Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Asher Craig: 'We are walking our talk' in Bristol's experiment in democracy

    A year after Bristol convened a randomly selected 60-person citizens’ assembly, which brought together a representative and diverse group of residents to tackle complex issues facing the city, they have delivered a set of recommendations. The panel produced 17 recommendations, with a total of 82 associated actions on three topics: climate, transport and health. Fourteen recommendations have been fully agreed to and eight have been dismissed. Participants also report positive effects of being able to work together across diverse ideologies and experiences, as well as from the civic participation more broadly.

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  • 'Indigenous DNA': Native voters help turn Arizona blue, led by grassroots workers

    Indigenous communities across Arizona organized grassroots efforts to register Native voters and increase voter turnout in 2020. Members of indigenous communities were able to move on-the-ground efforts forward in a way that outside organizations could not. While just 6% of the state’s voting population identifies as Native American, President Biden won by just 10,000 votes, making the larger turnout across Native nations more relevant. Efforts involved going door-to-door and setting up information booths in central areas and voters responded to canvassers taking the time to talk with people.

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  • How Gen Z Is Fighting Back Against Big Tech

    A growing Generation Z movement is pushing back against social media companies and the pervasiveness of technology in young people’s lives, which can negatively impact mental health. LookUp is one organization that funds young people working to increase digital wellbeing. Funded initiatives include a youth summit that drew 1,200 people, apps that help people manage their social media usage and identify the connections to their wellbeing, and NoSo November, which urges young people to log off or delete all social media apps for the month of November as a group experience rather than an isolating one.

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  • How Outreach and Deep Canvassing Can Change Rural Politics

    Down Home North Carolina is a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote group that practices “deep canvassing” in rural areas to increase voter participation and elect progressive candidates. The technique involves one-on-one conversations that aim to connect on an emotional level, as a way to find common ground, and involves active listening to people and their concerns. Canvassers go door-to-door, and conduct outreach in public areas like Walmart and food banks, (though COVID-19 moved conversations to the phone) and particularly aim to connect with people who haven’t been engaged in the political process before.

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  • Can 'the people' solve climate change? France decided to find out.

    In order to cut carbon emissions in France, President Emmanuel Macron created an assembly of 150 randomly selected citizens. The citizens "convention on climate" met and deliberated for months before releasing 149 proposals on how the government should address climate change. Although only 10 made it into law without being altered, and 36 others were included form, the final legislation was one of the most comprehensive passed in the history of the country. The recommendations also garnered conversations and inspired the creation of other assemblies.

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  • Armed with pamphlets: the battle to register women voters in Libya

    Libya’s Electoral Outreach Ambassadors program aims to increase women’s trust in the political process and register new voters. The female ambassadors are experienced in civil society participation but are not affiliated with any political or religious group, which is key to building trust given the country’s recent civil war. Ambassadors are trained in many tactics and left to tailor their own strategy so that it is best suited for their own district. Outreach efforts include a combination of house visits, workshops in private and public institutions, and talks with women in public spaces.

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  • Animation Films, Storybooks Spark Anti-corruption Interests Among Nigerian Children

    Step Up Nigeria’s "Catch Them Young Initiative" uses children’s storybooks and animated films to teach school children how to become anti-corruption ambassadors. The books, which have recently been adapted to animated films, address the dangers of corrupt practices like vote-buying and bribery. The organization not only distributes the books and films, but also trains teachers to give the lessons. Over 250 teachers have been trained and at least 20,000 children have received anti-corruption education materials.

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  • In the San Luis Valley, a small town is using civic engagement to improve lives

    The Family Leadership Training Institute of Colorado is a community-driven collaborative aimed at increasing civic participation and collaboration between diverse stakeholders. The 20-week program focuses on cultivating leadership skills and teaching participants how to use their voice to advocate in their community's interests. Participants are able to develop a plan for civic engagement and receive help instituting it, including connections among government agencies. Program graduates have designed programming to strengthen their communities and started businesses with social goals.

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  • Why bother? Greater Cleveland's youth rise to the task of local civic engagement

    Cleveland high school students created votecle.com, a website that centralizes information about local elections. A political alignment survey on the site assesses users’ opinions on important political issues to match them with local candidates. The group focuses outreach on drop-off voters, people who reliably vote in national elections but not local ones. These voters tend to be younger, on average, and cite a lack of information about local candidates and issues as the main reason for not voting. After creating the website, the group got a grant from Cleveland Votes to continue engaging young voters.

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  • En pandemia se aceleró la digitalización de la atención ciudadana en ciudades y pueblos

    Para continuar con sus tareas y, entre ellas, la atención al público durante la pandemia, varios gobiernos locales en Argentina desarollaron chatbots, líneas 0800, aplicaciones y redes sociales como canales para los trámites que antes se hacían de modo presencial. En una localidad, hubo más de 20.000 descargas de la aplicación del Gobierno en teléfonos móviles y más de 23.000 reclamos realizados a través de ella.

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