Our Blog
Up-to-date information about GC and the broader community we serve.
Jun182018Read More >Announcing the Hasbro Change Maker Award Recipients
This year, Generation Citizen and the Hasbro Children’s Fund collaborated to create the Hasbro Change Maker Award. Awards were given out in the form of mini-grants to fund and support student ideas on how they could make their communities a better place. Across five schools in Providence, RI and the surrounding areas, volunteers from Hasbro […]
Jun142018Read More >Generation Citizen NYC Executive Director, DeNora Getachew, Testimony to Joint Hearing of New York City Council’s Education and Youth Services Committees
Testimony delivered by DeNora Getachew, New York City Executive Director of Generation Citizen to Joint Hearing of the New York City Council’s Education and Youth Services Committees regarding Youth Civic Engagement Opportunities. Read on! Good Afternoon Members of the City Council’s Education and Youth Services Committees: My name is DeNora Getachew and I’m the […]
Jun142018Read More >GC Student, Samara Henry, Testifies at the New York City Council Executive Budget Hearing
On May 24th, 2018, Samara Henry, a student at the Bronx Academy of Letters, testified at the New York City Council Executive Budget Hearing. Here she explains the crucial role of Action Civics. Read on! Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to testify at today’s hearing. My name is Samara Henry and I […]
Jun142018Read More >GC Student, Anyhara Garcia, Testifies to The New York City Council Education and Youth Services Committees
On June 13th, 2018, International High School of Health Sciences student Anyhara Garcia, submitted a public testimony to the New York City Education and Youth Services Committees. Here she explains the crucial role Action Civics has in effectively addressing New York City’s civic participation problem. Read on! Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity […]
May302018Read More >Civics Day: A Movement of Youth Civic Engagement Across the U.S.
Watch: “Youth voices are the key to change for the future.” Justice Paraiso-Caceres and GC Students Share Why Youth Voice Matters Generation Citizen students are leading in their communities by tackling head-on difficult issues that impact their everyday lives: pollution, bullying, gun violence, school funding and many more. At Civics Day, our end-of-semester showcase event, […]
May222018Read More >Ruba Tariq: I am the present and future of American Democracy
May212018Read More >We’re Hiring a Vote16DC Campaign Fellow (Washington, DC)
Vote16DC Campaign Fellow About Generation Citizen: Generation Citizen is an innovative, quickly scaling nonprofit that seeks to strengthen our nation’s democracy by empowering young people to become engaged and effective citizens. GC believes all students have the right to an effective civics education that prepares them to participate in our democracy. We partner with schools […]
- May032018Read More >
We’re Hiring a Vote16USA Summer Fellow (Boston, MA)
About Vote16USA: Vote16USA is a national initiative, organized by Generation Citizen, that supports youth-led campaigns to lower the voting age to 16 on the local level in cities around the country and promotes the issue on a national level. Since launching in 2015, Vote16USA has become the leading authority on this policy issue and currently […]
May012018Read More >[podcast] Civics Disrupted: The Rise and Potential of Political Entrepreneurship
Rising to meet the many social and political challenges facing our democracy is a new breed of innovator and disruptor. Political Entrepreneurs are addressing some of democracy’s most pressing challenges by delivering fresh and innovative ideas, products, and services. On Wednesday, April 25th Generation Citizen, brought together a panel of diverse civic disruptors to explore […]
- Apr192018Read More >
We’re Hiring a Vote16DC Campaign Organizer
About Generation Citizen: Generation Citizen is an innovative, quickly scaling nonprofit that seeks to strengthen our nation’s democracy by empowering young people to become engaged and effective citizens. GC believes all students have the right to an effective civics education that prepares them to participate in our democracy. We partner with schools to implement an […]
Apr182018Read More >Jury is More Than a Duty — It’s Civics in Action
Jury is More Than a Duty — It’s Civics in Action How jury duty is a microcosm of our democracy by Nora Howe, New York Senior Program Associate Everyone assured me that I wouldn’t be picked. Or groaned when I told them I’d been summoned. When I walked to Brooklyn Superior Court with dozens of other New Yorkers […]
Apr042018Read More >Generation Citizen Testimony to the New York City Council Education Committee
On March 23, 2018, Generation Citizen NYC Program Director, Brooke Wallace, submitted public testimony about the New York City Council’s Education Committee Budget and the importance of having Action Civics in the classroom. Here she explains the crucial role Action Civics has in effectively addressing New York City’s civic participation problem. Read on! Good Morning […]
Apr042018Read More >Emily Larcher Shares Public Testimony on the Importance of Action Civics Education
On March 23, 2018, Generation Citizen NYC alumna, Emily Larcher, submitted public testimony to the New York City Council’s Education Committee. Here she explains her experience in a Generation Citizen class and how it empowered her to use her voice and become civically engaged after Generation Citizen. Read on! Testimony by Emily Larcher Freshman at […]
Mar242018Read More >Generation Citizen Statement on Today’s March
Generation Citizen Statement on Today’s March Today demonstrates not only the importance of student activism, but the value of ensuring that every young person in this country receives an effective civics education. Today, hundreds of thousands of young people across the country will be marching in the March for our Lives, demanding that public officials […]
- Mar202018Read More >
We’re Hiring a Bay Area Program Manager
Generation Citizen (GC) is excited to announce that we are looking for an exceptional leader to join our team as the Bay Area Program Manager of our local “Democracy Coach” Action Civics model, which involves recruiting, training, and supporting college volunteer Democracy Coaches in effectively partnering with classroom teachers to facilitate Action Civics in middle […]
Mar192018Read More >What We’re Reading
Every few weeks, GC picks out a selection of articles that are relevant to our work and to the civics education space as a whole. We at GC love to expand our learning in every aspect of what we do, and we hope you enjoy our selections! The Power to Change the World: A Teaching […]
- Mar152018Read More >
We’re Hiring a Director of Impact (New York, NY)
Overview: Generation Citizen (www.GenerationCitizen.org), a quickly scaling civics education nonprofit that seeks to strengthen our nation’s democracy by empowering young people to become engaged and effective citizens, is looking for an experienced leader to help assess and deepen its impact on students, teachers, schools in multiple regions across the country. The Director of Impact will […]
- Mar052018Read More >
We’re Hiring a Rhode Island Program Associate
Position Overview Generation Citizen (GC) Rhode Island is looking for an exceptional and energetic professional to join our team as a Rhode Island Program Associate. The Program Associate is responsible for the recruitment, training, coordination, and coaching of college student volunteers and will work directly with volunteers as well as teachers, youth, and GC’s program […]
May052017Read More >Door Knocking: A Love Story
Door Knocking: A Love Story Why face-to-face conversations strengthen our democracy By Nora Howe, NYC Program Associate One long driveway away, my next house waited. The Iowa sun beating down, I was getting ready to knock my 90th (or was it 91st?) door of the day, and still had 30 more to go. My shoes […]
Apr262017Read More >Did you just miss a chance to vote? An update on April 2017 Municipal Elections
Did you just miss a chance to vote? An update on April 2017 municipal elections By Brandon Klugman While hotly contested special elections for Congressional seats in Kansas and Georgia have dominated most discussion of elections this month, it is important to remember that springtime also marks local election season for many cities across the […]
Apr242017Read More >When is Enough Actually Enough?
When is Enough Actually Enough? A Michelle Branch-induced breaking point. By Scott Warren Last May, I sat in a café on 24th and Valencia in San Francisco, gathering my thoughts after a fruitful meeting, ready to walk into a gorgeous San Francisco morning for a day full of more productivity: meetings with Board members, foundations, […]
Apr172017Read More >“Change-making” in Process
Eli Emigh, Generation Citizen’s newest New York Program Associate, reflects on some of his first experiences in the classroom. I began my role as a Program Associate with Generation Citizen’s NYC team at the start of February 2017 after working as an organizer with the Oregon Student Association. I was excited to continue working […]
Apr062017Read More >Yasmine Mahdavi: Does My Voice Matter?
Does My Voice Matter? After years of promising to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, the repeal bill was pulled from the House floor on March 24. This was a surprising turn and a prime example of successful civic engagement swaying our representatives. One of the reasons it didn’t […]
Mar272017Read More >San Diego Union-Tribune: Is today’s political engagement a fad or the new reality?
In the midst of a time of seemingly heightened political engagement across the country, a record low number of citizens turned out to vote in Los Angeles’ local election. Generation Citizen co-founder and CEO Scott Warren reflects in this op-ed, published in The San Diego Union-Tribune. How do we reconcile the fact that millions of […]
Mar272017Read More >Vote16 on Ozy: To Bridge the Political Divide, Let Minors Vote
“Our political challenges may seem insurmountable. But let’s remember that in addition to building bridges across the aisle, we need on-ramps to participation.” This piece tells the story of one of Takoma Park’s first under-18 voters, and argues that extending voting rights to more 16- and 17-year-olds can help reinvigorate our democracy. Read more on […]
- Mar132017Read More >
Yasmine Mahdavi: GIRLS AND WOMEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO THINK FREELY AND TO ACT ACCORDINGLY
Yasmine Mahdavi, Generation Citizen’s Measurement and Evaluation Fellow, responds to a recent opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal. Ideally, girls and women should have the freedom to advocate for themselves and others in any way they choose. But, when we dictate or ideologically critique the way in which they choose to express themselves we […]
Jan272017Read More >Shifting the Age Curve: A Smart Approach to Increasing Voter Turnout
We have a voter participation crisis in the United States – most agree on this. The US ranks 31st out of 35 OECD countries in voter turnout. In the 2016 election, four out of ten eligible voters did not cast a ballot, similar to the rate in 2012. Turnout in midterm and local elections is […]
Nov162016Read More >Dana Harris: Action civics education is more important now, than ever.
Dana Harris, Generation Citizen’s Advocacy Manager, shares her perspective on political disillusionment – and how you can help us change it. I grew up with the belief that in order to make real change in this country, I had to work around government, not through it. I spent my high school years committed to […]
Sep272016Read More >Why We’re Going to Texas: A Former Austin Teacher Shares Her Powerful Story
Meredith Norris, Austin native and former teacher, is leading the effort to bring Generation Citizen to Central Texas. Here she tells us why. I started my teaching career in 2012 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Debates over Common Core and teacher evaluation ran rampant. Standards and test scores were valued above all, but the […]
Sep122016Read More >4 Reasons Why You Should Vote in New York’s Primary Election
4 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE IN NEW YORK’S PRIMARY ELECTION By Bonnie Mills and Nora Howe, Generation Citizen New York Program Associates Tomorrow, September 13th, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to vote for their State Senator and Assemblymember, all of whom are up for reelection in the state primary election. But why should […]
Jun282016Read More >Young People Could Have Stopped Brexit
In the aftermath of last week’s globally consequential Brexit referendum, in which voters in the United Kingdom decided to historically break away from the European Union, much of the analysis has centered on the imbalance between the opinions of young people and the ramifications of the vote on their futures. Yet a comprehensive statistical analysis […]
Nov052015Read More >Ellie’s Eighth Grade Endeavors, Episode 3: Why Community Engagement Matters
Oct152015Read More >Ellie’s Eighth Grade Endeavors, Episode 1: Democracy Coaches Learn Too
- Oct062015Read More >
Should Politics be Fun?
Should Politics Be Fun? As the 2016 elections approach, the missing youth electorate is becoming an increasingly prevalent story. Despite a slight upwards tick of youth participation in President Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012, the 2014 midterms saw the lowest youth voting rate in the last forty years, with only 19% of […]
- Sep082015Read More >
I’m Too Busy to Write This Blog Post
“How are you doing? How’s your summer going?” “I’m just so busy! And I thought I was going to have so much time this summer to catch up on life, and, I just got too busy, and now it’s almost gone!” I would venture that every person in the working world had some […]
- Aug172015Read More >
My Adventures in Democracy
– David Pechefsky Recently, GC has embarked on a project in which we ask ourself #WhyGC. Where to start? I have been working in government/politics/democracy building for close to 20 years. Back in 1996 I was an intern in the office of Brooklyn Council Member Steve Dibrienza. This was when Mayor Giuliani’s administration was […]
Jun302016Read More >GC’s Expanding to the Heartland
We are excited to announce Generation Citizen’s expansion to Central Texas and Oklahoma City in the fall of 2016. When we passed Generation Citizen’s four-year strategic plan two years ago, expanding to new sites was a top goal, both to test our model in new geographies and to make a more effective case for the […]
- Jun172016Read More >
Join Us: Democracy Education Youth Summit
Generation Citizen is organizing a Democracy Education Youth Summit this summer and we want you to join us! We will bring together young people between the ages of 14-18 from across the country for this training and leadership convening, taking place Monday, August 1st – Wednesday, August 3rd in New York City. All expenses will be covered for attendees, but you must apply. The […]
- Sep102015Read More >
GC Welcomes RI Program Associate Molly Cohen!
Hello! My name is Molly Cohen, and I’m excited to be joining Generation Citizen as the Rhode Island Program Associate. I first developed an interest in community empowerment as a student at Vassar College. I was lucky enough to be able to study the impact of structural inequality academically as well as experientially, […]
- Feb222015Read More >
GC Launches Demand-Building Efforts Through Advocacy Briefing Webinar
Generation Citizen is excited to share a recording of our Advocacy Briefing Webinar, which focused on our newest workstream: building demand for action civics. We were thrilled to be joined by Ford Foundation Program Officer Sanjiv Rao. In addition to continuing to strengthen and grow our direct programming, GC will now engage in targeted advocacy […]
- Feb112015Read More >
How Do We Educate to Improve Our Democracy?
How do We Educate to Improve our Democracy? As Generation Citizen matures as an organization, we’ve realized that it’s not enough for us to solely focus on our in-school programming. We continue to improve and iterate our action civics curriculum and teacher and volunteer training, but we have also recognized the necessity of building […]
- Feb112015Read More >
Defending Social Studies Funding in Massachusetts
On March 9, 2015, Greater Boston Advocacy Manager Leila Quinn gave testimony before the MA Foundation Budget Review Commission in defense of funding for social studies and civics courses. Below you will find an abridged version of her testimony. State law charges our schools with a civic mission that we must revive. Students often learn […]
- Feb112015Read More >
GC Boston Class Helps Passage of Homeless Youth Services Law
By Kristen Lobo Before leaving office, Massachusetts Governor Patrick signed the Unaccompanied Homeless Youth bill into law providing shelter and services to homeless youth on Tuesday, January 6th. According to the law, a homeless young person is defined as “a person 24 years of age or younger who is not in the physical custody or care of […]
- Feb112015Read More >
CCF Fellow Miajia Speaks at the Ford Foundation
On January 23, 2014, Generation Citizen co-hosted an event at the Ford Foundation called “Educating for Democracy: The Role of Young People in Re-Invigorating our Democracy.” During this event, as part of the “Scaling Civic Learning” panel, GC alum and Community Change Fellow Miajia Jaware spoke as a youth participant. We could not be more proud […]
- Feb102015Read More >
NYC DCs Reflect: Haikus from Training Day
At the end of two longs days of training, we asked our NYC Democracy Coaches to reflect on the experience in the form of a haiku. Lots of mixed emotions – from excitement to anxiousness to plain old fatigue after a long day. Boston, Bay Area, and Rhode Island DCs: you’re not alone! We’re all […]
- Mar142014Read More >
Summer 2014 Internship Openings
We are excited to announce two new summer internship positions opening at GC! Please read below to learn more about the Development Internship and National Program Internship. Development Internship Generation Citizen (dev-generation-citizen.pantheon.io/) is an innovative, quickly scaling non-profit that seeks to strengthen our nation’s democracy by empowering young people to become engaged and effective citizens. […]
- Sep302013Read More >
Reflections on Democracy Coach Training
On September 21-22nd, GC’s newest cohort of Democracy Coaches in four program sites participated in a training workshop to prepare for the start of the school year. Below, Director of Programming Meghan Trombly reflects on the experience in a letter to the Fall 2013 Generation Citizen Democracy Coaches. Dear Generation Citizen Democracy Coach, Dragging oneself […]
- Sep042013Read More >
Walking the Walk
We profess to be a great many things. Our nation claims to be a beacon of representative democracy, a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Yet, Generation Citizen exists because sometimes what we say we value doesn’t always match reality. So then we either reconsider our values, though in this case […]
- Aug272013Read More >
Incorporating Voices: A Modern Jeffersonian Meal
Last week, Generation Citizen Board Member Robert Flanders hosted a “Jeffersonian Breakfast” inspired by the dinners hosted by Thomas Jefferson back in the early days of our Republic. Jefferson would invite 10 friends to Monticello to discuss a set topic, which could range from politics to philosophy to archeology, to hear the personal experiences that […]
- Jul102013Read More >
GC to Receive Funding from Knight Foundation
Today, we’re excited to announce that Generation Citizen has received a transformative grant of $190,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to both evaluate and expand our work. We are truly grateful to the Knight Foundation for taking a chance on us, and believing in action civics. See the press release below from […]
May022013Read More >DCs of the Month
Looking back at April, a big month for us at GC as classes go deep into taking action, we’d like to recognize the following Democracy Coaches for their empowering work and dedication. NEW YORK DC OF THE MONTH: RINA KATTAN, STUDENT AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY What brought you to GC? After Rocky Solomon, a former […]
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