Distributed June 7, 2000
For Immediate Release
News Service Contact: Kristen Cole



Conference will explore ways to promote civic engagement for youth

Promoting civic participation among young people is the subject of a three-day conference, June 15-17, 2000, in the Salomon Center for Teaching on The College Green. The event is free and open to the public.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Scholars from around the world will discuss ways to encourage youth involvement in civic work during a conference, June 15-17, 2000, in the Salomon Center for Teaching, located on The College Green.

Titled Fostering Youth’s Civic Engagement and Participation in Free and Democratic Societies, the conference will bring together leaders in education, psychology, human development and political science for three days of panel discussions.

They will address such issues as the impact of school and community-based interventions on civic participation, the relationship between mass media and youth political organizations, and the process of civic involvement among youth in England, South Africa and Israel.

Organized by the Brown University Center for the Study of Human Development and the Stanford Center on Adolescence, the event is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Following the conference, organizers will produce a consensus paper describing effective practices.

All panel discussions are free and open to the public. For additional information on sessions or about the more than two dozen participants from institutions of higher learning in the United States, England and Israel, e-mail [email protected].

Thursday, June 15

2 to 4 p.m. Political Socialization and Engagement
4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Towards a Civil Society

Both sessions chaired by Cynthia Garcia Coll, Brown University professor of education, psychology and pediatrics and chair of the education department

Friday, June 16

9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Role of Schools
2 to 4 p.m. Impact of Service-Learning

Both sessions chaired by William Damon, director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence and professor of education

Saturday, June 17

9 to 11 a.m. Political and Civic Participation
1 to 3 p.m. Transition to Citizenship

Both sessions chaired by Marida Hollos, Brown University associate professor of anthropology

3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Summary of the conference led by John Modell, Brown University professor of education and human development

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