The Citizens Handbook is meant to encourage the emergence of more active citizens - people motivated by an interest in public issues, and a desire to make a difference beyond their own private lives.
Active citizens are a great untapped resource, and citizenship is a quality to be nurtured.
In British Columbia, no less than eight recent task force reports have identified more active citizens as the key to responding more effectively to large scale public issues. A way of solving local problems When people become involved in their neighbourhoods they can become a potent force for dealing with local problems. Through co-ordinated planning, research and action, they can accomplish what individuals working alone could not. When people decide they are going to be part of the solution, local problems start getting solved. When they actually begin to work with other individuals, schools, associations, businesses, and government service providers, there is no limit to what they can accomplish.