Democracy Happy Hour - March 12, 2025

SPECIAL Program for Civic Learning Week - Increasing Youth Civic Engagement with Hands-on Projects & Civic Seal Programs

Fix Democracy First hosts a weekly Democracy Happy Hour on Wednesdays @ 5-6:30pm PT. Grab a drink and join us and learn about the latest democracy efforts, challenges, solutions, as well upcoming events and actions.

This is a recurring event. You only have to register once.

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Increasing Youth Civic Engagement with Hands-on Projects & Civic Seal Programs  

With Generation Citizen

• Speaker View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/pMZinHXt2pUmFhXjfb3hgvqklKO2yNl-GL1n3djjd2rKUwg-NdEdEZnhfZSjnnuA-roQjZLI1LvjX3B1.8fjB_NSA1rMRsQUv

• RECOMMENDED: Gallery View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/hRWsee7k1xj129pRki0YUPAip8P-WO75vQiRC6DSJaV-e2_zfVAc2WILosmrdDI19R8LLCbqpadtFZ0d.zsapoSxKJTjlPP08
• Chat file (will download directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/shnn5RGd_0mcNq6IP_UFtp5DAOYDhxeXUbCtDU7xi1nGx9Y8KXD4ZPgBQmBas03nUnLRQ8W5wuZxbiL-.k_KNKkDbc2z9iTMf
• Closed Caption file (will download directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/L1yaC8tQNRaT6tBVgBEh11tJIVHi0z7Hue_ZYMK0IVFqlrBK5Yp6l4EAbfFBwfp7M8IlNrmBP7iW2lLS.FXQyOxXnAOJard1N

Meeting resources

• Generation Citizen - https://www.generationcitizen.org/
  • Community Based Civics - https://www.generationcitizen.org/what-we-do/in-schools/
  • Resources & Toolkits - https://www.generationcitizen.org/what-we-do/resources-toolkits/
  • Sign up to Get Updates - https://www.generationcitizen.org/get-updates/
  • Seal of Civic Readiness Frequently Asked Questions - https://www.socialstudies.org/advocacy/ncss-seal-civic-readiness-toolkit/seal-civic-readiness-frequently-asked-questions
• Civic Learning Council – WA - https://www.civiclearningcouncil.org/
  • Civic Learning Week – https://civiclearningweek.org/
  • Events - https://civiclearningweek.org/events/

FDF Links

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/
• Donate to Fix Democracy First here: https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule

• Mar 19 - Multi-Member Districts with the League of Women Voters of WA Education Project Team
• Mar 26 - Grand Bargain Project: Reuniting America around a Common-Sense Plan for Nationwide Prosperity
• Apr 2 - Rural Reconnect: Healing America by Rebuilding Rural Local News with Miles Sisk
• Apr 9 - Leaving MAGA with Rich Logis
• Apr 16 - More Like Us: How to Reduce Political Divides at Scale with James Coan

Actions and events

Actions

• 5 Calls - https://5calls.org/
• 50 50 1 - https://www.fiftyfifty.one/
• Declaration for American Democracy – Share Your Democracy Story -  https://dfadcoalition.org/story
• How You Can Protect Democracy - 29 concrete actions you can take right now to protect democracy - https://protectdemocracy.org/how-to-protect-democracy
• Join Braver Angels - https://braverangels.org/get-involved/#become-member
• Join a local Indivisible group - https://indivisible.org/groups
• Paths to Understanding - The Potluck Project – https://pathstounderstanding.org/get-involved/potluck
• Take Action Network for Washington State Legislation & Actions - https://www.takeaction.network
• The People's Hub For Grassroots Democracy Organizing  - https://www.usgrassroots.org/

Events

• What is the Role of Nonprofits in Strengthening Democracy – March 19^th @ 11 am PT/2 pm ET - https://results.zoom.us/meeting/register/DfWU4mg0TL-IhWrkdXiFeg

Democracy in the News

Civic Education in the News

• Active Citizens Conference strengthens students’ civic identity across Virginia - https://news.wm.edu/2025/03/04/active-citizens-conference-strengthens-students-civic-identity-across-virginia/
• AMERICANS FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS WILL MAKE THE CASE FOR CIVIC EDUCATION DURING CIVIC LEARNING WEEK, MARCH 10-14, 2025 - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/americans-from-all-backgrounds-will-make-the-case-for-civic-education-during-civic-learning-week-march-1014-2025-302395581.html
• Amid Polarization, Civics Education Enjoys Surprising Bipartisan Support, Survey Finds - https://www.the74million.org/article/amid-polarization-civics-education-enjoys-surprising-bipartisan-support-survey-finds/
• Civic Literacy Deficiency is a National Crisis - https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2025/02/28/civic_literacy_deficiency_is_a_national_crisis_1094667.html
• Civics education decline raises concerns about future voters - https://www.wemu.org/wemu-news/2025-03-11/civics-education-decline-raises-concerns-about-future-voters
• Civic Education: The Phoenix Arises - https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2024/12/26/civic_education_the_phoenix_arises_1081049.html
• Educating for Democracy: The Case for a New Civics - https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/74/educating-for-democracy-the-case-for-a-new-civics/
• Election highlights need for — and warnings about — civic education - https://thefulcrum.us/civic-engagement-education/civic-education-spending
• Evidence Matters | Civic Education: Two Birds, One Stone - https://www.furman.edu/riley/evidence-matters-civic-education-two-birds-one-stone/
• Hawaii Teachers Say They Want To Prioritize Civic Education — But They Need More Help - https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/07/hawaii-teachers-say-they-want-to-prioritize-civic-education-but-they-need-more-help/
• Healthy Democracies Need to Invest in Civic Education. Here’s How States Can Help - https://www.carnegie.org/our-work/article/healthy-democracies-need-to-invest-in-civic-education-heres-how-states-can-help/
• Increasing Civic Engagement, State by State - https://www.carnegie.org/our-work/article/increasing-civic-engagement-state-by-state/
• Lack of Civic Support for Rural Youth May Lead to Lower Civic Engagement - https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/lack-civic-support-rural-youth-may-lead-lower-civic-engagement
• NY Civic Learning Week highlights the role of media literacy in a healthy democracy - https://www.nysut.org/news/2025/march/civic-learning-week
• Pillen proclaims ‘Civic Learning Week’ in Nebraska - https://civicnebraska.org/20250306-pillen-proclaims-march-10-14-civic-learning-week-nebraska/
• Professors cultivating civic education and engagement in rural Oklahoma - https://news.okstate.edu/magazines/arts-sciences/connect/articles/2024/professors_cultivating_civic_education_and_engagement_in_rural_oklahoma.html
• Proposal for enhanced civic education in Kentucky high schools sees final passage - https://kychamberbottomline.com/2024/03/27/proposal-for-enhanced-civic-education-in-kentucky-high-schools-moves-forward/
• Sammamish students step up to cover newsy suburb - https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/sammamish-students-step-up-to-cover-newsy-suburb
• STUDENT VOICE: My generation knows less about civics than my parents’ generation did, yet we need it more than ever - https://hechingerreport.org/student-voice-my-generation-knows-less-about-civics-than-my-parents-generation-did-yet-we-need-it-more-than-ever/
• Students Call for Hands-On Civic Education to Prepare Them for Democracy - https://www.edsurge.com/news/2024-11-01-students-call-for-hands-on-civic-education-to-prepare-them-for-democracy
• Students want more civics education, but far too few schools teach it - https://hechingerreport.org/column-students-want-more-civics-education-but-far-too-few-schools-teach-it/
• The Renaissance of Civic Education - https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2024/11/04/the_renaissance_of_civic_education_1069773.html
• UT’s Institute of American Civics Survey Shows Urgent Need for Civics Education in Tennessee - https://news.utk.edu/2024/08/07/uts-institute-of-american-civics-survey-shows-urgent-need-for-civics-education-in-tennessee/
• UNI seeks $1 million for Center for Civic Education - https://www.radioiowa.com/2025/03/03/uni-seeks-1-million-for-center-for-civic-education/
• Why income and tense politics are limiting access to civics classes in California - https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2024/12/civics-education/
• Why Students Need A Civic Education to Navigate Today’s World - https://www.the74million.org/article/why-students-need-a-civic-education-to-navigate-todays-world/

Resources

• All of the Trump Administration’s Major Moves in the First xx Days - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/us/trump-agenda-2025.html
• Democracy 2025 – Democracy 2025 is the strategic hub to protect people and their rights should the Trump-Vance administration seek to unlawfully strip away freedoms and prosperity. -  https://www.democracy2025.org/
• How You Can Protect Democracy - 29 concrete actions you can take right now to protect democracy - https://protectdemocracy.org/how-to-protect-democracy
• Tracking the lawsuits against Donald Trump’s executive actions - https://apnews.com/projects/trump-executive-order-lawsuit-tracker/
• What has Trump done today? - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2025/trump-administration-actions

Good News Websites

• ABC Good News - https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/good-news
• Daily Good - https://www.dailygood.org/
• Democracy's Good News - https://www.democracygroup.org/topics/democracys-good-news
• Good News Network - https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
• Politics & Government Good News - https://www.goodgoodgood.co/impact/democracy
• Sunny Skyz - https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news
• The Happy News - https://thehappynewspaper.com/

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