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A Nazi flag led this Western Mayberry to confront hate once again. Now Fruita aims to send a different message.

Nancy Lofholm

April 18, 2019 |

The Colorado Sun |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fruita, Colorado

A small city in Colorado turned an act of bigotry — someone publicly flying a Nazi flag — into an opportunity for growth for the city. Fruita considers itself a welcoming, inclusive community, so they seized upon this opportunity to pass an Inclusivity Proclamation. The proclamation affirms their commitment to defeating prejudice and also added inclusivity as a part of their next city planning strategy.

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Tech for Turnout

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

April 17, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Illinois

High tech tools offer low cost ways to reach many voters and mobilize turnout, especially in mid term elections. From applications that allow campaigns to deliver personal text messages to hundreds of people at once, to new digital platforms for online polling and campaign management, many of the successful campaigns launched across the country during and after 2016 have leveraged these tech innovations to engage with voters.

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Bernalillo County's Mobile Voting Unit

Gene Grant Kevin McDonald

April 16, 2019 |

KNME-PBS |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New Mexico

A mobile voting unit in Bernalillo County helped 1,733 people vote in 2018. The county rented a large RV, customized it with voting stations, and sent it to public areas, including senior centers where people can have a difficult time getting to the polls. The RV had a wheel chair lift but no stair rail, so staff helped people walk in and out. Staff was also trained to operate the equipment and keep it stocked with ballots and supplies. The county plans to purchase its own RV for future elections and has fielded inquiries from other localities that want to implement mobile voting units in their districts.

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Facing Segregated Schools, Parents Took Integration Into Their Own Hands. It's Working.

Eliza Shapiro

April 16, 2019 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

When City Hall was slow in addressing the issue of the deeply segregated schools in Manhattan and Brooklyn, parents took the matter in their own hands and drafted a proposal to integrate the students more. High-achieving students will enroll in low-performing schools and vice-versa, as well as doing away with the competitive admissions process to open up more spaces for students who are poor, homeless, learning English, or more. City Hall eventually approved the proposal with very little input from the mayor, but parents still maintain that they have a lot of work ahead of them still.

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What happens when students are given a say in school budgets?

Caroline Preston

April 12, 2019 |

The Hechinger Report |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

This year, New York City's Department of Education introduced participatory budgeting in 48 public schools to bolster civics education and create a more transparent budgeting process. At Veritas Academy in Queens, students conducted research, consulted teachers, and prepared pitches in pursuit of the $2,000 of the annual budget available; in the end it was a close race between a greenhouse, multi-purpose studio, and filtered water fountain.

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Citizen engagement is helping Costa Rica fight climate change

Amelia Axelsen

April 11, 2019 |

Apolitical |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Costa Rica

With its pledge to become the first zero-emission country in the world by 2050, Costa Rica's ambitious climate goals cannot be achieved by the government alone. That's why Costa Rica Limpia (Clean Costa Rica) is sparking citizen engagement to help in the fight. Grassroots efforts by the organization has already helped to create new charging infrastructure for electric cars, and citizen review bodies are local communities access important climate data.

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'The Journey to Trust Is Long'

Emily Nonko

April 08, 2019 |

Next City |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Sheriffs' offices can provide resources and encourage underserved communities and communities struck hard by disinvestment to grow their civic capacity. In Alameda County, California, the county sheriff’s office operates a non-profit organization, the Deputy Sheriff’s Activities League (DSAL). The non-profit champions a model of community engagement known as community capital policing, hosting community events and programs in Ashland and Cherryland.

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Change the narrative: how a Swiss group is beating rightwing populists

Jon Henley

April 07, 2019 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Switzerland

A group called Operation Libero in Switzerland has successfully rallied against rising right-wing populist groups by using different approaches like small-scale crowdfunding, eye-catching tongue-in-cheek campaigns, and viral social media videos. During one campaign, young Operation Libero volunteers handed out branded condoms to nightclubbers.

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How a Bipartisan Caucus Aimed to Change U.S. House Rules

Tina Kelley

April 04, 2019 |

CivicStory |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Shortly following the 2018 Midterm elections in the U.S. House of Representatives, a group of legislators known as the Problem Solvers Caucus used their numbers to change House rules easing the passage of bipartisan legislation. After working to build consensus on issues like health care, infrastructure, gun control, and immigration since 2013, the congressional membership organization noticed that their bipartisan bills often did not receive a fair chance due to the significant power that Speaker and committee chairs held in deciding which bills advanced. Their "Break the Gridlock" reforms changed that.

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State youth vote boosted by peer persuasion, rallies, bounce houses - can gains continue?

Emily Hamer

March 31, 2019 |

WMSN-TV |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wisconsin

A group called NextGen Wisconsin is using bounce houses, armies of field organizers, convenient voter registration tables, door knocking, and digital advertising to turn out historically high numbers of youth voters across the state. Other tactics included events with carnivals, petting zoos, therapy dogs, and giant connect four games. The idea is to turn voting into a fun and exciting event, with rallies around youth issues like gun control.

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