Citizen University TV
Lessons in civic power with host Eric LiuAbout Citizen University TV
Citizen University TV offers an up-close look at lessons in civic power and engagement.
Eric Liu is founder of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute Program on Citizenship and American Identity. He was a speechwriter and deputy domestic-policy adviser for President Bill Clinton. He is the author of You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen and A Chinaman's Chance, and co-author of The Gardens of Democracy and The True Patriot. For 11 years, Eric interviewed hundreds of Seattle's leaders for Seattle Voices on Seattle Channel. He is a regular columnist for CNN.com and a correspondent for TheAtlantic.com.
Host Eric Liu reviews a core strategy of civic power, adjusting the arena. The arena is yours to size. Do you want it to be smaller or larger, an inside or outside game, a deeper or shallower approach to exercising power? We take a look at these concepts in action with Ending the Prison Industrial Complex (EPIC), an organization leading the charge against the new youth detention center. Then, former Seattle Mayor Norman Rice - who during his tenure in the 1990s spearheaded a citywide education summit - discusses the elements of effective civic engagement and how to bring coalitions of people together for meaningful change.