Here's my blog post for the Social Citizens post (on the Case Foundation)...
I’ve come up with one definition for my generation, the infamous Millennials: we don’t like being defined. We especially don’t like being defined by people who don’t have Facebook accounts, don’t know that RSS feeds are a legitimate way to get your news, have never used Twitter, don’t understand that we can text and listen and jokingly tell us that we must be “itching to go to the bar” after a well-delivered power point presentation at a conference at which I’m the youngest one, by years … so, please stop talking about me.
It’s a simple definition, but also intricate and powerful. Probably also scary for those that study our habits and analyze our trends. Although I’ve enjoyed the attention this election cycle has brought, the Millennials are here to stay. And yes, we’ll vote, and yes, technology is here to stay, and yes, democracy will be ok – better, even.
Along with the 4,641 Make It Your Own proposals (an impressive 27% of which were submitted by individuals under 35 years old to the Case Foundation), Mobilize.org is doing our part. Mobilize.org is an all-partisan youth civic engagement organization dedicated to educating, empowering, and energizing young people to increase our civic engagement and political participation. We work to show young people how public policy impacts our lives, and more importantly – how we can impact public policy.
We are a youth-led, youth-run organization that models both the good and the bad of all you’ve been discussing. We’ve engaged thousands of young people from all side(s) of the aisle(s) in a collaborative, technologically savvy process called Democracy 2.0 – our quest to not just define, but to build the democracy that I (and my millions and millions of Millennial friends) will be inheriting and leading. I should note, though, I can only account for 936 of them, as that is how many Facebook friends I have. :-)
Mobilize.org is part of a huge coalition of organizations, funders, advisors and institutions that recognize that millennials are the experts on the millennial generation. So, learn from me, and I’ll learn from you, but please … stop talking about me, and start doing with me.
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4 comments:
You’re right Maya. The crucial change that Millennials bring to democracy is that we want to and are doing things for ourselves (and for others). We don’t want to be asked for input on policy and then sit back as the experts carry it out, we want to be the ones who do it. We want to identify the problems, find the solutions, and make sure everyone is part of making the solution happen.
Maya, this is a wonderful articulation of our generation. We make our own change happen, we take responsibility for our participation, and we do it not only for ourselves but for others. If only the generations ahead of us could use our tools and our technologies in the ways we do, maybe they would understand our contributions and be more respectful of our abilities to work on issues of public policy. Thanks for this, Maya!
Maya, you are so profoundly articulate and right on the money. Democracy is going to be better. I have no doubt that with crucial people making a difference, that the Millenials will get along just fine. Our generation is fully capable, willing, eager, and even hungry for change, and we're going to do it. We have a responsibility, and we are going to live up to it.
I hear you! Rather than talk about Millenials, I’ve been spreading your word. Did you know that your generation has developed a new definition of leadership? Do you know who it is that 70% of your generation identifies as their leadership role model? You may read about it at the BigBadBoss.com site under “Bad Leadership”or visit http://bigbadboss.com/BAD_LEADERSHIP.html
Marilyn Haight
Kissing the Corporate Frog: An Enlightening Story about Leadership Traits 21st Century Employees Admire and Respect
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