I came from a family of two professional parents and two siblings believing in the importance of community engagement to have the world as a better place to live in.
I had the opportunity to study locally in Egypt and internationally in Sudan. Each of these experiences has left an impact on how I view the world and how civic engagement is the key to development and growth.
I was accepted to participate in the African Youth Leadership Summit in Morocco as an Egyptian Delegate to speak about the role of education and governmental institutions in reshaping citizenship and Youth interaction within the society, I performed several sessions and workshops analyzing the types of barriers which prevent youth from civic engagement. The prevalent curricula
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I have been involved in a charity organization called “Hasala”; which means “piggy bank. This organization has a wide range of activities is in one of the Delta region governorates. As a team member, I had several duties. We organized fundraising activities and provided food supplies and clothing for needy families. We also conducted social research and created a database on families with debts enabling the organization to help pay these debts. We focused on debts incurred for education and medical issues. The efforts of this organization continue to have a positive impact on families and the community as a whole. I had also been involved in Sonaa El Haya Charity and Resala, I was personally responsible for providing medication and the delivery of basic foods, educational and medical equipment to the people in need, as well. Without this civic engagement by every member of the team, many families would have been unable to bear the burden of the rising cost of living nor send their children to …show more content…
I would like to share how the Egyptian society has many traditional networks of cooperation that can be used as an infrastructure for civic engagement. I would explain how the family unit; the extended family and the community are all connected by traditions that would make civic engagement a natural development that would be easily adopted by many. Because civic engagement is rooted in the Egyptian society’s behavior due to several factors, and it’s so obvious that we can observe in almost all the Egyptians life aspects. Bur what we really miss in Egypt is the ability to write the scattered efforts/offerings and direct them towards dealing with society-wide issues, leading to an impact large enough to redefine our country’s position and future destination. As the Egyptian society is a multi-layered vibrant society that has a lot to offer to other cultures and can continue to learn from the experiences of different cultures as well. Therefore, I hope to have the opportunity to learn more about civic society and the powerful tools of peaceful, effective and sustainable change that come from civic engagement and social
One way to ensure a civically engaged population is to nurture and promote amongst youth and teenagers the value of participating in one’s community, with the hope that involvement will continue into adulthood. Most school districts in Arizona do not require students to volunteer as a graduation requirement. Those that do, necessitate a number of hours to be completed and logged individually; for example, Deer Valley Unified School District in Maricopa County requires eight hours of volunteering during a student’s senior year. Of course any opportunity for one to help society should be applauded – however, this particular process negates cooperative long-term attachment to a beneficial project and does not incorporate knowledge learned in class, or apply meaning in a real-life context. The implementation of Service-learning programs into public school curriculum would uphold useful skills associated with community involvement and citizenship, as well as address problems in real settings rather than do repetitious tasks in seclusion.
A. According to the Bureau of Education (1918), Civic education should develop in the individual those qualities whereby he will act well his part as a member of neighborhood, town or city, state, and nation, and give himself a basis for understanding international problems” (p.13).
4Lopez, Hugo and Benjamin Brown. 2006. Civic Engagement among 2-year and 4-year College Students. Somerville, MA: The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
...e school, such as; Pelotonia, Light the Night for leukemia and lymphoma, Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities, etc… For many of these organizations I have volunteered more than once. Volunteering at Light the Night has a story. For my 16th Birthday party, I wanted to have my friends and I volunteer in the day while having fun at night. So I had 7 boys and girls, along with me, volunteer for Light the Night, organized by me. The party was a huge success and a lot of fun. I look forward to organizing more volunteer opportunities for my friends and I.
Experts commonly define civic engagement as individual and group actions that collectively address general issues of concern that are public in nature. Civic engagement takes many forms such volunteerism, community organizing, and involvement in public policy and political issues. Individuals and community residents can express civic engagement through a variety of activities including participating in neighborhood associations, communicating with elected officials, and volunteering for local nonprofits.
...ons and the sustenance it works to provide throughout an area in need. I had the fortunate opportunity of taking part in such an organization because of the President of CERT International, Dr. Ken Daugherty and his deep want to help and service others. Knowing that through the giving of a donation, helping of a hand at a volunteer event, or perhaps even just a few kind words of encouragement towards a neighbor, one can develop as a volunteer. Knowing through it all that there are discrepancies within non-profit organizations, as many work to acquire funds inappropriately and mislead its benefactors. Considering the good and the bad, it is to be said that a tremendous amount of good can be done through a non-profit organization and its many volunteers. Many have devoted their time, money, and efforts towards the act of relieving many from adversity, will you?
However, through this course I have also come to recognize that due to the negative perception that is placed on our generation, the political objectives of young people will likely never be given adequate consideration by public officials should we continue to practice engaged citizenship while disregarding electoral participation. My personal definition of citizenship is recognizing the privileges we have as citizens of the United States and contributing to one’s community in whatever way they are able to do so. A responsible citizen is not simply an observer of the political process, but rather an informed
The literature reveals many conflicting theories on the relationship between homeownership and civic participation. While most scholars agree that homeownership increases civic participation, the underlying reasons explaining this causal relationship are often contradictory. Contemporary scholarly interest in this topic seems to be motivated by the recent sub-prime mortgage crisis and historical policies that have promoted homeownership in the U.S. Other noteworthy trends include differing operational definitions of civic participation and efforts to increase social capital and civic participation in lower income urban neighborhoods. The following summary offers a snapshot into the literature’s most prevalent themes concerning this topic.
Active citizenship can be as small as a campaign to clean up your street or as big as educating young people about democratic values, skills and participation. (analyze)
What is the importance of civic engagement, and why is it important to our way of life? I belief that civic engagement is important in our form of government because it allows citizens to participate, and take a part in changing society. Amsler (2013) wrote, effective solutions emerge when citizens participate in decision-making...noting that local agencies seek public views, preferences, and recommendation to help build communities (N.p.). It is easy to complain and bicker about what is wrong with your community, but it is just as easy to become involved. Just recently I was listening to the President speak at the Democratic National Convention. One of the things that stuck out to me is when people booed when he mentioned the opposition,
The NSNA organization has given me the opportunity to volunteer in different fields. One current example was collecting goods at my school for people affected by the hurricane Irma in 2017 here in Florida. I also volunteer at activities such as the Zombie Run and Color Run offering first
Activities and philosophies that advocate for the connecting of communities with socially sentient beliefs and actions is what have come to be referred to as civic engagement. They are thus individual or collective actions aimed at addressing issues that are deemed to be of public concern. They can be manifested in many ways including; public service, civil activity, service-learning, crusading and advocacy to mention but a few as the list is endless.
The recent decline in young people’s participation in political and civic activities has resulted in a revival within the field of civic education. Formal education institutions are not the only ones concerned about youth engagement, however. A number of community agencies and nonprofits are active at the local level throughout the country. They are working to engage young people through a variety of methods, few of which have been researched to determine their effectiveness. One such community e...
Commitment to community is a requirement for contemporary Americans and vital to its survival. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” is the unselfish act of sharing: from a cup of sugar to a wealth of information to the guardianship of all children involved and the protection of every individual in that said community. Whether that community consists of the “Classic Neighborhood, those with a common set of goals, or those who share a common identity” the thread that holds this matrix together is always woven into the shared identity as well as responsibility of all involved. (Redmond, 2010). A community cannot continue to exist through the will of withdrawn individuals who arms only embrace themselves and have no involvement whatsoever with neighbors one door away.
Community engagement is the active participation of local residents and community groups in the decisions that affect their lives (Herefordshire Council, 2013). Therefore, community engagement should be about engaging in open communication to ensure the council understands the needs of the local community.