From Uncle Sam to Civic Tech: Rebuilding Civic Engagement for Gen Z Using Design Thinking

For over 200 years, civic engagement and education in the U.S. have remained largely unchanged while Gen Z participation has declined. Today, more than 60% of eligible young adults do not vote, and many feel unprepared to engage in civic life.

But this is not a motivation problem; it is a design problem.

We continue to rely on messages like the Uncle Sam poster, “We want you,” without showing people what to do next or how to meaningfully get involved. And let’s be honest, most civic systems were not built with Gen Z in mind, and it shows. As a 16-year-old working in this space, I have spent the past few years researching youth civic engagement, working with communities across Minnesota, drafting legislation, and founding Spark Civics, a youth-led organization focused on building tech-enabled systems for civic participation. In this interactive session, we will explore how civic engagement can be rebuilt using design thinking and civic tech. We will apply product design, user experience, and behavioral science to create clear pathways, transforming awareness into action. I will demo a platform that guides users through personalized next steps, feedback loops, and real opportunities to engage. I’ll share lessons and insights from a Spark Civics camp where students turned ideas into real-world impact. Join this session to turn ideas into tech-powered impact and see what civic engagement looks like when it is actually designed to work.

• All levels
• Emerging Tech
• Design
• Community