OPPORTUNITY: Apply for the ENACT Faculty Fellowship by January 31, 2025 here, or nominate a candidate by emailing ENACT@brandeis.edu.
The mission of ENACT: The Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation is to teach college students about democracy through engagement with the state legislative process. Built on knowledge, cooperation, justice and integrity, ENACT is a national, inter-collegiate non-partisan program. ENACT empowers students to be active participants in democratic processes through connecting with policymakers and community organizations; conducting research and analysis; and informing public policy with evidence and expertise.
ENACT has become a major voice addressing challenges to American democracy by engaging young people around the country in civic activism built on knowledge, cooperation, justice and integrity. Students learn through direct engagement in this work, traveling to the state capital; meeting with legislators; strategizing with community organizations; and creating outreach materials to advance their chosen issues.
ENACT has launched new programs at colleges and universities across the United States and has built a national online network of students, faculty, activists and legislators. The ENACT Network is becoming a strategic and information hub — a needed resource for state-level players — that enables participants to connect with counterparts throughout the country, with guidance from the team at Brandeis.
Participating schools represent a diverse range of higher education institutions. They are linked through an online network that enhances their learning, connects them with people active in the field and provides an opportunity for them to share their work to inspire and instruct others who seek to make an impact on civic life in the United States.
In ENACT courses, student teams research their chosen issues and design and implement models of legislative activity. Students work with a legislative mentor and/or a member of an advocacy organization, and strive to effect social change.
ENACT brings the commitment to citizen participation embodied by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis to students and organizations engaged in state-level legislation across the United States.