Tag Archives: Civic Activism

Photo Friday

Posted on by
[image src="http://photos.state.gov/libraries/amgov/3234/Week_4/082710-dccentralkitchen-500.jpg" caption="Volunteers from George Washington University help prepare food at D.C. Central Kitchen. D.C. Central Kitchen works with other organizations and professional chefs to turn leftover food into meals for thousands of individuals in shelters, transitional homes and rehabilitation clinics. It also offers counseling and referrals to social services for at-risk individuals and provides nationally recognized culinary job training. (State Dept./Jane K. Chun)"]

Visit D.C. Central Kitchen’s website to learn more.

Governments Turn to Social Entrepreneurs

Posted on by

J. Scott Orr runs m.America.gov, a version of the America.gov website designed for cell phones and other mobile devices.

John F. Kennedy was right; it is all about what you can do for your country.

In fact, Kennedy’s famous words were never truer than they are today as democracies the world over are turning to their citizens, their businesses, their nongovernment organizations, their charities and saying, okay, who’s got ideas?

In the United States, President Obama has devoted $50 million to his Social Innovation Fund to encourage eureka moments in the minds of Americans. It could be new ways to help schools save money, to grow small businesses, to reduce carbon emissions, whatever. The point of the program is that when ideas strike, they should be supported, exploited and replicated.

David Cameron, the newly-minted British prime minister, has a similar idea. He calls it the Big Society and its goal is to empower social entrepreneurs by getting Westminster out of the job of micromanaging and into the job of promoting public involvement in the creation of what he calls “communities with oomph.” His Big Society rules are simple: “If it unleashes community engagement – we should do it. If it crushes it – we shouldn’t.”

Social innovation and social entrepreneurship are hardly new. But with democracies the world over facing ceaseless challenges, economic and otherwise, these concepts are gaining new currency. And it’s not just from the Obamas and the Camerons of the world; many individuals have taken to the task without prodding from politicians or governments.

Among the best known is Muhammad Yunus, who was 25-years-old and studying in the United States under a Fulbright fellowship, when a revolutionary idea struck him. Returning to his native Bangladesh, Yunus began offering small-businesspersons, mostly women, small loans at reasonable rates of interest. Yunus’ micro-credit idea was so successful it was copied around the world and earned him a Nobel Prize and a U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.

But social entrepreneurship need not have such lofty aims. Take, Cláudia Sofia Marques Rodrigues, the president of the Cape Verdean Institute for Gender Equality and Equity, who is promoting new ways of protecting women. Working strictly through grassroots channels, Rodrigues was instrumental in gaining passage of a new law in Cape Verde that protects women from gender-based violence, creates shelters for victims and funds education and prevention programs.

So, sure, Democracy is about governments that derive their power from the people, but it is also a social partnership that carries responsibilities for all. And now, more than ever, governments are seeking out innovators, risk takers and non-linear thinkers to point out new paths.

This spring, First Lady Michelle Obama was speaking at the Time 100 Most Influential People Awards in New York City, when she turned to the pressing need for social innovation and entrepreneurship. “There are few times in history when the saying ‘we are all in this together’ would be more applicable than now,” she said.

Engaging the Next Generation of Leaders

Posted on by

Students at Pampanga High School in San Fernando, the Philippines

Students at Pampanga High School in San Fernando, the Philippines

Every August 12 for the past 10 years, the United Nations has celebrated International Youth Day, an initiative to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth.

In honor of International Youth Day this year, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) has assembled a slideshow and a series of blog posts highlighting some inspiring stories about what people are doing to expand access to public education, teach leadership skills, and achieve other goals under the program. CIPE is a partner with the State Department in the “Democracy is…” campaign.

A participant in the Tashabos Youth Entrepreneurship Education Program in Afghanistan

A participant in the Tashabos Youth Entrepreneurship Education Program in Afghanistan

“CIPE has long understood that democracy and strong economies are mutually reinforcing; a society that provides opportunities for its young people allows them to become proactive, productive, and responsible citizens,” the organization said in a statement.

“Today’s youth are tomorrow’s political and business leaders. For progress and reform to take hold, young people must feel engaged and empowered to advance democratic and market-oriented reforms in their countries. Giving young people a voice helps to ensure their needs are met and helps to develop their abilities as citizens,” CIPE said.

Please take a look and share your thoughts!

A Surprisingly Good Time at a Seniors’ Center

Posted on by

Man wearing badge and smiling woman (State Dept./Jane Morse)

Lemohang Raphael Mlolibeli of Lesotho paints ceramics with a senior at the First Baptist Church Senior Center.

One of the fun things about my job is the chance to go out to new places and meet new people. But when I was asked to go to a senior citizens community center last week, I wasn’t too excited about it. Sometimes these places turn out to be sad warehouses for the elderly. But that is decidedly not the case with the First Baptist Church Senior Center in Washington. It’s a lively place with active, over–60 people who stay engaged with life.

My assignment was to write a story about the “Walking the Talk” portion of the three-day program of the President’s Forum with Young African Leaders. The forum brought more than 100 young leaders from across the African continent to meet President Obama and other government, business and community officials and to give the young Africans a look at democracy in action, American-style. The trip to the seniors’ center was among several activities that gave the forum’s delegates a chance to get out into “the trenches” and see firsthand U.S. volunteerism and community service programs.

So that’s how I ended up with a group of 20 or so Africans at a seniors’ community center. At first I thought the young Africans — all in their 20s and early 30s — would be bored to tears to be sent to a place for old folks. Instead, the young Africans were moved to tears of appreciation for what they saw as the valor of the elderly African Americans they met. They enthusiastically joined the oldsters — some of whom were in their 80s and 90s — in dancing, singing and doing all kinds of crafting.

Afterward, I asked the Africans if they didn’t think it was bit odd that “young leaders” should find themselves visiting a place for retirees. Not at all, they told me. In many parts of Africa, they explained, people don’t commonly live long enough to become “senior citizens.”

“All of us are hoping that one day we are going to be senior citizens, too,” said Thomas Kojo Quayson Adamper of the Gambia. “The importance of senior citizens cannot be overemphasized, because these are people who have given their best already. In Africa, normally we emphasize: ‘You cannot know where you are going, if you do not know where you’re from.’” The sacrifices of the elders can inspire the young to do greater things, he told me, and “those who come after us, will also be inspired to do great things.”

For me, living in a society that worships the young and often views older people as out-of-date and out-of-touch, this is a refreshing perspective. My thanks to the young Africans and the seniors at the First Baptist Church Senior Center for an encouraging view on growing old.

Photo Friday

Posted on by

[image src="http://photos.state.gov/libraries/amgov/3234/Week_1/060410-fundraiser3-500.jpg" caption="Civic activism is a part of many Americans' lives. Devon McTavish and other members of the D.C. United soccer team recently hosted an event to raise funds for research on the digestive system disorders Crohn's disease and colitis. McTavish was diagnosed with Crohn's disease as a teenager. (State Dept./Jane K. Chun)" align="center"]

"Civil Society" – That's You!

Posted on by

Earlier this month, I attended a panel discussion called “Political Turmoil and Receding Reform: Democratic Governance in Uncertain Times.”  It was sponsored by the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C. and Freedom House, which monitors freedom, democracy and human rights around the world.  Every two years Freedom House puts out a report that takes a sampling of countries and examines government performance on civil liberties, rule of law, anticorruption and transparency.

This year’s report is Countries at the Crossroads 2010: An Analysis of Democratic Governance.  Briefly, the gloomy conclusion is that freedom throughout the world is actually decreasing, and many fledgling democracies are backsliding.

Jake Dizard, the managing editor of the report, said “the largest and broadest declines were in media freedom and civic engagement, both of which are intensely important for citizens who want to hold their governments accountable.”

Kevin Casas-Zamora, the senior fellow with Brookings’ Latin America Initiative, said “the most effective check on the exercise of power, arguably, comes from civil society.”

So what’s this powerful “civil society”?  You.  Me.  Individuals who voluntarily come together to form organizations and institutions that are the backbone of a free society.

Democracy and freedom depend on individuals, and it’s a theme “By the People” touches upon again and again.  Check out Getting People to Care: The Challenge of Activism, Women as the Builders of Democracy, Have You Got a Little Courage? and Be It Resolved: Get Involved.

What do you think keeps freedom-loving people from exercising their power as part of “civil society”?

Burma's NLD: One Month to Live?

Posted on by

[image src="http://photos.state.gov/libraries/amgov/3234/Week_2/041410_AP09092705364_300.jpg" caption="NLD party members welcome guests to a 2009 anniversary celebration wearing trademark T-shirts bearing a white star and fighting peacock. " align="left"]

The Burmese public received an official apology from the country’s leading pro-democracy political party, the National League for Democracy, which is led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.   We want to “officially apologize to the public for our failed policies in the struggle for democracy,” an April 6 NLD statement said, attributing its failure to unilateral oppression by the military authorities.  Now the party faces dissolution under controversial election laws set by the ruling military junta.

Founded in 1988, the party won a landslide victory in Burma’s last general election, which was held in 1990.  However, the country’s military regime refused to let the NLD take power, and ever since its members have faced persecution from the regime, ranging from intimidation to arrests.  Suu Kyi herself has been held in jail or under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.

The military regime announced laws for a new round of elections set for later this year, but Suu Kyi and thousands of other dissenters have been barred from participating.  The NLD announced March 29 it would not register to participate in the election, citing “unfair and unjust laws” surrounding the process.

The 22-year-old movement faces a critical dilemma.  It can revisit its decision and participate in an election that is almost certain to be unfair, and risk giving the results some legitimacy, or it can continue on its path to boycott the process and be forced to go completely underground.  The junta has declared that any party that does not register for the election before May 7 faces dissolution.

Rank-and-file NLD party members are apparently divided upon what to do.  Some may decide to form a separate pro-democracy party in order to contest seats in the election and have continued, if limited, official sanction to operate, while others say they want the party to continue its work outside the political sphere through social welfare activities, humanitarian aid work, and cooperation with opposition allies.  It will also be working to urge voters to boycott the proposed vote.

The NLD says it wants to continue its nonviolent advocacy for Burmese democracy.  What would you advise it to do?

Getting People to Care: The Challenge of Activism

Posted on by

If you’re trying to start a grassroots movement, your biggest challenge will likely be figuring out how to raise more awareness to your cause and mobilize support into effective action. What’s an organizer to do?

South Korean activits protest North Korea's nuclear weapons programI recently witnessed a group of students concerned over nuclear proliferation discuss this very issue. But before they spoke, a group of U.S. officials outlined the vision of a world without nuclear weapons and said, “We can’t do this alone.” They added that the United States cannot unilaterally realize this vision, and the Obama administration cannot solely convince the U.S. Congress to back its efforts by ratifying the START and CTBT treaties. The lawmakers also need to hear from voters. Afterwards, the students shared ideas for not only encouraging awareness of the topic, but also for getting people excited enough about it to take action.

Some students thought the climate change issue offered a successful model because even if some don’t believe that it is a cause which demands action, most are still familiar with both sides of the debate and have an opinion. Can we get the same level of awareness when it comes to nuclear weapons, the students asked? Can we make it more accessible to average people?

One student from Missouri thought that skilled speakers should be brought to college campuses to spread the word. Another suggested promoting the idea of college courses on the topic, and developing a comprehensive curriculum.

“People know about climate change because they are concerned about the effects of global warming, we can do the same, it’s ok to scare them,” said one student.

“No,” replied a dissenter. “We risk making the threat seem hyped-up and people will think we are exaggerating.”

A woman from California thought the group needed to get practical and start small. She suggested that because people respond to food the organizers could offer pizza and combine it with a workshop event.

I found all of these ideas to be practical in their own ways. What works for one audience might not work for another since some mostly need to be yanked from their apathy, even if through “bribes” like fear or free food. Others need to feel they have considered all of the evidence and will quickly sense if you are not being straightforward.

From earlier posts like evaluating social networking campaigns and canvassing for then-candidate Obama, I think that no matter how self-evident you think your arguments are, there will be legitimate doubts about what you’re essentially “selling” them (let’s be real). So a good sense of humility and patience also come in handy.

Global Pulse 2010 Recap

Posted on by

Global Pulse 2010We told you about it a couple of weeks ago, and last week it finally happened:  GlobalPulse 2010 – an online “virtual” collaboration event that brings together participants to create a global conversation – did indeed take place.  Did you participate?  I looked around the site a few times and was struck by the quality of the comments related to democracy.  Here are a few of the ones that really caught my attention:

“There is no finished democracy, but the democracy is a perpetual construction”

“There are different types of democracy. There is direct democracy, where the people all vote for all decisions, and representative democracy, where people vote for leaders who make decisions for them. Which would you say is more helpful to people? Which is true democracy?”

“In my point of view, the definition of democracy is simple. “Having control over governmental decisions by the people”. But the borders of this control is not the same. It depends on culture, traditions, religion etc. All these factor must be considered.”

“What about people at the top level, aren’t they citizens also? I think you are right, people in the lowest levels of society have a role in a democracy but all citizens have a role; rich, powerful, bad or good citizens. This is one of the hallmarks of a democracy, there is a role for minority groups, they have rights of citizenship. No? “

“Regardless of how it is defined I have found that even using the term ‘democracy’ can be controversial. Before deciding on what or whose definition is to be used, I would recommend engaging in thoughtful deliberation among all stakeholders about the potential meanings of democracy and seeking a consensus that works for all concerned.”

“I think one of the components missing from this discussion — and it’s been hinted at — are what the necessary elements for functional democracy. Beyond the outward appearances — ballots, free and fair elections, etc. — what are the required elements of a society in order for a democracy to work?  I would pick-up an element mentioned in the last post — societal ethics and take it a step further. What about shared values? What about a shared vision/stake in the society? A commitment to a larger shared goal of ideal?”