Civic engagement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Civic engagement has been defined as "Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern."[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Coinage
Beginning in 2001, a major international research initiative on civic engagement was initiated by the Global Service Institute (GSI) at the Center for Social Development, at Washington University in St. Louis to more carefully define this term.
"Civic engagement" can mean not only a set of actions and efforts, but a feeling of belonging, an experience of investment and ownership in the local, regional, national, and/or international political communities to which citizens belong.
[edit] Forms
Civic engagement can take many forms— from individual volunteerism to organizational involvement to electoral participation. It can include efforts to directly address an issue, work with others in a community to solve a problem or interact with the institutions of representative democracy."
"Youth civic engagement" has identical aims, only with consideration for youth voice.
Scott Keeter and his colleagues developed a quantifiable definition of civic engagement[1]. This measure is based on 19 measures of civic engagement, which is divided into 3 categories: civic, electoral, and political voice.
Civic | Electoral | Political Voice |
---|---|---|
Community problem solving | Regular voting | Contacting officials |
Regular volunteering for a non-electoral organization | Persuading others to vote | Contacting the pring media |
Active membership in a group or association | Displaying buttons, signs, stickers | Contacting the broadcast media |
Participation in fund-raising run/walk/ride | Campaign contributions | Protesting |
Other fund-raising for charity | Volunteering for candidate or political organizations | Email petitions |
Written petitions | ||
Boycotting | ||
Buycotting | ||
Canvassing |
[edit] References
- ^ Ketter, S., Zukin, C., Andolina, M., and Jenkins, K. (2002) "The Civic and Political Health of a Nation: A Generational Portrait" CIRCLE and The Pew Charitable Trusts.
[edit] See also
- Community Development
- Community building
- Civics
- Civic service
- Civil society
- Social Capital
- Democracy building
- Youth empowerment
[edit] External links
- Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis
- Center for Civic Engagement at University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
- Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at the University of Maryland, College Park
- Northumberland Civic Engagement