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Thursday, November 11th

(1:00 – 3:00 pm) Pre-Conference Events on Democracy Innovation

1:00pm – 2:00pm – Global Learning & Democracy Innovation

Innovations in democracy are emerging all over the world. Some of these civic experiments were developed by government officials and staff, others by citizens and community organizations, and some examples combine the best of ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches. This free-wheeling one-hour discussion will feature panelists who have observed the progress of democracy innovation from different vantage points.

Panelists:

Moderator: Matt Leighninger, NCoC

2:00pm – 3:00pm – Measuring Democracy, Engagement, and Civic Health

To improve democracy, we need to be able to measure it effectively, and in a wide variety of ways. We need to gauge different aspects of citizenship, including voting, volunteerism, membership in associations, and participation in public decision-making. We also need to understand the strength of and interconnections between the organizations and networks that inspire, coordinate, and support those activities: the civic infrastructure of that community or state. This free-wheeling one-hour discussion will feature panelists who have measured democracy, engagement, and civic health in a variety of settings.

Panelists:

Moderator: Matt Leighninger, NCoC

(3:30 – 5:00 PM) George A. Smith HOOAH Award Ceremony & Veterans Roundtable (Winner: Congressman Adam Kinzinger)

3:30 – 4:00pm – George A Smith. HOOAH Award Ceremony

Introduction from Caleb Gayle, National Conference on Citizenship and David Smith, Presidio Institute

Remarks from the 2021 HOOAH Award Winner: Congressman Adam Kinzinger

4:00 – 5:00pm – Veterans’ Day Roundtable: Reimagining Public and National Service

Moderator: Ken Harbaugh, 2020 HOOAH Award Winner and Host of “Burn The Boats”

Speakers: Emily Cherniack, New Politics; Eli Williamson, Leave No Veteran Behind and 2017 HOOAH Award Winner

Friday, November 12th

75th Annual Conference on Citizenship Programming

12:00pm – 12:25pm – Annual Conference Opening and Welcome

Opening: U.S. Youth Poet Laureate, Meera Dasgupta

Introduction & Remarks: Caleb Gayle, National Conference on Citizenship

Citizen of the Year Introduction: Frontline Healthcare Workers!

Breakout Block #1

12:30 – 1:30pm

A New Frontier of Democracy and Engagement: How Do We Resource It?

Speakers: John Dedrick, Kettering Foundation; Caleb Gayle, National Conference on Citizenship; Kelly Jin, Knight Foundation; Keesha Gaskins-Nathan, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Empowering Communities to Address Misinformation

Misinformation undermines every effort to achieve change, protect democracy, and increase justice in our society. While there is no silver bullet solution that will address the problem,  offering local leaders the tools they need to to anticipate, understand, and respond to misinformation — as well as opportunities to come together to build collaborative solutions — will be critical in driving change. The Algorithmic Transparency Institute’s new  Civic Listening Corp offers volunteers and organizers new ways to  engage in this work, develop actionable insights, and build community-level resilience. Join us to learn more about how you can take control of the misinformation

Speakers: Cameron Hickey, Algorithmic Transparency Institute; Myra Miranda, Algorithmic Transparency Institute; Kaitlyn Dowling, Algorithmic Transparency Institute  

Let’s Keep the Party Going

A session to discuss the award winning and groundbreaking campaign, Party at the Mailbox. This workshop will cover targeting outreach to black voters, building community partnerships, and creating an innovative experience for voters of the past and the future.

Speakers: Nyki Robinson, Black Girls Vote

Civic Holidays: Creating Impact through Celebration

Digging into the vision behind the civic holidays and how people use celebrations to make meaningful impacts in voter registration, education, and turnout.

Speakers: Bryce Bennett, Vote Early Day; Debi Lombardi, National Voter Registration Day; Marissa Corrente, National Voter Education Week

1:30pm – 1:45pm – Break

Breakout Block #2

1:45 – 2:45pm

How to Use Data to Support Civic Engagement- Pandemic To Prosperity

History has shown that large-scale crises accelerate pre-existing trends and permanently change societies and civic life. Pandemic to Prosperity offers a comprehensive overview of the Covid-related impacts on our lives and livelihoods, governments, civic institutions, and overall well being, and highlights the obstacles we must overcome for a more just and equitable recovery. The Pandemic to Prosperity team partners with Fair Count and the Southern Economic Advancement Project to provide data and tools that community can use to participate in redistricting and other forms of citizen engagement.

Speakers: Dr. Jeanine Abrams McLean, Fair Count; Dr. Allison Plyer, The Data Center; Alysha Rashid, National Conference on Citizenship; Taylor Savell, National Conference on Citizenship, Tamika Turner, strategic communications consultant, Rebecca Dehart, Fair Count; Dr. Sarah Beth Gehl, Southern Economic Advancement Project,

Civic Infrastructure: What is it, why is it important, and what can we do to strengthen it?

“Civic infrastructure” has re-emerged as a popular term, being used (sometimes in different ways) by leaders in philanthropy, academia, and politics. What exactly is it? Why is it important for advancing priorities like environmental resilience, economic development, and public health? How can we strengthen it? This discussion will feature panelists working on civic infrastructure in different ways and from different vantage points.

Speakers: Harold McDougall, Professor Emeritus, Howard Law School; Jeremy McKey, Rockefeller Brothers Fund; Arturo Garcia-Costas, New York Community Trust

The Path to Full Participation

Ever wonder what it would take to ask every member of your community to participate in our democracy? Members of the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition Team will share insights and lessons learned from Ask Every Student, the initiative built to answer this very question.

Built with human-centered design principles, Ask Every Student’s framework uses collaboration with local campus leaders and local partners to integrate, execute, and institutionalize voter registration strategies into existing systems or processes to reach every member of a community equitably. Join us to learn more about this extraordinary program and its impressive results and evaluations from the 2020 election.

Speakers: Carmen Liñero-Lopez, Students Learn Students Vote Coalition; Maddie Wolf, Students Learn Students Vote Coalition

Civic Health Champions

The Y is partnering with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) to recognize, train, and support middle and high school educators as Civic Health Champions who will assess and strengthen the civic health of their schools through their sponsorship of the Y’s Youth and Government program. Learn about how this effort is bolstering civics education and civic health!

Speakers: Derek Summerville, YMCA of the USA; Elise Nilles, Valley of the Sun YMCA; Deontez Whimbley, Valley of the Sun YMCA; Lydia Mitchell, Michigan Alliance of YMCAs, Elena Rocha YMCA of the USA; Janissa Cameron, Foreign Language Immersion & Cultural Studies School (FLICS); Eric Alvarez, Cartwright School District

Lessons From the Field: Why Participating in Anti-Disinformation Work is Important

Disinformation is a key barrier advocacy organizations face in their efforts to achieve impact, and investing in disinformation research and response is a key step in unlocking change. Effective anti-disinformation efforts require collaboration and real investments in capacity-building.  ATI Partners Common Cause, NALEO, and AltaMed have helped pilot effective anti-disinformation programs, and will share critical insights for scaling up this work in the coming year. 

Speakers: Ellie Langford (IFP / formerly NARAL); Jesse Littlewood, Common Cause; Lizette Escobedo, AltaMed

Data for Action: Civic Health Index Success Stories

In this session, we will explore the impact that Civic Health Index reports have made in communities across the country. This will include presentations on the impact of increased voting registration and turnout in the 2020 Presidential Election, local community projects to increase civic health, equity, inclusion and diversity in civic engagement across the country.

Speakers: Jeff Coates, NCoC; Charles Dunlap, Indiana Bar Foundation; Krystal Leaphart, National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women; Nancy Petitto, Civic Nebraska, Nyki Robinson, Black Girls Vote

2:45pm – 3:00pm – Break

3:00pm – 3:30pm – Closing from the U.S. Youth Poet Laureate, Meera Dasgupta, and Caleb Gayle, National Conference on Citizenship

Thank you!