Last year The Malin Burnham Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at The San Diego Foundation hosted more than 1,500 community members of different age, race and zip code, as well as influential keynotes, from leading futurists to social justice champions of the most groundbreaking movements of our time.
The CCE brought community together to learn and discuss social challenges and opportunities by facilitating dialogue and collaborative action to create a vibrant San Diego region.
In 2016, CCE welcomed award-winning social justice visionaries: civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and elder boom expert Ai-Jen Poo; celebrities like pro-snowboarder and outdoor advocate Ryan Hudson and filmmaker/anti-recidivism champion Malik Vitthal; thought leaders such as UC Irvine professor of Criminology, Law & Society Charis Kubrin and University of Southern California professor of Sociology, American Studies & Ethnicity Dr. Manuel Pastor, and more.
A Look Back
Here are some memorable sentiments from CCE events in 2016 to inspire more community conversations across the San Diego region in the New Year:
- “Everyone deserves the opportunity to be exposed to more than a four-block radius.” —Ryan Hudson, Opening the Outdoors (Weaving Movements: Love For The Land)
- “People need an invitation to be engaged in our democracy.” —Xavier Leonard, Open San Diego (Open Democracy at Politifest)
- “We’ve got the power. People power.” —Dolores Huerta, Dolores Huerta Foundation (Weaving Movements: Linking Innovation with Inclusion)
- “One tough thing you’ve got to ignore is hearing that your vision is too big.” —Nitya Timalsina, One Step Projects (25 and Under! The Future of Service)
- “Privilege in today’s society cannot be understood without place or race. Opportunity is not just a factor of human capital.” —Dr. Charis Kubrin, UC Irvine (Race: Are We So Different)
- “We need to shift our paradigm to understand the perspective from those in the system.” —Malik Vitthal, Filmmaker (Imperial Dreams Film Screening)
- “The previously incarcerated are hardworking, passionate, want to succeed. They need resources: education, housing, life skills.” —Scott Budnick, Anti Recidivism Coalition (Reducing Recidivism Through Connection and Community)
- “To care is to be human. What’s next? A caring agenda.” —Ai-Jen Poo, Caring Across Generations (The Future of Age-Friendly Communities: Preparing for the Elder Boom)
- “It’s not top-bottom or bottom-up. Lift the bottom, grow the middle, and drive the top.” —Dr. Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California (Weaving Movements: Linking Innovation with Inclusion)
