Humans at the Center of Civic Action

Civic Tech by Lawrence G

A #DigCiz post by Meg Mulrooney, which is worth your time as it centers on helping people move from digital interaction into political action, led to me to a post by Lawrence Grodeska, which got me thinking about a concept that came up during Networked Narratives about Civic Imagination.

Empowered by Meg M

Grodeska uses the term “CivicTech” and I think there is a fair amount of overlap between “Civic Imagination” (the idea of imagining a better future and then taking steps to make it happen) and “CivicTech” (which is the idea of making sure we use digital tools wisely and with agency to affect change in the world.)

It’s the hardest thing to move from ideas to reality, from talk to action, and it takes time and planning and a shared vision. Our local writing project site has shifted into connecting Civics with writing, and with teacher leadership, and both of these blog posts may come in handy as educators ponder on their role in the mix of public discourse, and student engagement and leadership.

Someone else shared this video out in the #DigCiz stream, and I appreciated the bend towards “human concern” in a world seemingly overrun by corporate interests, and the way those corporations are influencing the political realm that is impact us as individuals. How to effectively counter that push is the question facing many of us as voters and constituents.

Peace (in the world),
Kevn

2 Comments
  1. Again, I thank you for the way you aggregate links and share them in your articles. That’s a valuable skill. I appreciated the article about civic tech and the final definition:

    “technology that is “used for public good and betters the lives of the many, not just the few” can be considered civic.”

    I also appreciated the DigCiz post by Meg Mulrooney. However, in her article I did not see the role of volunteers working to solve local global problems, with the aid of private sector donations and a mix of public support.

    I think the discussion of citizenship and civic engagement tilts too far toward electing representatives and hoping they will be good stewards of public trust, and too little on what can be done by using our own talents and time.

    I’ve said often in the past that “big responsibility shrinks big government”.

    Too often on political campaign web sites the “volunteer” and “donate” buttons ask people to help elect, or re-elect, and don’t point people to places in the candidate’s district where those people can get directly involved in “bettering the lives of the many, not just the few”.

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