In conjunction with educating the American and global community about the U.S. political process and issues related to the current election year, the Global Vote Project seeks to foster and facilitate civic engagement among its website users. This will in turn enable citizens of all countries to voice their opinions and learn how to influence the outcomes of political decisions that both directly and indirectly affect them.
Civic engagement entails the participation of private citizens in improving their communities, and in the process benefiting their own livelihoods. Participation can be far and wide ranging, from volunteering at an elementary school or raising funds for hurricane relief. It can be at the local, national, regional, or international level. Civic engagement is a critical component of society, which balances and checks the other two main components of society, the public sector (government) and private sector (for profit companies). Fostering an informed and active civil society ensures that all citizens have the opportunity to address any adverse policies made within the public and private sectors.
Building on these assumptions, the Global Vote Project provides the opportunity for users to not only learn about the issues, but to also share opinions, educate others, and advocate their ideas. Policies on immigration, the environment, trade agreements, and decisions of war and peace, among others, affect everyone’s lives, whether they live in Japan, Russia, Turkey or Kenya, and therefore their opinions matter as well.
There are several examples of the beneficial change that civic engagement can incur. A United National Development Programme paper from 2002 cited several positive case studies on civic engagement, including the 1996 Peace of Timbuktu and the enactment of the 1997 Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act in the Philippines. In the same vein, the lack of civic engagement leads to negative consequences. In 2000, Harvard professor Robert Putnam authored his best selling book ‘Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community’ where he explained the waning of social capital, including participation in civic activities, in the U.S. and its adverse effects on the country.
Now in 2008 with continued globalization and the growth of Internet based blogging and social networking, and where people can exchange opinions and ideas in a matter of seconds, the Global Vote Project is the grassroots forum to become involved in for the 2008 U.S. election process. Recognizing that the next President of the United States will affect U.S. citizens as well as other citizens across the globe, we invite you to participate as a citizen international to learn the issues and become as engaged as you choose.
Civic Engagement
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