What's New in Civic Education and Youth Civic Engagement Work .... (February 2004 Archive Section)

• February 27, 2004

• The 2004 National Forum on Education Policy sponsored by the Education Commission of the States is scheduled for July 13-16 in Orlando, Florida. Get together with fellow colleagues - governors, legislators, chief state school officers, higher education officials, state board members, state and federal education officials, business leaders, and local district and school leaders - from around the nation who are making a difference in increasing student achievement. Learn what is being done to improve the state and district policies that govern our public schools, districts and postsecondary institutions. For more information go to: http://www.ecs.org/html/meetingsEvents/NF2004/sessionpreview.htm.

  February 26, 2004

• This year's International Youth Leadership Conference, to be held this summer in Prague invites students ages 18-24 to join others from around the world for a forum on the future of world leadership and international relations. The conference dates are July 18-2 and July 25-30. Enjoy historical walking tours of the glorious old city of Prague, including exclusive visits to Czech Senate, Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Embassies, and historical venues where you will be participating in a Model European Parliament simulation. There will be a United Nations Security Council meeting, in which all participants role-play the characters of international diplomats, and an International Criminal Court Proceeding in which justice is sought for violations of international human rights. For more information visit:
  http://www.czechleadership.com or email summer2004@czechleadership.com.

  February 25, 2004

• The Amizade Global Service-Learning Center offers courses in several different disciplines that take place in countries from Australia to Tanzania. Students cooperate with community members in intercultural service, examine academic concepts in light of their experiences, and explore applications of global citizenship. Courses: 1) Are open to students from any college or university; 2) Confer credits through the University of Pittsburgh; 3) Are offered at the undergraduate and graduate levels; 4) Usually confer six undergraduate credits; 4) Are often less expensive than six credits at a private institution. Scholarships are available for a limited time. For more information go to: http://www.globalservicelearning.org.

  February 24, 2004

• The Michigan Campus Compact and the Honorable Doug Hart (R-73rd District), Vice Chair of the House of Representative Higher Education Committee, are gathering a Blue Ribbon Panel of state legislatures, members of the Michigan higher education community and community and nonprofit representatives. This work group will work to give voice to institutions of higher education anxious to discuss the civic components of their campuses and bring critical attention to the importance of campus civic engagement, highlight the cost saving and benefit to the state and local communities through the civic engagement of college students, explore ways that the legislature could support and contribute to the civic engagement of higher education, and provide opportunities to empower young people and higher education institutions at the same time to reinvigorate communities and democracy with fresh ideas and thoughtful leadership. Please visit: http://www.micampuscompact.org/blueribbon.html for more information about the dates and locations of these meetings.

  February 23, 2004

• "Politics Moves Online: The Effect of the Internet on Political Campaigns" briefing on the release of new report from The Century Foundation will occur on Thursday, February 26, 2004, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the National Press Club. How significant a role does online technology really play in mainstream American politics? In "Politics Moves Online: Campaigning and the Internet", Michael Cornfield provides a comprehensive guide to how the Internet has been used in political campaigns. Through a series of case studies, he examines how candidates have used the Web as a campaign tool and fund-raising mechanism, and how voters use the Internet to gather information and become better informed. Panelists include: Michael Cornfield, research director, Institute for Politics, Democracy, and the Internet, George Washington University; Zack Exley, organizing director, MoveOn.org, Washington D.C.; and Joshua Micah Marshall, author of talkingpointsmemo.com, and columnist, The Hill. The panelists will discuss lessons learned to date and assess the future role of the web in politics. For more information or to register contact Laurie Ahlrich at: ahlrich@tcf.org, or 212.452.7722.

  February 20, 2004

• The Center for the Study of Citizenship will hold the New Scholars' Conference in Citizenship Studies on Friday, February 27th at the Alumni House on Wayne State University's campus. The conference is free and open to the public. Joan W. Scott, Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Center's Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence from February 25 to March 5, will serve as keynote speaker. Joan W. Scott's work in history, gender studies, political philosophy, and political science has challenged the foundations of conventional scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, including the nature of evidence and experience and the role of narrative in scholarship. Her recent work focuses on the relationship between gender and the universalizing tendencies of culture and democratic politics. For more information call 313-577-2593 or m.kruman@wayne.edu.

  February 19, 2004

• The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History invites college sophomores and juniors with a serious interest in American history and academic excellence in the field to apply for one of: 15 History Scholarships that encompass a six-week residential research program in New York City running from June 20 to July 31, 2004. In addition, up to 50 awards will be available for runners-up, who will be named Finalists and invited to an all-expenses-paid week-long program in New York City from June 5 to June 12, 2004.

  History Scholars will receive a stipend of $2,400, along with room, board, and travel expenses for a six-week program in New York City, from June 20th to July 31st, 2004. During the program, Scholars will conduct primary source research to prepare historical materials for publication. At the end of six weeks each student will have completed a project that will result in a publication credit as co-editor. Scholars will also participate in weekly meetings with eminent historians, such as Eric Foner of Columbia University and James McPherson of Princeton University, to discuss historical issues and gain insight into history as a profession. A third component of the program will be weekly behind-the-scenes visits, led by archivists, to leading repositories of American historical documents, printed books, and material culture.

  Finalists not selected for the six-week program will be invited to an all expenses paid, one-week program that aims to foster an interest in American history through field trips, discussions with non-academic professionals about careers for history majors, and lectures by leading scholars such as David Brion Davis, James McPherson, and Pauline Maier.

  Applications must be postmarked by March 15th. Recipients will notified by April 23rd. For more information about the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, go to: http://www.gilderlehrman.org.
  

  February 18, 2004

• The Dirksen Congressional Center, invites proposals from scholars who would like to present at The Center's Congress in the Classroom 2004 program. The deadline is March 15, 2004. Congress in the Classroom is a national, award-winning education program now in its twelfth year and is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and information on teaching about Congress. Congress in the Classroom is a three-day workshop for 35 secondary school teachers from throughout the country. Nearly 200 applied for last year's workshop. All of them teach American government, American history, civics, or a related subject. The 2004 program theme will be "Election 2004." The workshop will take place from August 2 through August 5, 2004, on the campus of Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. If you are interested in presenting at the workshop, submit a proposal not to exceed two pages. The workshop is endorsed by the National Council for the Social Studies. For more information, visit: http://www.dirksencenter.org/progcongressinclassroom.htm.

  February 17, 2004

• Just a reminder about the National Endowment for the Humanities' new "Landmarks of American History" program. The two one-week residential Workshops will be conducted in Washington, D.C. during the first two weeks of August 2004 (August 1-7; August 8-14, 2004). Each week, 50 school teachers of history, social studies, or civics will study the United States Capitol and how it embodies in its architecture and public art the ideals as well as the practical realities of our nation's founding and its early history up to the Civil War.
  
  The project will be co-directed by Dr. Thomas Somma (art history), director of the Mary Washington College Art Gallery and Dr. Joseph Phelan (political scientist), Graduate Faculty, University of Maryland University College, and editor of Arcyclopedia.com. Participating scholars include Kenneth Bowling and William diGiacomantonio of the First Federal Congress Project; William C. Allen, Architectural Historian of the U.S. Capitol; Donald Kennon, Chief Historian of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society; Richard Baker, Director of the U.S. Senate Historical Office; Barbara Wolanin, Curator for the Architect of the U.S. Capitol; Sara Cash, Curator of American Art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; and Gordon Kray, public sculptor and fine arts teacher. Teresa Sierra, Head of Visitor Services at the Library of Congress, has made arrangements for many of the project seminars to be held at the Library.
  
  Three copies of completed application including the one page essay must be postmarked by March 15, 2004. Also, one letter of recommendation should be mailed separately and also postmarked by March 15th. For more information either go to the Council for Basic Education's website at http://www.c-b-e.org under the heading "Landmarks of American History or contact Susannah Patton, Director of Academic Programs, Council for Basic Education at spatton@c-b-e.org.

  February 12, 2004

• The 4th Annual International Conference on Service-Learning Research is accepting research proposals - deadline is March 31, 2004. The conference will be held October 10-12, 2004 in Greenville, South Carolina and hosted by Clemson University and the International Center for Service-Learning in Teacher Education. The theme of the conference is "Theory to Practice: Advancing Research to Improve Service-Learning Outcomes." Topical strands include: theory methodology; community input and impact; pedagogy (i.e., technology, reflection); faculty (i.e., motivation, awards); students (i.e., impact); K-12 citizenship/civic engagement; service-learning and preservice and inservice teacher education: theory, pedagogy, and impacts; and empirically based "how-to's." In addition to paper sessions and interactive topical sessions, the conference will include invited speakers and symposia, roundtable discussions, debated forums, a graduate student program, special interest group meetings, resource sharing, and networking opportunities. For more information about submitting an abstract go to International Conference on Service-Learning Research or contact RMC@RMCdenver.com. The conference is sponsored by RMC Research Corporation and The W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

  February 11, 2004

• NEW RESEARCH SHOWS YOUNG PEOPLE MAKE A DIFFERENCE THROUGH CIVIC ACTIVISM:
  
  Young people make a difference in their community and in their own lives through civic activism, new research finds. In a January press conference, the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development released research demonstrating that social change organizations can and do lead the way to better the lives of youth throughout the country. The Innovation Center is using the findings to develop practical tools and training programs that can help organizations and funders work more effectively with young people. Twelve community organizations from across the U.S. in diverse communities in rural New England, the inner-city of Oakland, and the Tohono O'odham reservation in Arizona among others, participated in the Youth Leadership for Development Initiative (YLDI), a three-year initiative funded by the Ford Foundation to study how young people benefit from involvement in civic activism. Each YLDI organization attended to preparing young people for civic and social justice activism through training and education, and all addressed organizational capacity issues, such as training and organizational development efforts. Lessons in Leadership is an executive summary of the report documenting 3-years of research on YLDI, which was conducted by Social Policy Research Associates. Copies of this report, as well as a list of the participating organizations, success stories, and tools to strengthen community and youth development through civic engagement can be found through the Innovation Center's new website http://www.theinnovationcenter.org.

  February 10, 2004

• CitizenSpeak is a new non-profit that offers a free email advocacy service for grassroots organizations. With CitizenSpeak, students, local chapters of national organizations or individuals working for social change, can now launch web-based email campaigns (also known as "action alerts") and track participation. CitizenSpeak campaigns are easy to set-up and only require a web-browser and basic web-surfing skills.
  
  Inspired by MoveOn email campaigns, CitizenSpeak was launched to provide the same e-advocacy capability at the community level. CitizenSpeak campaigns have been launched by the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Ocean State Action, Providence Mayor Cicilline, Es La Hora, Rhode Island ACORN, Dean supporters, the Connecticut HIV Council, neighborhood associations and many more. Please visit http://www.citizenspeak.org, create an account and launch a test or real campaign. CitizenSpeak is a non-profit based in Providence, RI.
  

  February 9, 2004

• The Marin Grassroots Leadership Network is launching a new community education program: the Grassroots Leadership Academy (GLA)! The GLA is a 4-month/8-session educational program designed to provide tools and develop skills that will assist participants in organizing communities for collective actions, facilitating an effective grassroots participation in community development. Participants of the Grassroots Leadership Academy will have the opportunity to learn about different community organizing topics, such as how to do outreach and how to facilitate meetings in order to successfully address unmet needs in the communities.
  
  This educational program will enable participants to:
  a. Serve as an agent for change in the community;
  b. Implement strategic and entrepreneurial approaches to community challenges;
  c. Recognize the impact of increasing social and economic diversity;
  d. Identify institutional barriers that can block grassroots participation and access to resources ;
  e. Develop useful coalitions with organizations and residents at the grassroots level;
  f. Plan and implement community projects and campaigns; and
  g. Measure the impact of community work.

  Potential participants of the Grassroots Leadership Academy include community members willing to work for social change, community organizers, neighborhood advocates, and members of community groups and organizations, such as school PTAs, Parent Site Councils, Public Committees, Commissions, and Non-Profit's Boards.

  The Grassroots Leadership Academy sessions will be based on a participatory and interactive approach. Therefore, the trainers will be experts not only on the topics discussed but also on promoting an equalitarian knowledge exchange among participants with different cultural, social, and economic backgrounds.

  All workshops will be held at the Marin Institute, 24 Belvedere St., San Rafael, CA.

  For a detailed program and/or other information, please contact Marin Grassroots Leadership Network at (415) 451-4350 x 303 or eerickson@mcgln.org
  

  February 6, 2004

• CIRCLE and the Council for Excellence in Government release poll data on youth attitudes toward gay rights. The survey finds that young Americans support civil unions, marriage, and protections for gays and lesbians. By six-to-one margins, American youth support gay rights and protections related to housing, employment, and hate crimes and those sentiments are held by all ideological, partisan, racial, geographic, and religious groups. One out of two respondents said they know someone who is gay; knowing a gay person has a significant impact on attitudes. Please see http://www.civicyouth.org/whats_new/index.htm#tolerance.

  February 5, 2004

• The following item on youth voting has been added to The Pew Charitable Trust's website. If you are interested in receiving regular email alerts from Pew go to http://www.pewtrusts.com.

  WWE Smackdown Your Vote! "WWE Smackdown Your Vote!, MTV's Choose or Lose, Hip Hop Summit Action Network, Rock The Vote, Youth Vote Coalition, League of Women Voters and others to release a national voter issues paper for 18-to-30-year olds." A press release from Business Wire, January 27, 2004.
  

  February 4, 2004

• During the summer of 2004, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will offer a new series of professional development programs, Landmarks of American History Workshops for School Teachers. These week-long, residence-based programs provide the opportunity for K-12 educators to engage in intensive study and discussion of important topics in American history at major historical sites around the nation. Full-time teachers in American K-12 schools, whether public, public charter, private, or religiously-affiliated are eligible to participate, as well as home-schooling parents. Other K-12 school personnel, including administrators, substitute teachers, classroom paraprofessionals, and librarians are also eligible to participate, subject to available space. Teachers selected to participate will receive a stipend of $500 to help cover living expenses and supplies: travel supplements for educators traveling long distances will be available and allocated after participants are selected. For more information regarding listings, eligibility and application instructions go to: http://www.neh.gov/projects/landmarks.html.

  February 3, 2004

• 18to35 has launched their Online Policy Center. This addition to 18to35 is an invaluable resource for young adults, journalists and elected officials. Visitors will find continually updated polling data on the concerns of young adults; fact sheets that give background information on these concerns; straightforward talking points; and soon-to-be released in-depth policy analysis. In short, 18to35 brings together in one, central location, vital information on the attitudes, demographics and behaviors of young Americans.

  The research behind the Policy Center was used in the creation of the 18-30 Voter Issues Paper (18-30 VIP), a project of the Smackdown Your Vote campaign, in which 18to35 is a partner. The 18-30 VIP encourages 18-30-year-olds to use the questions in the issues paper to engage the candidates in a dialogue. The VIP also challenges those that would run for public office in 2004: "Show the young voters of America that you care about their concerns and that you want their vote." The 18-30 VIP can be downloaded from http://www.18to35.org, http://www.smackdownyourvote.com, http://www.wwe.com or http://www.lwv.org.

• The new Choices for the 21st Century Education website at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, has posted materials to engages students at the secondary level in international issues and help contribute to a renewal of civic engagement among young people in the United States. Choices' curricular resources and instructional programs bring international public policy issues to life. For more go to: http://www.choices.edu/index.cfm.

  February 2, 2004

• The website for the First Congressional Conference on Civic Education is now up and running at http://www.representativedemocracy.org/. Once there look for "On the site you will find the Conference Description, Agenda and Statement; the lists of State and At - Large Delegations and the list of you, the essential Facilitators, as well as the speeches given by Mr. Hamilton and Chuck Quigley. You will also find the Survey presented by Karl Kurtz that so effectively makes the case for increased civic education. They look forward to your suggestions.