Institute of Politics Organizes National Effort to Promote Youth Participation in Politics 10/8/2003
From: Andy Solomon of the Harvard Institute of Politics, 617-496-4009 CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 8 -- Harvard's Institute of Politics, located at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is organizing a national effort to encourage participation and engagement in politics by America's college students, a traditionally under-represented group in the national political discourse and on Election Day. The Institute is convening an initial strategic planning meeting on Friday, October 10, 2003 with representatives of 10 partner institutions of higher education. The group, which will be called the National Campaign for Political and Civic Engagement, will draw from its collective knowledge and experience to exchange information and ideas about how to spur greater interest and involvement in politics by young people. "Engaging young people in politics is essential for the future of our democracy and an important role for every educational institution in the nation," said IOP Director Dan Glickman, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Congressman. "Our national campaign will facilitate an open exchange of ideas and information as we all join together to seek effective ways to encourage young people to participate in the political process." In addition to taking action to spur student political involvement on their respective campuses, the group will also work together this academic year to: -- Issue specific recommendations for government, media, campaigns, and educational institutions to promote political and civic engagement; -- Produce a "playbook" that offers political campaigns advice on effective engagement of young voters; -- Compile "best practices" for promoting political and civic engagement; -- Collect and make available key research; and -- Create new training opportunities for organizations and individuals seeking to promote youth engagement and participation. Current institutions participating in this national effort are American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (Washington, DC); California State University at Monterey Bay's The Panetta Institute (Monterey Bay, CA); Clark Atlanta University's Joseph Lowery Institute (Atlanta, GA); Elon University's Institute for Politics and Public Affairs (Elon, NC); Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA); Ohio State University's John Glenn Institute (Columbus, OH); Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute for Politics (New Brunswick, NJ); Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics (Manchester, NH); Tufts University's College of Citizenship and Public Service (Medford, MA); the University of Kansas' Dole Institute of Politics (Lawrence, KS); and the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics (Salt Lake City, UT). Additional institutions are expected to join the consortium later. ------ Harvard's Institute of Politics, located at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, was established in 1966 with an endowment from the John F. Kennedy Library Corporation to inspire undergraduate students to enter careers in politics and public service, and to promote greater understanding and cooperation between the academic community and the political world. More information is at http://www.iop.harvard.edu/. |