| Public Achievement program finalist for Carl Bertelsmann prize  The Public
Achievement program in the Center
for Democracy and Citizenship (CDC) has been named one of 15 finalists for
the prestigious Carl
Bertelsmann prize. Awarded annually since 1981 by the Bertelsmann
Foundation, the Carl Bertelsmann prize is an international award that recognizes
“innovative approaches and outstanding ideas that help shape and further
develop democratic societies.” The 2007 prize will recognize the best youth
citizenship education effort in the world.
Public Achievement was designed to give young people the opportunity to be
producers and creators of their communities, not simply customers or clients.
It was created in 1990 as a partnership between the City of Saint Paul and CDC.
The initial goals were to integrate civic education into institutions that work
with young people and test whether young people could have an impact on problems
in their schools and neighborhoods in a serious way and define this work in
political terms.
In 1997, the expansion of Public Achievement beyond Minneapolis and Saint Paul
was under way. A partnership with people in Kansas City, rural northwestern
Missouri, Milwaukee, and later in other parts of the country, provided the opportunity
to develop and test practices of civic engagement. Public Achievement sites
continue to be learning laboratories to discover what works in engaging young
people in public life. Many of the lessons learned from these efforts are compiled
as tools and resources on the Public Achievement website.
To find out more about Public Achievement, contact Dennis
Donovan, Humphrey School research fellow and national organizer for Public
Achievement.
May 10, 2007
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