Daily Resource Highlight - 12/14/2020
Posted by on December 21, 2020 at 1:12 PM
Below are the highlights and featured resources of this past week’s Daily* Resource.
12/15/2020 - TechCongress Continues to Help Congress Enter the 21st Century
This past spring, Congress faced an unprecedented challenge. For the first time ever, they had to figure out how to conduct business remotely to protect themselves from COVID-19. TechCongress has been helping Congress gradually move into the 21st century for years now, but the pandemic meant that Congress needed to go digital, and had to do so now. TechCongress met the challenge with its 2020 Congressional Digital Service Fellows (bottom of the page) -- a one-time program designed to keep Congress open.
While those fellows will finish their service in February 2021, their impact will certainly be felt by TechCongress’ regularly scheduled 2021 Congressional Innovation Fellows. These remarkable men and women, who will be placed among the top tech decision makers in our government, will face circumstances and challenges far different than their predecessors. We are confident that they will meet those challenges and congratulate them on being chosen for this prestigious program.
On a separate note, we would like to give a shout out to Shannon Mannon of Living Room Conversations for her opinion piece in USA Today. I don’t want to give too much away, but Shannon realized she wasn’t practicing what she preached, and sought to correct that. Her journey will sound familiar to many of you
12/18/2020 - Civics Unplugged: Gen Z is Leading the Way
If you’ve been reading our newsletter, you know that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made a surprise appearance at Commence 2030. That would be an impressive accomplishment for a young organization on its own, but Civics Unplugged continues to raise the bar for itself. Mr. Sheng was featured in Forbes’ 30 under 30 for Social Impact Entrepreneurs and CU recently secured a $50,000 grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to empower the young men and women who will be leading our nation into the future.
The best part of all this, though, is that Gary is determined to share his success with others. As I write this, Civics Unplugged is accepting applications for its 2021 Fellowship program. This is a 5-month long program that will empower high school students to build the future American democracy. If you know a young man or woman that would be interested in this virtual program, send them this link today! Admissions are rolling, so the sooner they apply, the better.
Featured Resources
- AllSides - December 13th, 2020: What Causes A Vicious Cycle of Polarization, and How Can It Be Reversed? Highlights and Takeaways from New Research
- American Public Square (podcast) December 11th, 2020: "Transition of Power & Path to Vaccination"
- Ballotpedia: Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine distribution by state
- Braver Angels - December 8th, 2020: Reclaiming Nonviolence in the Age of Antiracism
- Braver Angels (podcast) December 15th, 2020: Could a Multiparty System Depolarize American Politics? | Lee Drutman, Luke Nathan Phillips
- The Center for The Study of Liberty - December 11th, 2020: Trust and public health
- The Center for The Study of Liberty - December 15th, 2020: A monopoly most of us love to hate
- Civics Unplugged (fellowship deadline December 31st): Civics Unplugged Fellowship '21 Promo Kit
- Civics Unplugged (announcement): Civics Unplugged Secures $50,000 Philanthropic Investment from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to Empower Students to Pioneer the Future of American Democracy.
- Independent Voter News - December 14th, 2020: National Reform Leaders Lay Out the Future of Better Elections for 2021 and Beyond
- Issue Voter (podcast featuring Maria Yuan) October 16th, 2020: 49 Civic Engagement During COVID-19
- Mormon Women for Ethical Government (campaign): Prepare for Peacemaking
- National Conversation Project (video) December 8th, 2020: Nita Lelyveld, LA Times #ListenFirstFriday
- Project on Government Oversight - December 10th, 2020: Corrupted: Confirming Our Fears About the PPP
- Project on Government Oversight - December 18th, 2020: Contractors Use Shell Games to Hide Owners, Cheat Taxpayer
- Public Agenda - December 7th, 2020: Building Blocks to Support Youth Leadership in Nevada
- R Street Institute - December 3rd, 2020: Expanding prison education benefits everybody
- R Street Institute - December 9th, 2020: How Technology Shapes—and Sometimes Deforms—Policing Culture
- R Street Institute (podcast) December 10th, 2020: Does it really matter which party controls Congress next year?
- R Street Institute - December 14th, 2020: Bipartisan pique threatens to destroy an open internet
- Reclaim - December 9th, 2020: People Power Scores Win vs Inequality
- Stand Up Republic - December 11th, 2020: The Danger Of Crying Wolf In An Election
- TechCongress (fellowship): Meet The 2021 Congressional Innovation Fellows!
- The Village Square (podcast) December 10th, 2020: God Squad: True Believers - The ascendant "religion" of our political extreme