Civic health.
Recently, over a pile of nachos, I asked my friend: What images come to mind when you hear those words?
Civic health can be hard to explain. At Civic Nebraska, this is how we define our work to strengthen it:
“We support people to be connected, informed, and engaged in their communities and state. When we are more connected to one another and to institutions, we are better positioned to solve local problems.”
Still too broad? Recently, our Civic Health Programs team assembled this list of words we believe describes the essence of our work:
Community
Inclusive
Trust
Valued
Neighbors
Connection
Support
Belonging
Effective
People
Not bad. Still, I’m a former art teacher, and my “art brain” immediately wishes for imagery. I want a booklet or a paper that I can whip out and thumb through, with pictures telling the story that words can’t.
So, we want to know: What images come to mind when you think of the words above?
Maybe, your mind’s eye will conjure scenes of where you live: A thriving farmer’s market. A school family night. A neighborhood park where you walk with a partner or friend. A local coffee shop. You might already have pictures from these places, events, and interactions on your mobile device.
If so, we’d love to see them. Help us add to our visual vocabulary. Share your images of civic health with us – and the world – to help us illustrate what civic health looks like. Photos, drawings, graphics, are all welcome.
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We can’t wait to see images that resonate, and that show our collective feeling of belonging, inclusion, safety, collaboration, and fun in our communities. Send them to me at chris.mccurdy@civicnebraska.org, or post them to social media with the hashtag #civichealthpics.
Building civically healthy places to live and preserving these spaces for future Nebraskans is worth the work. One way we can begin is by lifting them up and showing them to everyone. Maybe even over a pile of nachos.
