Education
Civic Participation Democracy
Giving Young People a Voice in Democracy
Linley Foundation focuses on civic education, developing programs and technology that encourage young people to participate in shaping the societies they live in.
A New Focus on Civic Education
After more than fifteen years supporting educational and community projects in northeastern Brazil, Linley Foundation made a strategic decision in 2018 to concentrate its resources on civic education and democratic participation.
Convinced of the power of education to strengthen democracy, the Foundation brought together a team of teachers, technologists, and entrepreneurs to develop a new approach to civic learning.
The result is Civic Portrait, a civic education model and digital platform that enables young people to express their aspirations, explore different points of view, and engage in the practice of democracy.
The America I Want:
A Civic Portrait
Our first Civic Portrait—and the Foundation's principal focus—is The America I Want, a national civic education initiative built around a digital platform that enables students across the country to participate in a shared civic conversation.
Students answer a fundamental question: What kind of country do we want to live in? Their responses are visualized as word clouds, creating a distinctive Civic Portrait of the aspirations of each school and community. Through the platform, these portraits can be explored, analyzed, and compared across schools, states, regions, and the nation.
The digital platform makes it possible to bring the program to thousands of schools, connecting classrooms across the country, revealing how civic aspirations differ among communities and change over time, and providing a starting point for discussion, debate, and civic learning.
One Platform
Many Democracies
The America I Want is our first Civic Portrait. Once the model is established nationally, the platform can be adapted for use in other democratic societies, giving young people the opportunity to explore the future they want for their own countries and, eventually, compare their aspirations across borders.
At its heart, Civic Portrait is a democracy project that encourages dialogue, reasoned debate, and a greater understanding of different points of view through an experience that is both educational and engaging.
Where We Began
OVERSEAS
Linley Foundation began with hands-on educational and community projects in northeastern Brazil. Over more than fifteen years, the Foundation supported scholarships and vocational training, improvements to rural schools, community health initiatives, emergency housing, and programs that taught compassion and empathy through the care of animals.