Our Work
Inspiring and equipping people to practice citizenship in ways that feel relational, relevant, and sustainable.
The challenge we’re tackling
Americans in every corner of the country are feeling adrift in civic crisis. Many are feeling disconnected from a sense of power, from each other, and from a meaningful role in public life. And our broader social climate can feel overwhelming and spirit-crushing which deepens feelings of anxiety and powerlessness.
Fewer than 4 in 10 Americans feel that “most people can be trusted.”
Only 38% of Americans think it is possible to come together at this moment.
74% of Americans agree that “I feel like we can’t count on the people around as much as we used to.”
Read more about the state of trust in the US from this report from More in Common.
From doom scrolling to trying to keep up with an endless list of civic “shoulds,” it can be hard to know how to show up these days. The options we have to engage in shaping our communities often feel unsustainable, ineffective, or spiritless.
We know there’s got to be a better way.
The solutions we bring
Citizen University inspires and equips people to practice citizenship in ways that feel relational, relevant, and sustainable.
We create practice spaces to help people see their own power in new ways and build lasting civic habits that feel relevant to them. We help people reflect on their own civic identity and purpose, and consider how they can help everyday practices of citizenship take root and thrive.
We aim to support more people in understanding:
- How to live like a citizen
- How to do so in the places you live and with other people
- How to spread that ethic in your own communities now and into the future
Our relationship with this idea of “America” will always be as solid or as tenuous as our relationships with each other. It can be built, but it takes practice.
The approach we take
We work in ways that are...
Experiential
Our work is experiential on purpose — this is how actions and beliefs actually stick.
Experimental
We are a learning organization: we have a high propensity for “let’s try," and we encourage people to think and act in novel ways as citizens.
Networked
We believe in the power and value of networks, both formally and informal, to build and act collectively in civic life. We aim to build through networks, and encourage action through networks. Our organization itself is a network of networks.
I felt like a boat in the ocean. I had a sail but I didn’t have a rudder; there wasn’t much I could do. You’ve given me the skills so that I can do things in my community.
Why we’re all about citizenship
For a democratic system to function, we need to be informed, committed, active, and skilled participants in and co-creators of the system, to show up as citizens. And when we say “citizenship,” we’re not talking about documentation status. At CU, we describe citizenship using a simple equation: Power + Character = Citizenship. By which we mean, understanding who decides and how to make change happen–and then cultivating the norms and habits of being a prosocial contributor to community.
Focusing on habitual, civic actions may seem inconsequential in the face of the immense challenges we are facing as a country. But it is these very acts of ongoing citizenship done repeatedly, by many of us over time that build the foundation for resilience in the face of national and global civic crises.
Citizenship includes actions like serving, joining associations and clubs, voting, advocating for change, organizing for causes, engaging in local campaigns, gathering with fellow community members, learning about history of the place you live, circulating knowledge and opportunity, and on and on. They are the essential backbone of a society that can function as a thriving democracy. They are the web that strengthens communities that can take on shared challenges and that shape how we live together.
Citizenship is not just a duty to others or to a greater good — it also is an act of self-preservation and a way to make-meaning and find purpose in a world that can feel out of control. When we engage as citizens, we are shaping the immediate world we live in with others, which in turn, nurtures us. We both give, and we get.
Who we work with
Citizen University works with organizations and people who are ready to play a role in strengthening the civic health of their communities–those who are seeking to cultivate a sustainable, long-term citizen practice, to build an understanding of how to show up in civic life in mutualistic ways, and want to take responsibility for the role they can play spreading this ethic to others–but need new tools, inspiration, and approaches to doing so.
Our work is intentionally cross-sectoral–we aim to help fellow citizens find one another in this endeavor, and infuse an ethic of mutuality into all that we do.
A Place of Possibility
How Atlanta’s civic leaders share mutual aid to propel each other’s projects
Youth Collaboratory student Ciera Roseboro shares how claiming your power can come from helping others claim theirs.
Three ways you can develop heart-driven citizenship.
