Civic Engagement versus Political Engagement

There is often confusion between ‘civic engagement’ and ‘political engagement.’ While civic engagement is a broad term that implies being an active citizen in any way in service to the community, political engagement is a more narrow term that refers to direct participation in formal city governance and administration.  

Although thinking about political engagement can be intimidating at first, anyone can have civic engagement within their communities on any level, no matter how small. Engaging in civic activities can be your first step in being politically involved and making a difference. 

What is Civic Engagement? 

There are many types of civic engagement, some examples include:

• participating in the community and volunteer organizations
• participating in elections by volunteering or voting
• writing letter to political representatives
• campaigning on various issues through social media
• membership in associations and groups
• rallying and protesting
• signing petitions
• engagement with local government politics
  • sitting on city councils, regional boards, Advisory Committees, Task Forces, boards
  • making presentations to the council
    

The Importance of Civic Engagement in Youth

Definition of Civic Engagement in Youth

Here, “youth” is defined as anyone between the ages of 13 and 25.

Declining Youth Voter Turnout

A publication by the Parliament of Canada has noted that Canada’s youth voter turnout is well below all other demographic groups. To further the issue, the conventional wisdom that non-voters become voters as they get older may no longer hold true, according to a number of studies. With declining youth participation in civic engagement, the average age of people actively involved in local government will be on the rise. 

By exposing youth to civic engagement earlier on, they will be familiarized with their local government – thereby increasing likeliness for youth to participate on more levels with their local government over time.

Aging & Retiring Workforce in Local Governments

According to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, some municipalities expect 30-50% of their municipal workforce to retire within the next 10 years, most of which are likely senior experts. If employees within the local government sector are not replaced at the same rate as they retire, local governments may experience recruitment and retention issues for new staff. Therefore, it is important for current local leaders to engage with their  youth to encourage higher civic engagement and ultimately, increasing interest in pursuing a career within local government.

Challenges

Some challenges local governments face in increasing youth engagement are:

• formal structure in civic and political processes deter youth from participating;
• youth feeling disconnected due to lack of knowledge about political and civic processes;
• youth do not believe their engagement would make a difference;
• youth do not know how to get involved and where to start; and
• negative stereotyping against youth who are civically engaged.

Despite the difficulties listed above, there are ways to combat these issues and your local government can get involved now.

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