Civic engagement or civic participation has been defined as "Individual and collective action

Collective action

Collective action is the pursuit of a goal or set of goals by more than one person. It is a term which has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences.-In sociology:...

s designed to identify and address issues of public concern."

Forms

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

Community

The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

 to solve a problem or interact with the institutions of representative democracy

Representative democracy

Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...

.

Another way of describing this concept is the sense of personal responsibility individuals should feel to uphold their obligations as part of any community.

"Youth civic engagement" has identical aims, only with consideration for youth voice.

Activities

In a study published by CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts divided into 3 categories: civic, electoral, and political voice.

Measures of Civic Engagement
Civic	Electoral	Political Voice
Community problem solving	Regular voting	Contacting officials
Regular volunteering for a non-electoral organization	Persuading others to vote	Contacting the print media
Active membership in a group or association	Displaying buttons, signs, stickers	Contacting the broadcast media
Participation in fund-raising run/walk/ride	Campaign contributions	Protesting
Other fund-raising for charity	Volunteering for candidate or political organizations	Email petitions
		Written petitions
		Boycotting
		Buycotting
		Canvassing

See also

• Community building
  Community building
  Community building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community among individuals within a regional area or with a common interest...
  
  
• Community development
  Community development
  Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....
  
  
• Civic courage
  Civic courage
  Civic courage is the willingness to talk directly to people in authority. Alternatives are avoiding authority all together, or communicating only what is perceived to be expected. Actions that require civic courage vary by culture.-See also:...
  
  
• Civic virtue
  Civic virtue
  Civic virtue is the cultivation of habits of personal living that are claimed to be important for the success of the community. The identification of the character traits that constitute civic virtue have been a major concern of political philosophy...
  
  
• Civics
  Civics
  Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
  
  
• Civil society
  Civil society
  Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
  
  
• Service-learning
  Service-learning
  Service-learning is a method of teaching, learning and reflecting, frequently youth service, throughout the community. As a teaching method, it falls under the philosophy of experiential education...
  
  
• Social capital
  Social capital
  Social capital is a sociological concept, which refers to connections within and between social networks. The concept of social capital highlights the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to get collective or economic results. The term social capital is frequently...
  
  
• Youth empowerment
  Youth empowerment
  Youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults....
  
  

External links

• The Citizen's Handbook
• Community University Engagement
• Center for Civic Engagement at University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
• Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship & Public Service, Tufts University
• Civic engagement through City Wikis and Civic Wikis. - PortlandWiki's City Wiki page.
• Northumberland Civic Engagement
• Civic Engagement Center at Central Washington University
• WHYY Civic Engagement Project
• Penn Project for Civic Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
• The Center for Future Civic Media, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
  
  .
• Center for Civic Engagement at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.
• Student Voices a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania