSides Connect Hackathon – Sign Up Form – Aug 18, 19, 20

What happens next?
Next, you’ll receive a calendar invite, a URL link, and some basic instructions about how to join your scheduled conversation. You’ll be joined with one or more other “hackers” to hold a short online conversation, with a built-in guide.

Thank you for helping these organizations to scale civil discourse, respectful dialogue, and empathetic listening across America!

Register for the Virtual Annual Civic Institute on August 21st

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This announcement comes to us from our friends at the David Matthews Center for Civic Life. ICYMI on Friday, August 21st, the Matthews Center will be hosting their annual Civic Institute with this year’s theme, Common Bonds: Collective Purpose and Civic Resilience in Uncertain Times.  The event this year will be entirely online and open to folks outside the state, as well as free-of-charge! Make sure you see Dr. David Mathews, President and C.E.O. of the Kettering Foundation, give the keynote address sharing from his experiences at the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, during a past global epidemic. Read more in the article below and find the original posting here.

Common Bonds: Collective Purpose and Civic Resilience in Uncertain Times

The Mathews Center will host its annual Civic Institute on August 21st, 2020. The event will be held entirely online. The theme of this year’s event is Common Bonds: Collective Purpose and Civic Resilience in Uncertain Times.

Dr. David Mathews, President and C.E.O. of the Kettering Foundation, will deliver a (pre-recorded) keynote address drawing on his experiences at the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare—where he served as Secretary during the Swine Flu outbreak of 1976.

Our first digital-only Civic Institute will explore strategies deployed by individuals and communities as they respond and adapt to the challenges posed by a global epidemic. Community leaders across Alabama will showcase the innovative ways in which they have resisted social isolation by forging new connections with their fellow citizens and by exploring alternative perspectives uncovered through local historical research. This three-hour event (9:00am – 12:00pm CST) will be packed with the same quality thoughtful discussions and meaningful connections that you have come to expect from us each year.

  • 9:00 am – Opening Remarks by Cristin Brawner
  • 9:05 am – Pre-Recorded Keynote by Dr. David Mathews
  • 10:00 am – Short Talks with Panelists
    • Terrance Smith, Director of the Mayor’s Innovation Team in Mobile will discuss how his city is adapting to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
    • Margaret Morton of SAFE Sylacauga will discuss a new community resilience initiative with Laura Strickland (Director of the Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce) and Brigadier General Robert Holmes (retired).
    • Dr. John Giggie of the University of Alabama’s Summersell Center and students from Tuscaloosa’s Central High School will discuss The History of Us, a year-long course created to help students explore the African American history of their own community. Dr. Giggie co-taught the course with his graduate teaching assistant, Ms. Margaret Lawson, who will join the panel alongside students from the course.
  • 11:15 am – Breakout Discussions: Rebuilding, Recovering, and Reimagining Our Future
  • 11:50 am – Closing Remarks

Because the event will be offered entirely online this year, registration will be free of charge! If you are able, we ask that you consider making a donation to the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Fund here. One-hundred percent of your donation goes directly to support the JOIP internship program, which provides immersive civic learning opportunities for college students to research deliberative practices and asset-based approaches for working with Alabamians in community-based projects. Those who donate $25 or more will receive a DMC care package full of our latest resources and a special gift!

Register Now

You can find the original version of this event on the David Matthews Center for Civic Life site at  www.mathewscenter.org/common-bonds/.

Watch our Confab on D&D Pedagogy in an Uncertain Fall

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Last week NCDD hosted our special July Confab Call for our Higher Education folks.  On the call, 30 participants engaged around how they are planning to teach dialogue and deliberation pedagogy this coming fall, and what resources or tools they could use to assist them. Thanks again to all who participated, and to those who captured notes from the breakouts!

During this event three topics were discussed by participants as they explored their plans for fall. The notes from these breakout groups have been captured in the Google Doc accessible here. This is the start of a gathering of resources for folks in Higher Ed which NCDD will pull together over the coming weeks and months. If you have a resource you would like to share so others know about it, or if you are interested in offering your expertise in a brief video, as a guest speaker, etc. please fill out this brief survey so we can get you in touch with those interested!

In addition to the notes, the event recording includes brief report-outs from each of these groups on their discussions. Check out the recording here.

Many thanks to Lori Britt for helping organize this event, and to all who participated! NCDD is pulling together resources to share more broadly, so if you know of something that could benefit the Higher Ed community, let us know below or in the survey linked above! We’ll follow up once this resource page is up and running.

Confab bubble imageTo learn more about NCDD’s Confab Calls and hear recordings of others, visit www.ncdd.org/events/confabs. We love holding these events and we want to continue to elevate the work of our field with Confab Calls and Tech Tuesdays. It is through your generous contributions to NCDD that we can keep doing this work! That’s why we want to encourage you to support NCDD by making a donation or becoming an NCDD member today (you can also renew your membership by clicking here). Thank you!

Read New 2020 Summer Edition of National Civic Review

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If you are looking to get some more civic reading under your belt, NCDD member org, The National Civic League, announced the release of the 2020 Summer Edition of the National Civic Review. This esteemed quarterly journal offers insights and examples of civic engagement and deliberative governance from around the country. Friendly reminder that NCDD members receive the digital copy of the National Civic Review for free! (Find the access code below.) We strongly encourage our members to check out this great resource and there is an open invite for NCDD members to contribute to the NCR. You can read about NCR in the post below and find it on NCL’s site here.

National Civic Review Summer Edition 2020 – Access Code: NCDD20

2020 is turning out to be a year of sudden, unexpected crises and angry civil unrest. The need for people to distance themselves from one another has led to feelings of anxiety, loss and social isolation. Anger over police brutality and racial inequity is making this a time of tough conversations but also increased civic activism. In this issue of the National Civic Review we learn about efforts to engage the public in collaborative efforts to make our communities more sustainable, resilient, age-friendly, democratic and healthy. We also take a look at some examples in history where civic leaders and members of the public have faced tough challenges and risen to the occasion by experimenting with new ideas and practices.

To access this edition, go to the table of contents where you will be prompted to enter your unique access code: NCDD20.

One of the Nation’s Oldest and Most Respected Journals of Civic Affairs
Its cases studies, reports, interviews and essays help communities learn about the latest developments in collaborative problem-solving, civic engagement, local government innovation and democratic governance. Some of the country’s leading doers and thinkers have contributed articles to this invaluable resource for elected officials, public managers, nonprofit leaders, grassroots activists, and public administration scholars seeking to make America’s communities more inclusive, participatory, innovative and successful.