#CivicSummer was an experimental summer jobs program for teens focused on civics, media, and technology. The program ran during the summers of 2013 and 2014. We worked with hundreds of Chicago teens to use the latest digital tools to organize themselves, amplify their voice, and take positive civic action. At Smart Chicago, this work has been integrated into Youth-Led Tech.
The program has evolved and we've picked up new partners and funders through time. #CivicSummer has been supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which funded the entire first year, and Hive Chicago and its member organizations with whom we work.
Recent Posts
Kyla Williams Co-Presents Today at Philanthropy Ohio’s Annual Conference
Today, Leon Wilson, CIO of the Cleveland Foundation, and I will co-present at the Philanthropy Ohio’s annual conference with a theme ...
SMART CHICAGO IS MOVING!!!
Good News!!! The Smart Chicago team is moving and now will be co-located with the City Digital Team at UI ...
Youth-Led Tech 2016 Innovations
Youth-Led Tech 2016 is in the books, however the work that was done in partnership with the Cook County Juvenile Temporary ...
Teamwork, Makes the Dream Work!
Smart Chicago Thanks the Youth-Led Tech Instructors Successful implementation of any program or project takes a huge amount of effort, ...
Youth-Led Tech Career Days 2016
This year the Youth-Led Tech program developed targeted Career Days and a Career Development Day. These two programs were designed ...
Youth-Led Tech Locations
Youth-led Tech Summer 2016 is a technology mentoring program for youth ages 13-18 in three Chicago neighborhoods: Austin, North Lawndale, ...
Robert Friedman, Kyla Williams and the Hive Network at the Next OpenGov Hack Night!
At this week’s Chicago OpenGov Hack Night, Robert Friedman and Kyla Williams spoke about the Hive Learning Network and the collaborative projects that we’re ...
Recent News
SMART CHICAGO IS MOVING!!!
Good News!!! The Smart Chicago team is moving and now will be co-located with the City Digital Team at UI ...
Youth-Led Tech Career Days 2016
This year the Youth-Led Tech program developed targeted Career Days and a Career Development Day. These two programs were designed ...
Robert Friedman, Kyla Williams and the Hive Network at the Next OpenGov Hack Night!
At this week’s Chicago OpenGov Hack Night, Robert Friedman and Kyla Williams spoke about the Hive Learning Network and the collaborative projects that we’re ...
Focus on ecosystem: #CivicSummer
This article focuses on the long planning and deep youth-led tech work that preceded the creation of Expunge.io ...
Recap of #CivicSummer on Chicago Tonight
This evening Jacqui Cheng and I, along with a youth Kumari Mason from Free Spirit Media and Mickey Sharp from ...
Mikva Challenge Youth using data to talk about health disparities in Chicago’s neighborhoods
This summer, Mikva Challenge and Smart Chicago Collaborative worked with a group of 140 kids and trained them to use ...
Team
Daniel X. O'Neil has managed the #CivicSummer program since its inception, and has helped lead every classroom session. This is a wide-ranging project based in Chicago, a city with enormous attention around summer youth programs. Here's a look at those who have helped in the program through time:
Christopher Whitaker
Whitaker has served as Smart Chicago's primary research, writer, and event coordinator since December 2012. He has helped to contribute ...
Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui Cheng created and delivered training for our first #CivicSummer from April to August 2013. You can get a sense of what we learned ...
Josh Kalov
Josh Kalov of Kalov Strategies leads our Cook County Open Data project. Josh also advises Smart Chicago and several of our projects. He was a ...
Lisa Schneider Fabes
Lisa Schneider Fabes consulted with us as we were forming our #CivicSummer program in December 2012 ...
Marlene Ho
Marlene Ho managed the inaugural Illinois OpenTech Challenge and our first #CivicSummer program. She also helped set up the CivicWorks Project ...
Mohammad Ouyoun
Mohammad Ouyoun started as a Smart Chicago intern in July 2014. We first met Mohammad while he was a student at ...
Sonja Marziano, Project Coordinator
Marziano manages a number of projects, including the Civic User Testing Group, Expunge.io, Early Childhood Web Portal, and other projects as they ...
Partners
Adler Planetarium
The mission of the Adler Planetarium is to inspire exploration and understanding of our Universe. We work with Adler Planetarium on ...
Free Spirit Media
Free Spirit Media provides education, access, and opportunity in media production to over 500 underserved urban youth every year. Smart ...
Mikva Challenge
Mikva Challenge was founded on the premise that youth voice and participation matter, and that our civic and political life ...
