With support from The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, Community Science convened in 2000 a group of immigrant leaders in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to develop strategies for increasing immigrant civic participation. Participants learned from each other about the meaning and practice of civic participation in their respective communities. Also, immigrant leaders from other parts of the country who had successfully improved their communities’ civic capacity were invited to share their strategies with the group (2000-2001). After approximately one year, the group decided to continue to work together under the auspices of the Immigrant Empowerment Council. For two years after that, Community Science supported the Immigrant Empowerment Council by organizing its meetings and providing other logistical support. For two consecutive years, the Council organized forums that provided their community members opportunities to question local candidates running for office about their political agendas. The Council also organized, with Community Science’s support, a conference to promote the engagement of immigrant parents in their children’s schooling.
