The Future of Citizenship – 2023 Conference

The 2023 Annual National Conference on Citizenship, held in partnership with the National Civic League, will take place at the Planet Word Museum on Thursday, November 30th. The lead sponsor of the event will be the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.

We are witnessing a dramatic increase in the power and impact of technology on our daily lives and on our democracy. Social media algorithms mediate our access to news and information at the heart of our civic discourse. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly emerging to transform what we can create and learn. Mis- and disinformation hamper the ability for people to understand what is true. Civic data is now critical to the effectiveness of the institutions charged with strengthening our democracy. These factors combine to transform how we live, work, vote, interact, and obtain information. All factors have a tremendous impact on liberty, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

To make sense of the profound role of technology in our civic life, the 2023 National Conference on Citizenship will bring together civic leaders, practitioners, elected officials and experts, to discuss how we can shape the future of citizenship.

The conference will also feature the release of a “Healthy Democracy” map, produced by the National Civic League, showing the constellation of organizations working to strengthen democracy in America.

Throughout the conference we will explore the following key questions:

• What are the risks and opportunities posed for our democracy by Artificial Intelligence?
• How can we modernize and increase citizen participation to mitigate threats to our democracy?
• How can the civic engagement field benefit from efforts to track and analyze our digital public square?
• How do we ensure equity, justice, and inclusion drive approaches to democratic innovation?

More details on agenda, speakers, and programming will be available in the coming weeks.