I’m a super fan of civic engagement, which I know makes me sound like a total nerd, but here we are.
However, I’ve found that often when people hear the term “civic engagement,” they’re not all as thrilled about it as I am. Many people have flashbacks to boring high school classes or may not even know what that term means.
That’s why we here at Alliance for a Better Utah and Better Utah Institute recently spent hundreds of hours (literally) putting together a fun new series of games and quizzes to help Utahns figure out how to engage with politics and their communities. We developed this toolkit to show everyone that civic engagement isn’t difficult or dull and that no matter how you like to communicate, there is a way for you to get involved.
You can find Civic Engagement Toolkit here.
I know not everyone is the type of person who likes to get up at the front of a room and state their opinions, but just because you might not be an extrovert doesn’t mean your opinion doesn’t matter or that you shouldn’t get engaged!
One of the first steps in the toolkit is a personality quiz that helps you figure out what kind of advocate you are. Once you understand how you feel comfortable advocating, we have a list of ideas of where you can start to voice your perspective on the issues you care about most.
The important thing we want to hammer home is that we want you to learn how to express your unique voice and point of view about the things that impact you. Many people think that getting civically engaged takes a lot of time or education or experience. Still, the fact is you are armed with more information and knowledge than you think, and it can take just moments to get started.
Other things you’ll find in the toolkit:
First, there’s Level 1: Getting to know you, where you’ll take that personality quiz to learn about what type of advocacy you are most comfortable with and then another quiz to find your top issue of concern. In Level 2: Civic Engagement 101, you’ll learn the basics of civic engagement, including getting informed, taking action, voting, building relationships, and taking a leadership role. Finally, for Level 3: Make an Action Plan, you’ll put your newfound knowledge to use! You’ll set goals and develop strategies on how to start getting civically engaged.
I hope you’ll take a moment to explore it and let us know what you think! Share your advocacy personality quiz results on social media, and be sure to tag us and our sister org (@betterutah and @betterutahinstitute)! We love seeing all the different types of people who are ready to get involved in politics and their communities!
