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BRI’s Civics Innovation Lab Hosts Seattle Forum 

RT
by Rolf Taylor on

<p>The Bill of Rights Institute’s <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/civics-innovation-lab/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Civics Innovation Lab</a> recently gathered educators, civic leaders, and technology partners at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, Wash., for an evening centered on one question: How do we make civic education work for the next generation? </p>

<p>A moderated panel brought together&nbsp;Curtis Pearson,&nbsp;BRI’s&nbsp;Vice President, Innovation Lab; Lisa Crego,&nbsp;Vice President, Government Services Business Development &amp; Strategy&nbsp;at Boeing; Shari Conditt, BRI&#8217;s 2024–2025 National Civics Teacher of the Year; and Amalia Martino, founder and CEO of Vida Agency.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Panelists opened with the&nbsp;personal experiences&nbsp;that first drew them&nbsp;into&nbsp;civic life. Conditt described&nbsp;witnessing&nbsp;the fall of the Berlin Wall as a child living in West Germany, an image that stayed with her for decades and eventually pointed her toward teaching history. Crego pointed to a family ethos of community service spanning generations. Martino recalled her grandfather writing letters to elected officials, and the permission that gave her to&nbsp;find&nbsp;her own&nbsp;voice.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The conversation&nbsp;then&nbsp;turned to barriers&nbsp;to&nbsp;quality&nbsp;civic education and community engagement.&nbsp;Conditt, who&nbsp;teaches in&nbsp;Woodland, Wash., noted that many of her students have never visited Washington, D.C.,&nbsp;and&nbsp;don&#8217;t&nbsp;expect to, so civics can feel like something&nbsp;that’s&nbsp;happening somewhere else.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The evening closed with a fireside chat between BRI’s&nbsp;Chief Operating Officer,&nbsp;Adam Cushing,&nbsp;and Washington state&nbsp;representative&nbsp;Chipalo&nbsp;Street&nbsp;about artificial intelligence&nbsp;(AI), technology, and civic education. Both agreed that as AI becomes more capable, critical thinking becomes more important, not less. Students and teachers need enough mastery of a subject to evaluate what these tools produce.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A theme that&nbsp;emerged&nbsp;across conversations: civic education must be&nbsp;built with&nbsp;and&nbsp;alongside&nbsp;communities, not just for them. Every community faces distinct challenges, and&nbsp;the&nbsp;solutions need to match&nbsp;those challenges.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/civics-innovation-lab/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Civics Innovation Lab</a>&nbsp;continues&nbsp;this work through ongoing partnerships and community engagement across the country.&nbsp;</p>