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Community-Citizens Engagement
February 12th, 2009 by Mike Knutson
When first I read the Knight Foundation’s report “Soul of the Community,” I was unfamiliar with the term “community-citizen engagement.” As I wrote about it, however, I became more interested in understanding what they meant by it.
I suppose the short definition is that community-citizen engagement means that a community’s citizens are engaged within their community. That seems pretty simple. And the report’s claim that communities with higher engagement have stronger economies makes sense to me: after all, when community members give their time and effort, the community becomes stronger.
But the Soul of the Community report offers a more robust definition. The report states that “Community-citizen engagement is the psychological connection and commitment residents have with the community in which they live,” and that it consists of two parts loyalty and passion.
The report goes on to recommend how communities can build community-citizen engagement. I’d highly recommend that anyone interested in community development check this information out!
I’d like to highlight one recommendation, however, that I feel is particularly important for rural communities; “Connect students with businesses while in school through internships, community ties, problem solving, etc.”
Yes, if you’re a regular reader of our blog, this should sound familiar. It’s great to hear that advice come from elsewhere.
Other ReImagineRural posts on engaging Gen Y
- “Letting Gen Y be the Teachers“
- “Just another typical Millennial“
- “Small Biz Survival get’s Gen Y“
- “It’s still about the relationship“
- “How to Engage Gen Y in Rural Communities“
Tags: community-citizen engagement, Gen Y, Knight Foundation, millennials, Soul of the Community
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Gen Y, Rural, Youth | Comments (
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