ADP Remembers 9/11: How are you commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11?

In order to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, I’ve invited a series of guests to contribute blog posts about ways in which their campuses or organizations are working to create teachable moments with which to engage students in conversations about the effects of 9/11 on our democracy and ways we can work collectively as informed, engaged citizens to affect positive change in our society.

In today’s blog post, Karen Showalter from Americans for Informed Democracy, shares with us her organization’s plans to commemorate the tragedies of September 11, 2001 by not only remembering what happened 10 years ago, but also by engaging in dialogue about what we want our country to look like 10 years from now.

 – Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

By Karen Showalter, Executive Director, Americans for Informed Democracy

Ten years after 9/11, our country and our planet face incredible challenges. We can do better, and our generation can make it happen.

Americans for Informed Democracy (AIDemocracy) was founded after 9/11 to help young people discuss the U.S. role in the world. Ten years later, this conversation is more important than ever.

This coming Sunday please take a few minutes to remember those we lost in 2001, and as a result of our subsequent engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then think about what you can do to build a better world, one that is more peaceful, just, healthy, and sustainable. We have the power and the obligation to make it happen.

Our Be2021 campaign offers some easy and powerful ways to bring this conversation home, from opportunities for personal reflection to event ideas that will inspire campus action. These are all events/actions that you can do at any point this academic year. Check them out and let us know if you’d like to get involved.

At the personal level:

• Be…Visionary. Declare your vision for what *you* and *we* should be in another ten years, on the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, on the Be2021 website. We are collecting 20,000 youth visions this year, which will form a basis for a millennial roadmap for the next decade.
• Be…Reflective. Share your 9/11 story. What do the moment and the anniversary mean to you? How have they changed your worldview and your life path? During the month of September we are featuring testimonials from students and young professionals on the AIDemocracy website. Check them out, and contact us to get started.

At the campus level:

• Be…Empowered. Build the skills to lead our country and our planet into the future. Organize a global leadership and advocacy workshop on your campus. We can provide materials and trainers.
• Be…Understanding. Screen a funny or serious film exposing the varied experiences of Muslims in America. In partnership with Unity Productions Foundation, we are proud to offer five different films available for screening on your campus: Prince Among Slaves, Talking Through Walls: How the Struggle to Build a Mosque Unites a Community, On a Wing and a Prayer: An American Muslim Learns to Fly, Allah Made Me Funny, and Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. We’ll provide the resources to get you started.
• Be…Connected. Share with and learn from young people across the globe. Facilitate videochats around common challenges facing our generation like jobs, climate and health. AIDemocracy can help arrange and facilitate.
• Be…Inspired. Screen the movie Love Hate Love, which follows the journeys of three families whose lives were shattered by terrorism. Love Hate Love follows these survivors as they search for honor, meaning, and a new life’s path. This film is offered through a special partnership with the filmmakers and the family of Peter Alderman.
• Be…the Future. Organize a workshop to help your peers / organization envision what they want the world to look like in 2021, and lay the groundwork for making that vision a reality. This event is nicely paired with the Be…Empowered event above. We’ll provide the support to get started.
• Be…Informed. Gather your peers to discuss global challenges ranging from poverty to violent extremism. Explore what we can do as youth, as a country, and as a planet to set a better course for the next decade. This event can take the form of a panel, workshop, film or guest speaker. AIDemocracy will provide suggestions on format and speakers, and advice on how to make it all happen.
• Be…Equal. Explore the specific challenges facing women and girls worldwide, including education, health, and child marriage. International non-profit organization CARE will send expert speakers to 5 campuses to kick off the conversation, as part of Be2021. We will also offer facilitation tips, guiding questions, supporting readings and media, and more.
• Be…United. Organize a Campus Unity Walk. Bring members of your campus community together to celebrate religious and cultural diversity. Tour religious and cultural institutions in the community, witness services and rituals, explore traditions, taste food, enjoy music, and more. We’ll provide the support to get you started.
• Be…? Come up with your own event! Let us know your ideas and we’ll help you make them happen.

Contact Patrick for more information, or to get started!

At the national level:

• Lead this movement. Our Be2021 campaign will lead AIDemocracy’s work around the 10th anniversary of 9/11, inspiring reflection and action throughout the 2011-12 academic year. We need all of the help we can get. Contact us if you’re interested in helping out.

Thank you for helping us make the most of this important moment. Together we can be something powerful. Contact us to discuss or get started with any of the ideas above!

Opportunities for Students to Put their Civic Agency to Work for the Public Good

Americans for Informed Democracy (AIDemocracy) is a non-partisan organization based in Washington, DC that is an important friend of ADP. They have opportunities for college students to engage in collective action around important global and local issues closely related to our 7 Revolutions (population, resources, technology, information, economics, conflict, and governance).

Americans for Informed Democracy (AIDemocracy)

AIDemocracy is a non-partisan organization comprised of young people in the U.S. concerned about our individual and collective roles in the world. AIDemocracy believes that students have the responsibility to understand and take collaborative action on important issues and that students have the power to build a better world.

AIDemocracy still has a few spots available on their climate change, hunger, sex & justice, and security campaign teams! If you are an inspired college student with an interest in mobilizing your peers to understand and take action on these issues or are looking for a chance to hone your organizing and leadership skills, then AIDemocracy needs you!

They are recruiting the following positions for each of their four teams:

* Coordinator: leads strategy development and supports other team members
* Organizer: recruits other interested students to join the cause
* Issue Analyst: monitors, analyzes and writes about related news and debates
* Communications Guru: spreads the word about team activities, events and information via print and social media

These are year-long, volunteer positions. AIDemocracy is looking for multiple people for each position, on each campaign. Details and job descriptions are available on their website. Each campaign team will plan their strategy for the coming year this August.

Here’s a quick pitch for each issue:

Hunger Campaign Team: Overcoming chronic hunger is one of the most crucial challenges facing our world today. Each day nearly 1 billion people across the world go without enough food to lead a productive and healthy life. As a result, problems like extreme poverty, disease, conflict, and climate change become all the more devastating and entrenched. Ending hunger is a vital step towards making this world a more equal, just, peaceful, and sustainable place. There are still spots available for outstanding young adults from across the nation to come together and campaign to end the grave injustice of global hunger.

Sex & Justice Campaign Team:  Sexual and reproductive health and rights encompass a wide variety of issues that pose challenges especially for women and adolescents in developing countries. Girls are becoming mothers instead of going to secondary school. Sexually transmitted infections are spreading. Mothers are dying in childbirth. Gender based violence persists. Even though these issues are complex, we have the power to advocate for change. Stand up against injustice and inequality. Join the sex & justice campaign team!

Climate Change Campaign Team: When it comes to tackling climate change, today’s young people know there’s not a second to waste! All around the world, young people are rising up to tell our leaders that we won’t stand for any more empty promises, failed agreements, and injustice. From our college campuses and city halls to COP conferences worldwide, our voices are being heard, and we’re seeing great progress, especially at the local level. But critical battles around climate adaptation and emissions continue, and we need your voice more than ever! AIDemocracy is offering outstanding individuals the opportunity to join their Climate Change campaign team and lead our network around this critical issue! Apply today to make your vision for a sustainable, just planet a reality.

Security Campaign Team: This September marks the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Are we secure? How do we define security? How much should we be spending on defense, versus other approaches like diplomacy and development? The Security Campaign Team will inspire student debate around these and other critical questions. Hot topics will include US engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, nuclear weapons, and defense spending. Join us!

To apply, please send a statement of interest to opportunities@aidemocracy.org. Positions will be filled on a rolling basis. Hurry – they only have a few spots left!

ADP Remembers 9/11: Commemorating 9/11 at Ferris State University

In order to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, I’ve invited a series of guests to contribute blog posts about ways in which their campuses or organizations are working to create teachable moments with which to engage students in conversations about the effects of 9/11 on our democracy and ways we can work collectively as informed, engaged citizens to affect positive change in our society.

In today’s blog post, Rick Griffin of Ferris State University in Michigan, shares with us Ferris State’s plans to commemorate the tragedies of September 11, 2001 throughout the entire 2011-2012 academic year.

 – Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

By Guest Blogger, Dr. Richard (Rick) W. Griffin, Campus Coordinator of ADP/PEP at Ferris State University

This year marks the tenth anniversary of that terrible day in September 2001 when, as Country and Western singer Alan Jackson puts it, “The World Stood Still.” In commemoration of this national and international tragedy, Ferris State University (MI) has selected “9/11 – Ten Years Later: What Have We Learned?” as the theme for the entire 2011-2012 academic year for FSU’s American Democracy and Political Engagement Project (ADP/PEP) campus events and activities.

Dr. Rick Griffin

The initial ADP/PEP 9/11 commemoration event will be a full day of activities on September 20^th when former U. S. Congressman Peter Hoekstra visits our campus. Congressman Hoekstra represented the Second Congressional District of Michigan (Holland, MI) from 1993 until 2011. During his tenure in the U. S. House of Representatives, Congressman Hoekstra served as Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is charged with oversight of the United States Intelligence Community as the nation defends itself against all threats. This alone qualifies the Congressman as a leading expert on issues dealing with 9/11. While on the Ferris State University campus, Mr. Hoekstra will participate in a full schedule, as he engages with students, faculty, and staff. His activities will include meeting with faculty and staff members, visiting with students in the classroom, and a public (local community invited) presentation focusing upon the lessons learned by the nation since 9/11.

The second major ADP/PEP event commemorating 9/11 will transpire in late October and early November, when the University conducts its annual “All-Campus Public Speaking Contest.” This event engages hundreds of students on a campus-wide basis as participants in an oratory competitive experience focusing upon a common general theme. Since the Contest is a major ADP/PEP event at Ferris State, its theme for this academic year will also be “9/11 – Ten Years later: What Have We Learned?”

In celebration of Veterans Day on November 11^th, the Ferris State ADP/PEP initiative will conduct a campus-wide event celebrating the immeasurable sacrifices our veterans have made for our democracy and society. In the past, ADP/PEP has conducted panel discussions with students, faculty and staff who are veterans.

To view Ferris State’s 9/11 Commemoration Schedule of Events, go to this website.

To read more about Ferris State’s ADP and PEP activities, visit this website.