Food, music, and local politics
Local politics affect many aspects of everyday life, including education, transportation, and public safety. However, participation in local politics is often low. Through our partnership with MyVote Project, we’re re-imagining what local voter engagement could look like—and we’re taking cues from young New Yorkers.
MyVote Project is a national, nonpartisan organization promoting civic engagement and voter participation among young people and voters of all ages. Powered by a network of more than 250 student volunteers, MyVote Project combines old-school community outreach with social media, virtual meetings, and a website that makes local policies and policymakers searchable by postal code. In partnership with Incite, MyVote Project is experimenting with new models of local voter engagement.
On June 17, MyVote Project and Incite hosted an event at The Clemente in New York with music, food, and appearances from local leaders, entertainers, and artists. By taking conversations out of classrooms and boardrooms, our Community Conversations series aims to create a more open and welcoming space for discussing the local issues that matter most.
The second in a series, this event focused on the lasting impacts of Covid-19 on life in New York. In small groups, local high school students led participants through discussions about the impact of Covid-19 on education, performing arts, healthcare, and small business.
Those with expertise and lived experience helped with the discussions, including psychotherapist and parent coach Hannah Lavan, community engagement specialist Paulette Spencer, and fashion designer Bones Jones.
Before parting ways, all participants met as a larger group to discuss their findings. Insights from Community Conversations will shape MyVote Project’s website and form a basis for further experimentation. It’s our hope that the models we develop through this partnership can be implemented nationally.
For more information on our partnership with MyVote Project, click here.