Civic engagement isn't just about voting. This second annual Connecticut Civic Summit engaged 50+ residents from throughout the state, to talk about ways to promote civic health in the state.
Criminal justice reform advocates are trying to spark a larger conversation regarding the role race and poverty play in experience with the justice system. In Hartford recently, a dialogue took place between lawyers, public officials, and community stakeholders, including formerly incarcerated individuals.
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. As people throughout the state and country lose faith that there is any resemblance of equity in our jail, prison, sentencing and overall justice systems, an action-driven collaborative in Connecticut is organizing a day of dialogue and deliberation, led by the national non-profit, Everyday Democracy. The collaborative includes: ACLU Smart Justice Connecticut; Capital Community College, Community Capacity Builders, Community Solutions, City of Hartford, the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, Katal Center for Health, Equity and Justice and Phoenix Association. Join Us Saturday, November 17th at noon (11am lunch) at the Chrysalis Center for a Discusssion and Dialogue with Peter Edelman. Registration is required.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-time-to-talk-poverty-criminal-justice-and-race-tickets-51466407410
There was a lot of recognition for the work being done to strengthen democracy at this October’s annual National Conference on Citizenship in Washington DC. One of the highlights of the event was the announcement of InterFaith Works El Hindi Center for Dialogue, Syracuse, NY as a 2018 recipient of the esteemed CIVVY award in the category of “local” organizations.
Check out our newly released mini-guide that offers tips for evaluating community engagement. It is not meant to be fully prescriptive on evaluation but it is a practical, hands-on tool to help you determine if you are ready to evaluate your community engagement work, and if yes, it offers considerations for implementing an evaluation.
In late August, 2018, teams from 20 states participated in the first group of the Southern Rural Development Center's (SRDC) "Train the Trainers" program "Coming Together for Racial Understanding." The purpose of the initiative was to build capacity within the national Cooperative Extension Service to help communities engage in civil dialogues around racial equity. The training was designed to prepare participants to build capacity within their home institutions.
With over 400 community members and 44 community-based, non-profit organizations participating, Families United for Education is a leader in the nation when it comes to engaging families toward improving school outcomes. As one of four finalists for Everyday Democracy’s distinguished Paul J. Aicher Leadership in Democracy Award, and now announced as a Civic Change Champion, Families United for Education is a national model for diverse communities working to achieve educational equity.
Communities Creating Racial Equity, an Everyday Democracy initiative launched in 2007 helped us better understand the intersection of civic engagement using the Dialogue to Change process.
Key lessons we have learned about addressing racism in community initiatives
Imagine quitting your job, selling your home and taking your three small children on the road for a year in an RV to visit all 50 states in our nation, with the goal of understanding our current divides and finding ways to bridge them toward an undivided nation.
This is the Leaverton’s American Dream and they are living it, state by state, from south, to north, east to west, community by community on a yearlong, enlightening and heartfelt listening tour.
Our ultimate goal is to create positive community change that includes everyone, and we believe that our tools, advice, and resources will help foster that kind of change. Whether you’re grappling with a divisive community issue, or simply want to include residents’ voices in city government, Everyday Democracy's Dialogue to Change process, using a racial equity lens, can help.
