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Social Citizen Sighting: Decker Ngongang

Submitted by Kristin Ivie on Fri, 07/31/2009 - 11:32
Decker Ngongang

This interview is part of our "Social Citizen Sightings" series, in which we highlight how people are using their creativity, idealism, and digital fluency to support their causes ever day. If you see a Social Citizen, we would love to hear about what they're doing too. Just fill out this quick form with their name, affiliation and 150 words or less on what makes them a Social Citizen.

 

Name: Decker Ngongang

Organization where you spent more than 40 hours/week: GenerationEngage
 
If you had to describe yourself in one tweet, what would it be?
“I just, wanna be, there's no need to put titles on you and me
Those are limitations; living and learning are our only obligations.
Equality, honesty, independence, intelligence, emotion and devotion
Humbly seeking to hear God when he's speaking” - Cee-lo
(Ok, Decker, that's more than 140 characters, but I'm going to let it go.)
 
Your role model? My little sister Chelsea
 
What are you reading: Community: The Structure of Belonging, by Peter Block
 
How has your personal experience convinced you of the importance of engaging youth and helping them to become active citizens?
I was raised by a single mother and much of my childhood, adolescence and adult successes, failures and overall experiences have been shaped by people and organizations who provided opportunities and windows into things I otherwise would not have had access to. To become an active young person and young citizen, I first had to see it, to learn, to be exposed to different variations of “being engaged” before I could find that form of civic expression that was right for me.
 
You’ve had a lot of powerful speakers for your sessions, including President Clinton, General Colin Powell, Coretta Scott King and Spike Lee. What is the most moving message that has emerged from those talks?
The biggest thing that emerged from many of these high profile conversations is the continued admission at each one of these events by many of our speakers that in trying to inspire young people they aren’t saying anything new. We all, in our varied degrees of recognized importance, have the ability to reinforce a message that social change comes not from huge institutions, not from governments, or from corporations or foundations, but instead it comes from the will of passionate individuals who take the potential energy of passion and unite it with the kinetic energy of organization with others and make change happen.
Whether the speaker is President Bill Clinton or a County Commissioner in Charlotte, N.C., it is our hope that young people who come to a GenerationEngage event see that changing first their communities, and eventually the world, for the better isn’t about waiting on President Clinton to bless an idea or concept – it is empowering their own perspective and experiences with information and a strategy and ACTING.
 
How can local and national civic leaders improve their communication with community college students?
Meet young people where they are; don't just come to an event and give a stump speech. We are in a political age of socialization where - along with knowing what you stand for - young peole want to understand the person making decisions. Using social networking to advertise is different than using social networking as a form of communication with your constituents, fans and observers. Young people such as GenerationEngage’s target demographic need to feel like they have a part to play in owning and directing their future. Civic Leaders have the ability to honor and engage that drive just by listening. , and I can provide you many opportunities to do just that, and we can arrange for you to get in front of these community college students.
 
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A Social Citizen Summer

Submitted by Kristin Ivie on Wed, 07/15/2009 - 12:28
Summer...at Last!

Guest blogger Emily Garrett is a junior at Northwestern University and a summer intern with the Case Foundation.

I love summer. It’s a time to relax, unwind, and take a break from the killer pace of the rest of the year. But I realized it’s a waste to JUST spend the whole summer baking by the pool and rereading the entire Harry Potter series, when it could be a great time to give back to the community, experiment with some new social media tools, and increase my social citizen savvy. I made a list of social citizen summer to-dos and thought I’d share it with others who want to creatively use some of the summer downtime. In between watching the latest installment of Auto-Tune the News and cleaning out your Google Reader, check out one of these activities, and let us know how it goes:   
  • Add your John Hancock to an online petition. Go to The Petition Site or Petition Online and sign a petition or start your own. Gather the masses to make change! Add the link to your Twitter or Facebook page to raise your numbers awareness even further.
  • Get out of the house (or office) and do some hands on volunteering. There are many web sites to help you find a cool project in your area. Check out the White House’s Summer of Service site, VolunteerMatch, or Idealist to find something that fits your interests and benefits your neighborhood.
  • Treat yourself to a Flip video camera and start shooting videos. Find things that are politically or social interesting and post your video on YouTube to raise awareness. Or if you’re already a whiz at video storytelling? Help nonprofits out. Join Youtube’s Video Volunteers and put your skills to good use.
  • You’ve donated online, but have you joined a mobile giving campaign? Consult the Mobile Giving Foundation or mGive for a list of current campaigns and how to get involved. There are tons of ongoing campaigns including Doctors Without Borders, Invisible Children, Chicago 2016, and Malaria No More. Choose your favorite, and text to give.
  • Miss the days of summer reading? Grab a book to expand your social citizen knowledge. Britt Bravo has a great list of “do gooder books” to keep you busy. Social by Social is also a great book on social media and social impact, and my personal favorite, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood should get you inspired to make some changes in your community.
  • You’re clicking around on YouTube anyway, so check out this video lecture by college professor Michael Wesch: An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube.
  • Have a summer birthday? Donate it to your favorite cause. Go to Causes on Facebook, and tell your friends to donate to the cause instead of giving you a birthday gift. What easier way to raise money for your favorite organization then having Facebook solicit the donations for you? And besides do you really need another sweater from your mom?
  • If you’re mass emailing resumes this summer, you’re not alone. Worried about finding a job in this economy and paying off your student loans or credit card debt? Join the 80 Million Strong Coalition to discuss the problems and find solutions to get the Millennial Generation fully employed.
  • Are you obsessed with Twitter? Put that obsession to good use by pitching in to plan, or at least attend a Twestival local event in September to meet other Tweeters in your area and to raise money and awareness.
These are just some thoughts to get you started. For more check out Mashable’s list of 10 ways to support charity through social media. And share what you’re doing to be a social citizen this summer.
 
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Millennials: Congrats on Your Degree, Welcome to Unemployment

Submitted by Kari Dunn Saratovsky on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 12:32
Graveyard Lemonade Stand

As the pomp and circumstance of graduation season is fully upon us, members of the Class of 2009 enter the workforce as the most widely educated and technologically adept generation in history. But, we know that timing is everything – and with job loss at record highs and wages and health insurance at new lows – let’s face it, we’ve seen better times.

Even so, there’s something about the Millennial Generation’s resiliency that is interesting to watch. Many are looking at their next chapter as a time for self exploration. They’re trying to find meaning in their jobs and are delaying the traditional workforce to join programs like AmeriCorps - or heading overseas to teach English in a developing country. They’re leveraging technology to innovate and create new solutions to complex environmental and social problems. Gen Y is seen as ambitious and hopeful. But they are also debt ridden and anxious.
 
As Nate Lowentheil wrote today in his piece on Huffington Post, “We're not helpless. Young people are eager to join the workforce, and willing to go out on our own when jobs aren't available. This morning, USA Today wrote young entrepreneurs innovating to meet the demands and challenges of the moment. But that's not enough. We can't expect all young people to launch their own ventures. We need public action. We need to match the investments that young people are making in themselves, and help our generation build the new economy our country needs. We're well positioned: our generation, 80 million strong, is diverse, technologically savvy and climate-conscious--a perfect match for the global economy in which we must compete and collaborate.”
 
According to a study commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation and released last month by Qvisory:
  • Nearly one in five young adults (19 percent) are unemployed or looking for work. High debt and low savings puts them at particular risk when job losses occur.
  • Two in five young adults (41 percent) have been affected by cuts in wages or hours. Half of those who work part-time have had their wages or hours cut.
  • Nearly one-quarter of young adults say that they or a family member has recently lost health insurance (23 percent).
These staggering statistics often get lost – the question has become, who is looking out for young people? Last week two new efforts were announced that will help bring light some of these issues and provide outlets for action.
 
80 Million Strong: 80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs was created by Mobilize.org, SAVE (Student Associate for Voter Empowerment) and the Roosevelt Institution. The coalition will work to unite young Americans to own and direct their economic reality and will convene a summit in Washington, D.C. on July 14th and 15th. The summit is an opportunity for diverse young leaders from across the country to collaborate on innovative ideas and policies to build an economy that reflects the strengths of the Millennial Generation. Ultimately, the summit will conclude in a legislative and grassroots agenda for the coalition and its partners to actively pursue.
 
Jobs For Change: A new jobs portal created by Ben Rattray and Change.org, the site has been crafted in partnership with more than a dozen nonprofits including Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, AmeriCorps Alums, Echoing Green, Network for Good, and Encore Careers. More than being viewed as just another job listing site, Change.org is creating a space for support, advice, and guidance for people looking to enter or advance in the social change sector.
 
Together, these two efforts (along with many others) will help move the discussion around millennial unemployment and the need for innovative solutions, forward.
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