2007: The year that was (Part II)

Here's the second part of our look at some of the highlights of 2007 in the world of citizen engagement. Did we miss anything? Please note it in the comments below.

Racial equity

From hate crimes to Supreme Court decisions, 2007 offered ample evidence showing why the campaign for racial equity in the United States is far from over - but it also held promise that the struggle is being taken seriously by ever-greater numbers of people. During the year, as part of a C.S. Mott and W.K. Kellogg-funded three-year initiative, the Study Circles Resource Center held orientations in Atlanta, Austin, Little Rock, and Los Angeles to introduce new resources to help communities achieve racial equity by engaging the full diversity of their residents in addressing racism and related issues. Watch for much more news of SCRC's Communities Creating Racial Equity initiative in 2008.

Education

Many communities continued to use dialogue-to-action programs in 2007 to address issues in their schools. In Lexington, Nebraska, longtime public engagement proponent Jerry Bergstrom was recently honored as the 2008 National Distinguished Principal from Nebraska.  As Lindsey Tederman wrote in the Lexington Clipper-Herald:

He and his staff have been able to involve immigrant parents, community people, businessmen, clergy, politicians, high school students, college professors and school staff in 'study circles' to determine needs of Pershing Elementary and the community. "We wanted to engage the community in the public and democratic processes," Bergstrom said.

What transpired from these six years of meetings was an action plan with tangible outcomes. Lexington's Welcome Center was established, an immigration specialist was hired and an 18-member Multicultural Commission will soon be part of the Lexington city council.

Also, in 2007, students from a high school in Waterford, Wisconsin, proposed a diversity class to their schools superintendent as a result of school diversity circles; schools in North Carolina led dialogues to explore how to make the community work better for all students; and churches in Kansas City, Kansas, partnered with educators to hold innovative after-school programs for local teens. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, held study circles to help settle a community controversy over whether to renovate and expand the local middle school at its current site or build from scratch elsewhere in town. (Later in the year, presidential hopeful John Edwards cited Portsmouth as a place with a history of strong citizen engagement.)

Poverty and economic development

Can action-oriented dialogue help communities move from poverty to prosperity? More than 170 small, rural and reservation communities in seven states ranging from Minnesota to Washington are finding out as they take part in Horizons II, a community leadership program sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation. The Study Circles Resource Center helped Horizons communities hold large-scale, inclusive dialogues that lead to measurable change. Tangible outcomes are already happening. In Tyndall, South Dakota, for example, citizens have purchased and renovated a building to create a youth center, which residents had identified as an urgent need for the community. In Columbus, Montana, a new farmers' market sprouted last summer as a result of the Horizons program.

Big changes ahead!

2008 will be a year of big changes for the Study Circles Resource Center. In just a few weeks, we will change our name to Everyday Democracy, while reaffirming our mission to provide "Ideas & Tools for Community Change." A few weeks after that, our headquarters moves from small-town Pomfret, Connecticut, to urban East Hartford. And in June, "Making Every Voice Matter" will be the theme for Everyday Democracy's 2008 national meeting in Denver, Colorado. Stay tuned to learn how you can be involved in this exciting evolution. Let's make 2008 a watershed year for citizen engagement and public participation.