Welcome

The Annette Strauss Institute was founded in 2000 on the belief that active, engaged citizens are made, not born, and that society benefits when citizens take part. Through research, the Institute cultivates future generations of citizens and leaders.

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Speak Up! Speak Out!'s Bright Future Tower award and TX Votes's Best Student Organization Tower Award

Two of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life's programs were awarded Tower Awards by the Longhorn Center for Community Engagement on Wednesday evening on April 24th! Speak Up! Speak Out! was awarded the 2019 Bright Future Award and TX Votes was award one of two 2019 Outstanding Student Organization Award. To learn more about Speak Up! Speak Out! and the civics curriculum it offers Texas teachers and students, please visit the program's page. To learn more about TX Votes and how to get involved in the club, please visit the student organization's page.

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Educational Programs and Research

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College Programs

College programs include New Politics Forum and TX Votes. New Politics forum offers nonpartisan training, educational seminars, and conferences across the state. TX Votes is a student-led organization on the University of Texas at Austin's campus that practices Get Out The Vote activities.

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K-12 Programs

Speak Up! Speak Out! is a K-12 civic education program, in which students identify a community problem and collaborate in a small group to solve that issue. TexElects is a statewide competition for high school students, in which students create art projects that encourage their community to vote during presidential and midterm election cycles.