Vermont Civics Collaborative

Vermont Humanities is taking part in the nationwide “Why it Matters: Civics and Electoral Participation” initiative sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Federation for State Humanities Councils.

After a year in which citizen engagement has never been more important, this national project will bring some of the best thinkers, activists, and organizers on these issues to forefront across the nation, and in Vermont.

Over the next six months, nine Vermont partners will organize events for “Why it Matters” under the banner of the Vermont Civics Collaborative. 

The Collaborative will present a wide array of events and project from January through May on topics including:

• Campaign funding
• Direct Democracy
• Ideological polarization
• Protests and Civil Disobedience
• The Electoral College
• The rural/urban Divide
• Voter apathy
• Voting rights (including both enfranchisement and voter suppression)
• Women in politics
• Youth Engagement

The Collaborative will also support the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s work on the Vermont Proposition, an initiative to develop a collaborative set of transformational goals for Vermont’s economy, environment, and communities and propose bold priorities for action.

This program is part of the “Why it Matters: Civics and Electoral Participation” initiative sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Federation for State Humanities Councils. ​

Vermont Humanities is under grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Any views expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the NEH or Vermont Humanities.