Latest news with #CarnegieCorporationofNewYork
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local officials are looking for ways to keep political polarization at bay
Local officials are looking for ways to keep political polarization at bay as it continues to rage around them in the wider world, according to a new survey by the nonprofit research organization CivicPulse. Just under a third of local government leaders who took part in the survey, which was commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and released Tuesday, said political polarization negatively affects their communities "a great deal" or "a lot" — matching the 31% who said the same in an earlier survey by the nonprofit groups before the 2024 election. While their perceptions have held steady, local officials are seeking new ways to prevent what 83% of them called the substantial harmful impact of polarization on the nation from seeping into their communities. The survey of nearly 1,300 community leaders from around the country, conducted from January through March, is the second in a three-part series on the local impact of political polarization. The results, drawn from municipalities of a few thousand people to tens of thousands, again suggest local governments — especially in smaller communities — are more insulated from the negative effects of polarization than state and national ones. Still, the responses showed that local leaders believe the negative community impact hasn't subsided even after the conclusion of last year's heated election, driving a variety of mitigation efforts. They include focusing on hyperlocal policy areas that the public, regardless of party affiliation, can agree on; emphasizing neutral language, evidence and community benefits in communications; hosting community events to raise awareness of what local government is doing; and introducing volunteering opportunities and civics education. 'The finding that perceptions of political polarization are slow to change confirms the need for sustained commitments,' Louise Richardson, president of the Carnegie Corporation, said in a statement. 'Evidently local government leaders are looking for ways to foster more cohesive environments, and in so doing are providing examples for other communities.' Just under half of respondents, or 48%, said they choose to devote their time to policy topics that universally affect the community, like infrastructure, housing and public safety, to avoid potential politicization. Local leaders said that when opinions on topics could fall along national party lines, they try to reframe the issues to lessen any divisiveness, with 57% reporting they considered the challenges of polarization in deciding how to communicate about their work. James Hely, a Town Council member in Westfield, New Jersey, provided one example. He said that he and the mayor favor building affordable housing in their community but that the term can be politically charged. "You have to be very liberal to say I want the town to have a lot of affordable housing," said Hely, a Democrat. Instead, he reframes the issue to focus on local control of zoning. That's because New Jersey enacted a law, known as the "builder's remedy," that allows developers to sue municipalities to build affordable housing when such accommodations are lacking, sometimes overriding local zoning restrictions and the community's wishes. "Rather than say we want to make sure we have affordable housing, you turn that around to say, one, we want to stop the builder's remedy; we want to prevent builders from coming in and crashing our zoning code," he said. In addition to reframing potentially polarizing topics, council members typically stick to an agenda that focuses on hyperlocal issues, Hely said. 'I counted up the votes that are put before the Town Council,' he said. 'About 98% to 99% [of the votes] there's 100% unanimity, because it just involves how much do you pay the police and how many traffic lights we need — things have nothing to do with ideology.' Hely, whose Town Council consists of five Democrats and four Republicans, said partisan political rhetoric is seen as counterproductive on the council and is considered off-limits when community issues are discussed. 'On the formal Town Council meetings, if anyone were to say, you know, 'Trump is evil' or anything critical on the national level, you'd be seen as out of bounds,' he said. 'You know — why are you talking about that? We're here to solve local problems.' Zoe Warner, a member of the Malvern Borough Council in Pennsylvania, echoed Hely. She said it's easier for council members to do their work when their constituents understand 'we don't have control over those larger issues' that plague discussions of national politics, such as immigration or cuts to federal agencies. 'So [we're] trying to work together to find solutions for things that we really do have control over, like a building going up,' despite potential disagreements over things like the potential impact on traffic congestion, said Warner, a Democrat. The things that help enlist community support are 'being transparent about it, providing as much information, having the developer meet with these people, trying to find as much common ground as we can," she said. Forty-four percent of the survey respondents also cited long-term volunteering opportunities as a way to fight polarization in local communities, while 38% of the school board officials surveyed described civics education as helpful. Still others said staying connected with residents is key. Forty-six percent of local leaders said hosting community events 'strongly' or 'somewhat' decreased the negative effects of polarization. A high proportion also pointed to other methods of engagement as effective, such as hosting open meetings, holding informal office and coffee hours (where residents meet with leaders in informal settings) and inviting people to participate in things like budget planning by joining special commissions. 'It's really quite simple,' said Jon Keeney, the mayor of Taylor Lake Village, Texas. 'I am and my council are 100% transparent. There's not anything that's done behind closed doors in the city.' Keeney said that while he has been active in the Texas Republican Party for a long time, he has never let those political beliefs affect his agenda for the city. 'I have both Democrats, Republicans and actually independents on my council, and I could care less what their ideology is,' he said. He added: 'I never tried to influence any of my council members on what I put on the agenda in terms of how they would vote. So there's no backroom stuff going on in that respect.' Carleigh Beriont, a Democratic town selectwoman in Hampton, New Hampshire, agreed with the survey's findings that community engagement is critical. 'Listening is just really key," Beriont said. "Like, the more I've listened to residents, the more I've come to understand that their views are not really represented by partisan ideology, right? 'I really do think that listening and being humble and organizing people in the community can be a great way to get things done,' she added. 'I'm not making decisions that I think will benefit my Democratic neighbors or my Republican neighbors. I try to make decisions that I know will benefit as many people as possible and be as transparent and accountable and open to exchange as I can be.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Amid continued political polarization, local leaders seek out the best ways to mitigate
Local officials are looking for ways to keep political polarization at bay as it continues to rage around them in the wider world, according to a new survey by the nonprofit research organization CivicPulse that was commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Just under a third of local government leaders who took part in the survey, which was released Tuesday, said political polarization negatively affects their communities "a great deal" or "a lot" — matching the 31% who said the same in an earlier survey by the nonprofit groups before the 2024 election. While their perceptions have held steady, local officials are seeking new ways to prevent what 83% of them called the substantial harmful impact of polarization on the nation from seeping into their communities. The survey of nearly 1,300 community leaders from around the country, conducted from January through March, is the second in a three-part series on the local impact of political polarization. The results, drawn from municipalities of a few thousand people to tens of thousands, again suggest local governments — especially in smaller communities — are more insulated from the negative effects of polarization than state and national ones. Still, the responses showed that local leaders believe the negative community impact hasn't subsided even after the conclusion of last year's heated election, driving a variety of mitigation efforts. They include focusing on hyperlocal policy areas that the public, regardless of party affiliation, can agree on; emphasizing neutral language, evidence and community benefits in communications; hosting community events to raise awareness of what local government is doing; and introducing volunteering opportunities and civics education. 'The finding that perceptions of political polarization are slow to change confirms the need for sustained commitments,' Louise Richardson, president of the Carnegie Corporation, said in a statement. 'Evidently local government leaders are looking for ways to foster more cohesive environments, and in so doing are providing examples for other communities.' Choosing topics to transcend polarization Just under half of respondents, or 48%, said they choose to devote their time to policy topics that universally affect the community, like infrastructure, housing and public safety, to avoid potential politicization. Local leaders said that when opinions on topics could fall along national party lines, they try to reframe the issues to lessen any divisiveness, with 57% reporting they considered the challenges of polarization in deciding how to communicate about their work. James Hely, a Town Council member in Westfield, New Jersey, provided one example. He said that he and the mayor favor building affordable housing in their community but that the term can be politically charged. "You have to be very liberal to say I want the town to have a lot of affordable housing," said Hely, a Democrat. Instead, he reframes the issue to focus on local control of zoning. That's because New Jersey enacted a law, known as the "builder's remedy," that allows developers to sue municipalities to build affordable housing when such accommodations are lacking, sometimes overriding local zoning restrictions and the community's wishes. "Rather than say we want to make sure we have affordable housing, you turn that around to say, one, we want to stop the builder's remedy; we want to prevent builders from coming in and crashing our zoning code," he said. In addition to reframing potentially polarizing topics, council members typically stick to an agenda that focuses on hyperlocal issues, Hely said. 'I counted up the votes that are put before the Town Council,' he said. 'About 98% to 99% [of the votes] there's 100% unanimity, because it just involves how much do you pay the police and how many traffic lights we need — things have nothing to do with ideology.' Hely, whose Town Council consists of five Democrats and four Republicans, said partisan political rhetoric is seen as counterproductive on the council and is considered off-limits when community issues are discussed. 'On the formal Town Council meetings, if anyone were to say, you know, 'Trump is evil' or anything critical on the national level, you'd be seen as out of bounds,' he said. 'You know — why are you talking about that? We're here to solve local problems.' Zoe Warner, a member of the Malvern Borough Council in Pennsylvania, echoed Hely. She said it's easier for council members to do their work when their constituents understand 'we don't have control over those larger issues' that plague discussions of national politics, such as immigration or cuts to federal agencies. 'So [we're] trying to work together to find solutions for things that we really do have control over, like a building going up,' despite potential disagreements over things like the potential impact on traffic congestion, said Warner, a Democrat. The things that help enlist community support are 'being transparent about it, providing as much information, having the developer meet with these people, trying to find as much common ground as we can," she said. Public engagement is critical, respondents say Forty-four percent of the survey respondents also cited long-term volunteering opportunities as a way to fight polarization in local communities, while 38% of the school board officials surveyed described civics education as helpful. Still others said staying connected with residents is key. Forty-six percent of local leaders said hosting community events 'strongly' or 'somewhat' decreased the negative effects of polarization. A high proportion also pointed to other methods of engagement as effective, such as hosting open meetings, holding informal office and coffee hours (where residents meet with leaders in informal settings) and inviting people to participate in things like budget planning by joining special commissions. 'It's really quite simple,' said Jon Keeney, the mayor of Taylor Lake Village, Texas. 'I am and my council are 100% transparent. There's not anything that's done behind closed doors in the city.' Keeney said that while he has been active in the Texas Republican Party for a long time, he has never let those political beliefs affect his agenda for the city. 'I have both Democrats, Republicans and actually independents on my council, and I could care less what their ideology is,' he said. He added: 'I never tried to influence any of my council members on what I put on the agenda in terms of how they would vote. So there's no backroom stuff going on in that respect.' Carleigh Beriont, a Democratic town selectwoman in Hampton, New Hampshire, agreed with the survey's findings that community engagement is critical. 'Listening is just really key," Beriont said. "Like, the more I've listened to residents, the more I've come to understand that their views are not really represented by partisan ideology, right? 'I really do think that listening and being humble and organizing people in the community can be a great way to get things done,' she added. 'I'm not making decisions that I think will benefit my Democratic neighbors or my Republican neighbors. I try to make decisions that I know will benefit as many people as possible and be as transparent and accountable and open to exchange as I can be.'
Leader Live
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Sir Lenny Henry and Richard Curtis ‘honoured' to accept philanthropy award
Comedian and actor Sir Lenny, 66, who was recently in Prime Video series The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, and Love Actually director Curtis, 68, co-founded Comic Relief in 1985. On Wednesday, the charity was awarded a Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, described by some as the 'Nobel Prize for philanthropy', which recognises those who use their private wealth for public good. Accepting the catalyst award at the event in Edinburgh, Curtis said: 'Both Lenny and I are deeply honoured to accept the Carnegie Catalyst Award on behalf of Comic Relief. 'When we began our journey back in 1985, our primary goal was to be exactly that – a catalyst for charitable efforts across the UK and beyond. 'We didn't set out to be personally recognised, we intended to make change and encourage others to do the same. 'We're proud that, over the last 40 years, funds raised by Comic Relief have supported some of the most vital services and organisations across the UK and internationally, and to be recognised as a philanthropic catalyst by the Carnegie institution is a major accolade for us. 'It means a lot to us to accept this award for our efforts in driving a culture of charitable change – for me the award is an acknowledgement of the kindness and generosity of every single person who has, in some way or another, been involved with Comic Relief over the years – and the value of every single pound that has been donated.' Co-founders Sir Lenny and Curtis accepted the award and a 50,000 dollars (£37,437) grant on the organisation's behalf. The aim of Comic Relief was to put the fun into fundraising, but they did not host the first Red Nose Day until 1988 – with 20 million people taking part and raising nearly £16 million for charity. Later the event became annual, and has seen memorable moments such as Sir Elton John and singer Robbie Williams making a cameo appearance in a special edition of sketch comedy Little Britain, and former prime minister Sir Tony Blair meeting a Catherine Tate sketch comedy character in Downing Street. Last year, Sir Lenny had his final time co-hosting the star-studded annual appeal programme, after almost four decades at the helm, and was appointed the charity's honorary life president. Professor Dame Louise Richardson, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York, said: 'It has been an inspiration to gather in Andrew Carnegie's native Scotland to celebrate this year's medallists and Catalyst Award recipients. 'The honourees are exemplars of philanthropy that, in the words of Carnegie, help 'bend the universal tree of humanity a little in the direction most favourable to the production of good fruit'.' The 2025 ceremony was hosted collaboratively by the three UK-based Carnegie institutions: Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, Carnegie UK, and The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. Other 2025 Carnegie honourees include US philanthropist Carol Colburn Grigor, who founded Scotland arts charity the Dunard Fund UK – which has supported the Edinburgh International Festival, of which the former pianist became an honorary vice president in 2013. Grigor's support for arts and cultural causes includes the US, Australia, Ireland, and the UK and organisations such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edinburgh International Festival. Another recipients is American businessman Joe Neubauer and his wife the Metropolitan Opera vice president Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer, who have funded US research centres and colleges as well as the Holocaust Museum, along with husband wife team Barbara and Amos Hostetter. The Barr Foundation has granted more than 1.5 billion US dollars to the arts, climate, and education causes since 1997.
26-04-2025
- Business
Iran and the US prepare for expert talks in Oman over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program
MUSCAT, Oman -- Iran and the United States prepared Saturday to start in-depth negotiations in Oman over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, talks that likely will hinge on the Islamic Republic's enrichment of uranium. Iranian state television suggested the talks could start mid-day Saturday in Muscat, the mountain-wrapped capital of this sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. However, neither Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi nor U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff offered any immediate specifics or details on the talks that they'll lead. Araghchi arrived Friday to Oman and met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has mediated the two previous round of talks in Muscat and Rome. Araghchi then visited the Muscat International Book Fair, surrounded by television cameras and photojournalists. Witkoff was in Moscow on Friday meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. He arrived Saturday to Oman, where the talks were expected to start in the coming hours, a source familiar with Witkoff's travels told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on half a century of enmity. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's program if a deal isn't reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Trump, traveling to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, again said he hoped negotiations would lead to a new nuclear deal. However, he still held out the possibility of a military strike if they didn't. 'The Iran situation is coming out very well,' Trump said on Air Force One. 'We've had a lot of talks with them and I think we're going to have a deal. I'd much rather have a deal than the other alternative. That would be good for humanity." He added: 'There are some people that want to make a different kind of a deal — a much nastier deal — and I don't want that to happen to Iran if we can avoid it.' ___ Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report. ___ the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___
Axios
22-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Carnegie consortium commits $10.2 million to decipher nuke risks
A consortium led by the Carnegie Corporation of New York is pledging millions of dollars to turbocharge nuclear weapons expertise, particularly concerning risk reduction and the bomb's intersection with space and artificial intelligence. Why it matters: Political uncertainties in the U.S. are sparking proliferation concerns and prompting nuke discussions in France, Germany, Poland and South Korea. Meanwhile, China is expanding its own arsenal, the nuclear shadow looms over Ukraine and negotiations about Iran's future creep along. Driving the news: Louise Richardson, the Carnegie Corporation of New York president, announced the fund at a conference Tuesday. How it works: The consortium is launching with $10.2 million to distribute over the next two years, with plans to raise more funds going forward. Backers include Carnegie, Longview Philanthropy, PAX sapiens and Founders Pledge. Others may chip in. The group will soon seek research proposals from think tanks, university centers, nongovernmental organizations, individual experts and more. Who gets what will be determined by the consortium members. Grants will likely be a minimum $500,000. The announcement is meant to make clear "that nuclear threats are still here. They're still with us, and they're being complicated by things like emerging technologies," James McKeon, a program officer in the Carnegie international peace and security program, told Axios. "You could say it's a success every single day that a nuclear weapon is not used," he said. "But, of course, we want to be more specific than that." "For us, success in nuclear policy means long-term investment. It's a long-term challenge." Context: The U.S. and Russia wield the largest nuclear stockpiles in the world, with thousands of warheads each. China trails with hundreds. Yes, but: Arms control is not at the top of the list for presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. The last major U.S.-Russia arms control treaty, New START, expires in less than a year. President Trump is unlikely to negotiate another major treaty that does not involve China. And Beijing last year waved off conversations, citing weapons sales to Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province. The bottom line: " We need to reinvest in our capability to understand these trends and to bring together people with deep expertise in technology and politics and these regions and these regional players if we're going to make ourselves safer," Carl Robichaud, the director of Longview's nuclear weapons policy program, said in an interview.
