Growing Democracy Conferences
Growing Democracy Conference
Hosted by National Louis University
Date: December 11, 2024
Special Guests:
- Dick Simpson, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Jamal Scott, Dean, Undergraduate College, National Louis University
Growing Democracy Group:
- Magda Giurcanu, Assistant Professor, National Louis University
- Joe Rice, Instructor, National Louis University
- Edwina Hamilton, BUILD
- Sean Price, BUILD
We had 20 attendees present in person, along with additional participants joining via Zoom, actively contributing to the conference discussions.
Conference recording: Growing Democracy Confrence.mov and Conference slides: Growing Democracy Effort
Part 1: Reflections on the 2024 Elections
Jamal Scott, UGC Dean, National Louis University, delivers introductory remarks, offering an overview of civic engagement and restorative practices within UGC at NLU.
Dick Simpson, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, introduces the session and delivers a brief analysis of the 2024 elections, with a particular focus on the youth vote. Prof. Simpson explores the key outcomes of the election, emphasizing the significance of the upcoming 2026 and 2028 elections. He also discusses strategies for building a successful civic engagement program at NLU.
The first session concludes with a Q&A session.
Part 2: Overview of the Growing Democracy Work After Two Years
Magda Giurcanu, National Louis University, provides an overview of the achievements of the past two years, highlighting key initiatives such as community-based organization mapping, podcast interviews, and research studies.
Edwina Hamilton and Sean Price, BUILD, Inc., share an overview of BUILD's ongoing projects and community engagement on the West Side of Chicago.
Joe Rice, Youth Workshops and Restorative Practice Approaches, presents an overview of restorative justice techniques and the themes covered in the six workshops held at BUILD.
Magda Giurcanu then summarizes the main findings of the survey data analysis, specifically focusing on the changes in youth civic and political engagement over the past two years.
The session concludes with final remarks.
