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Join us on Saturday, April 30th for the Second Annual Maryland Civic Education & Engagement Leadership Summit! This year’s theme is Empowering Youth Through Service and Civic Engagement. This free, virtual, and interactive event is designed by and for Marylanders who want to celebrate, elevate, and empower youth who are making a difference across the state.  It is being cosponsored by The ������Ů College of Education, The Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteering, and the Maryland Civic Education Coalition, which our College helps to lead. 

The Summit will bring together people who share a deep commitment to youth civic engagement and meaningful service-learning in Maryland.  Our confirmed keynote speakers are Senator Chris Van Hollen, Governor Larry Hogan, the ������Ů System Associate Vice Chancellor Dr. Nancy Shapiro, and Ms. Shannon Pugh, the President-elect, National Council for the Social Studies and Director of Community and School Programming for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.  Our agenda will also spotlight members of our Youth Advisory Council and more than forty other “front line” experts such as  Lena Morreale Scott, who is representing our  College of Education, middle- and high school students, classroom educators, district and state curriculum specialists, nonprofit professionals providing in-school and after school programming, as well as elected officials and business leaders from across the state.
 

Throughout the Summit, there will be opportunities for participants to network with one another and to join with the speakers to discuss what’s “working” and the ways that Maryland leads the nation, and also how we can address barriers and opportunity gaps and to strengthen civics education and service-learning this year and beyond.

The event runs from 8:45 to 2:00 via Zoom.   We’ll begin the day with an activity planned by our phenomenal Youth Advisory Council, a “service and civic engagement slam”, fashioned after a “poetry slam” where young people give short, high-energy presentations about amazing experiences they have had engaging in service or in their civic lives. We’ll end the day with the announcement of the winners of the Youth Service Award winners from the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteering.  In the middle of the day, we are planning a variety of “Roundtable Conversations” on these topics:  

• Start Young! Why Successful Community Engagement Starts in the Youngest Years
• When in Doubt, SERVE!: Exploring Service as a Pathway to Your Future
• Social Studies Students in the Spotlight: Student Input on Social Studies in Maryland
• Student Service Learning 101 and Beyond
• How Young People Across Maryland Are Stepping Up To Make Elections More Inclusive
• Save Student Journalism and We Might Just Save Democracy 
• Empowered & Ready! Students Learning and Leading in Extra-Curricular or Co-Curricular Civic Spaces 

You can find more information about the Summit on the MD-CEC and you can.  We are also looking for volunteers to help facilitate breakout room discussions or to take notes.  If you are willing, please .  We hope you can join us and will share this invitation with people in your network that might be interested!  

Finally, we are also excited to announce an opportunity to join us for an in-person event co-hosted by our friends in the School of Public Policy on Friday, April 29th from 2:30-6:00 PM: Youth in the Civic Square: Local and Global Perspectives on Teen Civic Empowerment.  This event will feature Dr. Jan Eichorn, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh, one of the world’s pre-eminent scholars on youth political participation and a presentation and breakout sessions by Maryland high school and college students entitled “Reclaiming Our Corner of the Civic Square: More than counting views; marking our views count.”  for Friday’s event. Join us Saturday, April 30th from 9:30 AM to 2 PM for an exciting day of learning, networking, and awards. Interact with amazing youth, educators, community partners and others from across the state!