Event series explores civic involvement in New Hampshire

FRANKLIN — NH Civics and NHPR will kick off a series of candid conversations on citizenship today on Tuesday, March 15. The programs will be held around New Hampshire with a diverse panel of guest speakers hosted by former host of NHPR’s The Exchange Laura Knoy. Attendees can choose to join in person or virtually for a live discussion about how New Hampshire's people and communities can act now to build back our civic strength.

The events will be produced as special hour-long broadcasts to air on NHPR at a later date.

Public trust in state and national government has declined dramatically over the last 10 years, as civics education slipped out of most school curricula. The Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election has been seen as a measure of the decline in civic literacy.

Conversations with panelists will cover a variety of topics exploring the complexities of American life today, such as:

What is difficult about understanding and carrying out responsible citizenship today?

How does a person become an engaged community member? 

What can we do to strengthen and heal our communities?

What does active citizenship look like today?

How can each of us facilitate change within our community?

Locations include: March 15 at the Franklin Opera House, April 5 at Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, April 19 at the Nashua Public Library, May 3 at the Rochester Opera House, and May 17 at the Berlin City Hall. The programs are free online, with prior registration. Sign up and find out more at NHPR.org/events.

Invited panelists include:

Jo Brown, Mayor of Franklin, Dr. Dottie Morris, associate vice president for diversity and inclusion, Keene State College, John Greabe, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, Professor of Law, Hannah McCarthy, co-host of Civics 101, Betty Tamposi, former Republican state representative, Bush administration assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Melanie Levesque, former Democratic State Senator, business owner, Bruce Mallory, NH Listens Co-founder, Co-Author of the NH Civic Health Index, Lovey Roundtree Oliff, Exeter Select Board member, Anthony Poore, NH Humanities former Executive Director, Mallory Langkau (Groveton Middle High School teacher, DAR NH History Teacher of the Year), Aaron Blais (Exeter High School), Chris Brooks (Souhegan High School), and David Alcox (Milford High School).

Each discussion will also include youth and young people from the community.