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KEYNOTE SPEAKER 2024 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CONFERENCE

 

We are proud to announce our Keynote Speaker for the 2024 Civic Engagement Conference in Emporia, KS, Juan Sepúlveda, Ron Calgaard Distinguished Professor of Practice in Political Science at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.

Dr. Sepúlveda's many accomplishments include serving as the President's Special Advisor for Inclusive Excellence, where he helped set up Trinity University's first Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging office. He also served on the Biden-Harris Transition Team as a member of the Arts & Humanities Agency Review Team. President Biden also appointed him to the Commission on Presidential Scholars and so much more.

He grew up in a working-class Mexican-American neighborhood in Topeka, Kansas and was the first high school student to work with Kansas Secretary of State Jack H. Brier. Juan also worked closely with the late Willie Velásquez and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. Juan is the author of The Life and Times of Willie Velásquez—Su Voto Es Su Voz (Your Vote is Your Voice), published by Arte Público Press. Juan serves on numerous national boards, including All4ED, Communities in Schools, the Hispanic Heritage Foundaton, MDC, Stand for Children, the National Council for Community and Education Partners, and Youth Advocate programs, and as a selection committee member for Schwarzman Scholars and serves as the District Eight Secretary for Rhodes Scholars. Juan was the third Latino awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. He graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in Government, holds a Master of Arts in Politics, Philosophy & Economics from the Queen's College, Oxford University, a Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School and has been admitted to the Texas Bar.  

 

 

 

REGISTER NOW! SPACE IS LIMITED.

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2024 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CONFERENCE

REGISTER NOW! SPACE IS LIMITED.

 

Blue, Gold, and Photo octagons on a white background with Civic Engagement Text

 

The Kansas Volunteer Commission and Emporia State University School of Humanities + Social Sciences are excited to announce the 2024 Civic Engagement Conference. The conference will be held Wednesday, April 10 at Emporia State University Memorial Union in Emporia, KS. The theme of the conference is “Empowering Kansas through Civic Engagement”.

The $25 registration includes continental breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and networking opportunities.

 

Register Here

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Family of Five with child holding

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Civic Engagement is composed of individual and collective actions to identify and address issues of public concern. Civic engagement can take many forms, from individual volunteerism to organizational involvement to electoral participation. It can include efforts to directly address an issue, work with others in a community to solve a problem or interact with the institutions of representative democracy. Civic engagement encompasses a range of specific activities such as working in a soup kitchen, serving on a neighborhood association, writing a letter to an elected official, or voting. Indeed, an underlying principle is that an engaged citizen should have the ability, agency, and opportunity to move comfortably among these various types of civic acts.

Source: Michael Delli Carpini, Director, Public Policy, The Pew Charitable Trusts (apa.org)


 

Mentor Man with Boy on Stairs Smiling

MENTORING

Mentoring is a consistent and stable relationship between youth and a caring role model(s) that involves regular, ideally face-to-face contact and is focused on building the character, capabilities, and confidence of the mentee(s). Mentoring can be formal in the form of one-to-one, group, peer, community, school, faith-based, or mentoring that happens informally daily. Mentoring is one way for individuals to give youth another person who cares about them, who assures them they are not alone in dealing with day-to-day challenges, and someone who makes them feel like they matter.

Source: MentorKansas


 

Three AmeriCorps Members Women Laughing and Smiling

NATIONAL SERVICE

America was founded on a promise of opportunity. When we build stronger communities, we help make this promise a reality for everyone to succeed. Especially in times of adversity, we find the courage to unite and overcome. We are supporting our communities, helping them prosper, head-on and together. It is what AmeriCorps is built for: bringing all Americans together—working alongside each other to improve every community—ensuring that everyone gets the help they need and the opportunities they deserve. AmeriCorps is your chance to be a part of something bigger.

Source: AmeriCorps.gov

 

 

Woman in Pond picking up trash

VOLUNTEERISM

People the world over engage in volunteerism for a great variety of reasons: to help to eliminate poverty and to improve essential health and education, to tackle environmental issues, to reduce the risk of disasters, or to combat social exclusion and violent conflict. In all these fields, volunteerism makes a specific contribution by generating well-being for people and their communities. Volunteers are motivated by values like justice, equality, and freedom. A society that supports and encourages different forms of volunteering is likely to be one that also promotes its citizens' well-being.

Source: Unv.org/power-volunteerism


 

 

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Contact Us:

900 SW Jackson St Ste 653

Topeka, KS 66612-1212

Phone: (785) 368-7436

Email: volunteer@ksde.org

The Kansas State Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: KSDE General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, KSDE, Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, Suite 102, Topeka, KS 66612, (785) 296-3201.


Copyright by Kansas State Department of Education