SAN JOSE, CA – In this latest video "Civic Engagement: Learn, Engage, Take Action" produced by the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE), Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph Di Salvo brings community members to the studio for a conversation about the importance of civic education and participation.
Joining Di Salvo are Hoi Poon, and Education Advocate and Community Leader; Steve Preminger, Director of Community Initiatives for the Office of the County Executive, Santa Clara County; and Esther Perelaz-Dieckmann, Director of Santa Clara County Office of Women's Policy.
This discussion begins around an assertion made by San Jose community activist and former candidate for city council Peter Allen, who said, "we need to reshape our politics around honest, ethical and inspiring messaging; and we must do a better job of educating our youth on principles of civic engagement. The only variable is our willingness to come together as a community and make it happen."
Preminger says the key to civic engagement lies in, "communicating with students, those students will become adults and fully participate in the community."
All three guests have worked with the SCCOE on the Civic Engagement Initiative, a program designed to provide professional development and share best practices with educators; provide hands-on learning opportunities for students to participate in the upcoming November 2016 elections by coordinating age appropriate contests in multiple languages; and engage key stakeholders, including parents and community members, in the democratic process.
Poon says one of the main challenges is to empower students "to be engaged in the democratic process at every level."
"Civic Engagement: Learn, Engage, Take Action," is available on the SCCOE YouTube page, and will air at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays on CreaTV Classrooms; Cable Channel 28 in San Jose and Campbell; and at 6:30 p.m. on Mondays on Bay Voice TV, Cable Channel 27 in Atherton, Campbell, Cupertino, East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Stanford University, and Sunnyvale.
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