Our philosophy was forged in the crucible of the American civic rights movement which etched the disarmingly simple fundamentals of democracy and public work:



Each of us is democracy

Democracy comes to life when we do its work

Democracy wanes when we set its burdens aside

When people do the work of democracy, the future can be better than the past.



The Center for Democracy and Citizenship develops citizenship initiatives around the concept of public work. Public work is sustained, visible, serious effort by a diverse mix of ordinary people that creates things of lasting civic or public significance.



The ultimate goal is a flourishing democratic way of life, created through a different kind of politics in which citizens take center stage.



We believe citizenship is best seen as work, whether paid or unpaid, that has public meaning, lasting public impact, and contributes to the commonwealth. Public work is different than citizenship as charity, or community service where the emphasis is on helping the needy. It is also different than protest politics, which demonizes an enemy.



Public work interacts with the world to leave a legacy. It changes the community, the larger world, and the people involved