Join us May 19, 2026, at Nebraska Innovation Campus for
Conference
Strengthening civic health | Inspiring civic action | Advancing civic education
Sign up to be alerted when registration is live!
About the conference
The State of Civic Life Conference (May 19, 2026) will convene community organizers, civic educators, and system reform advocates to collaborate, educate, and plan for the future of our democracy and civil society in the heartland of the United States.
Rooted in the findings of the 2025 Civic Health Index, the conference creates space for practitioners to explore what strengthens civic life – and what actions we can take together to build a more connected, engaged, and informed society. Sessions and convening will be focused on three distinct areas:
- Civic Health, or understanding the conditions that strengthen communities and democratic life, while exploring data, trends, and lived experiences shaping civic well-being.
- Civic Action, or mobilizing communities to participate, collaborate, and lead while highlighting actionable strategies for driving engagement.
- Civic Education, or preparing all people to participate meaningfully in democracy, including formal and informal pathways for cultivating civic knowledge, skills, and confidence.
A data-rich report, the Index is published every five years to gauge Nebraska’s four civic health indicators – community involvement, political activity, faith in institutions, and social connectedness.
Civic health reflects the degree to which individuals participate and are represented in their communities, from local and state governance to interactions with friends and family. It refers to how communities are organized to define and address public problems.
The data and insights in this report serve as a starting point for conversation and collective action to strengthen civic life and democratic engagement across the state.
For small towns and metropolitan cities alike, the benefits of strong civic health range from achieving success on community priorities to increased wellness to greater economic prosperity for more residents.
The conference will explore
3
Focus
areas
.
Community engagement, organizing, and civic education
Best practices and emerging trends in community engagement, civic health, civil discourse, and media literacy.
Community engagement data and research
Latest data trends in civic engagement, voting, trust in institutions, and how that data can be used and inform work in our communities across the country.
Systems-level democracy reform
Reforms that change how we enact laws and elect our representatives directly on the local, state and national levels.
For sponsorship opportunities
Contact Kyle Cartwright at ky*************@***********ka.org