What is Civic Engagement?

Betsy Covington, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley, explains what civic engagement means to her and why it's so important.

People who are involved in healthy city-building love to toss around the term “civic engagement.” It sounds important, but what does it really mean?

I believe there are as many ways to practice good civic engagement as there are citizens within a community. It all starts with being aware of the fact that you belong to a community and that its health is affected by your behavior. Certainly, people who run for office are engaged civically, as are those who attend city council, school board or other public meetings.

But I believe that civic engagement can be practiced in more subtle ways. To me, it’s anything that acknowledges that people are part of the social fabric of a community and that the common good depends on our treatment of each other.

So civic engagement can look like a person picking up trash on their street, or someone helping a stranger get directions. It can be getting to know your neighbors and beginning to dream about the kind of neighborhood you might create together. It can even be as simple as being kind to each other, recognizing that we’re all part of this group of citizens who depend on each other to help our community move forward.

I love the opportunity that On the Table gives us to knit those social connections a little more tightly between ourselves.

Who knows what we can accomplish if we learn how to work better together?

Betsy Covington and her husband, Rick, participate in MidTown Inc.'s "Clean Up MidTown" litter pick-up initiative, an idea inspired by an On the Table conversation.

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