Civic Engagement Through Social Media

The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation - Civic Engagement through Social Media.

Panelists examine the many positive uses of social media, especially as a tool to promote civic engagement. Looked at the role of social media in politics, social entrepreneurship, voluntarism, and activism.

The goal of the panel is both to show examples of civic engagement through social media, and to issue a call of action for students to become more informed and proactive citizens as they engage in social media, making positive changes in their schools, communities, and potentially in the world.

Highlights of the panel:

• This panel of innovative leaders who have harnessed social media to help improve society includes:
• Kristen Cambell, the Director of Programs and New Media, National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), reaches out to the millennial generation using social media to promote and highlight civic engagement. NCoC is a congressionally chartered non-profit responsible for the publication of the annual Civic Health Index.
• Akili Lee, Founding Director of the Digital Youth Network, current Director of Digital Strategy and Development, and the creator of the iRemix Platformis focused on innovating new digital learning tools and supporting youth focused organizations develop models for successfully integrating digital media as a way to increase engagement and effectiveness.
• Melissa Helmbrecht, the Chair and CEO of Splashlife, credits transforming her life by serving others. Melissa also founded Champions of Hope, a youth-focused nonprofit organization. In less than one year, she grew the organization from a startup with two volunteers to a global organization with 100+ strategic partners and 650,000 youth participants.
• Andrew Slack, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Harry Potter Alliance, which uses parallels from the Harry Potter series to inspire more than 100,000 Harry Potter fans to act as heroes in our world.

The mission of the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center is to develop proactive, informed, educated, and conscientious citizens and leaders.