Earlier this week, Allison posted a piece on Millennials running for elected office [1]. While Sharon Carney may not be doing quite that, she is shaking things up in Michigan and engaging young people through the Millennial Mayors Congress [2]. [Got you with the title, though, didn't we? ;) ] I had such a great conversation with her last week, I felt selfish not letting her share her story more broadly. So here goes ...
Name: Sharon Carney
Location, or where you call home: Detroit, MI
About me in one sentence: 24 years old, Detroit-area native, University of Michigan alum, Special Project Director at the Michigan Suburbs Alliance [3]
Favorite Websites: www.modeldmedia.com [4] and my iGoogle homepage
What I’m reading: Society of the Spectacle, An Introduction to World Religions, and lots of political commentary
If I had a million bucks, I’d: Traverse the world. Pursue unemployable degrees. Do some good.
For those who aren’t familiar, what is the Millennial Mayors Congress and what are you hoping to accomplish?
What we’re doing is creating a space for city leaders and Millennial residents to collaboratively address challenges affecting metro Detroit. Cities that participate (we’re hoping that Detroit and its inner-ring suburbs will be involved to start) will be represented by their mayor and a resident Millennial. These representatives will work together to develop action-oriented protocols to pressing economic, social, or environmental issues. They’ll adopt these protocols by consensus decision. City representatives will then take these protocols to their council and administration for implementation, and Millennial representatives will work within the community to build awareness and generate support.
The Millennial Mayors Congress concept began as an effort to build the capacity of local governments to resolve issues impeding regional prosperity. It’s evolved into an initiative to implement a more innovative, future-focused approach to public problem-solving. By bridging the disconnect between existing power brokers and the next generation of leaders, government action will more effectively create the places and opportunities that we Millennials desire. Like many states, Michigan has been losing college graduates and young professionals to thriving urban areas that offer walkable communities, effective public transit, green lifestyles, diverse housing options and other features that make cities great. We’re hoping that by engaging young people in the decisions shaping our region, they’ll be more inclined to stay.
We expect to officially convene the Congress by mid-2009. In the run-up to that, social media will play a major role in organizing Millennials who are interested in participating. Discussion forums, events, networking and media sharing will help connect young professionals within and across metro Detroit’s 30+ core cities, and these engaged constituencies will develop nomination processes to determine their representatives to the Congress. Cross your fingers for an early December website launch!
What personally attracted you to the mission?
The lure of thriving cities was drawing me, and I was ready to head to either coast. I was trying to decide between a higher base salary and travel perks when an opportunity to really do something presented itself. By leading the effort to launch the Millennial Mayors Congress, I could impact the future of southeast Michigan. I saw that I could help create something potentially transformational, and that excited me.
I realized there are countless people like me here who want to do something meaningful, who love this place and want to see it become something greater, but don’t quite know how. The Millennial Mayors Congress creates an entry point to a system that doesn’t always appear opportunistic or accessible for young people, but offers powerful resources for positive change. By creating avenues for engagement, I believe the Millennial Mayors Congress will empower many young people to effect change. And perhaps more importantly, I think it will augment their confidence in themselves to do so.
One final deal breaker: this project is groundbreaking. Nowhere are young people participating with government leaders in regional decision making in this way with the use of social media – at least not to my knowledge. (If they are, please let me know because we could benefit from some lessons learned!) At the same time, this is not a pie-in-the-sky vision. The Millennial Mayors Congress’ consensus-based structure and inherent flexibility make it respectful of the realistic challenges to regional cooperation in southeast Michigan. In short, I’m inspired to be part of the positive changes happening here.
As a Millennial, why do you think it’s important for people of our generation to have a voice in government?
Who else do you know has $700 billion to spend at a moment's notice? OK, admittedly it takes a pretty major emergency to spark that kind of attention, but over the course of a generation, the amount of capital that governments of all sizes will pour into crafting the economy, shaping our communities, and defining our culture has a bigger impact than any crisis-driven spending spree. Our governments generally make – and occasionally break – the rules that empower our citizens. Interestingly, we live a in a time of momentous turmoil, one in which the rules are being dramatically reshaped – think carbon tax to stop global warming, massive restructuring of financial markets, fundamental shifts in beliefs about diversity and inclusivity – and the drivers of the reforms that will define the next generation are today's civic and governmental leaders.
As for Millennials, the question has to be, "Why wait?" Traditionally the leaders that have the greatest influence on government are in their 40's or older, and most of us either have better things to do today or are content to wait our turn to take the reins of power. The thing is, by the time we eventually do take control, the systems that will either help or hinder us from achieving the things we dream about right now will already be set, perhaps irrevocably. To me, it's a question of both opportunity and obligation. In my home state of Michigan, young people are leaving in droves, prompting current leaders to ask questions that only we can answer. Across the country, there is a general fascination with the vibrancy and creativity that our generation brings to problem solving. Not in fifty years has the established order been so open to engaging the next generation. Shame on us if we shun the opportunity and invitation.
And shame on us if we think that today's challenges are someone else's responsibility. None of us wants to live in a world that we turned our backs on. Rather, we should be eager to bring our vision and our own experiences to bear on the major issues of the day. And moreover, I think we have a responsibility to the generations that come behind us to break this cycle of shortsightedness that plagues government today. Through our Millennial Mayors Congress, we are working to institutionalize this intergenerational conversation, helping local governments keep their eyes on the economy, environments and communities that are still twenty or thirty years coming. By consistently taking time to appreciate the future, we hope to change the way government makes decisions. If that's going to work, it is essential that Millennials – and the young people in generations to come – have a seat at the table and a voice in decisions that might mildly impact us today but will almost certainly shape our tomorrows.
Do you think the enthusiasm that young people are showing around the Presidential election will last after Election Day? What will it take to keep people motivated?
I hope so. It’s about perceived value. In order to stay motivated or interested, I think people need to feel that 1) the system/ issue affects them, that it has relevance to their lives, and 2) that they can influence it. Feelings of powerlessness are far from motivating. At the federal level, I think we’re covered on the first prerequisite. Time will tell with the second.
In theory, it should be even easier at the local level. Government leaders make decisions every day that affect individuals’ lives, but people often don’t realize that until something goes wrong or they buy a house and begin paying property taxes. For most of us Millennials, the conversations at the local level appear irrelevant. Property taxes, water rates, senior programs, youth recreation, building codes … where do we fit into that? The reality is that decisions are made everyday at the local level that impact the development and character of the places we live. Young people who understand that and perceive an opportunity to impact these decisions will, I’m confident, remain motivated and enthusiastic. It’s up to many parties – government, young elected officials, enlightened Millennials, maybe others – to articulate the relevance and create the opportunity.
How do you see social media - the people and the tools – impacting our ability to interact with government?
Besides making friends with our government officials on Facebook (I have several), there are pretty significant opportunities for improved interaction. As Carol Coletta at CEOs for Cities [5] has pointed out, initiatives like MillionTreesNYC [6] improve citizen-government communication and service delivery and enable citizens to directly support government efforts at community improvement. Personally, I think that social media could be a great way to gather input about redevelopment projects and others that necessitate community feedback.
Social media can also foster connectivity among community residents, which I’ll venture to suggest will translate to a more invested, engaged citizenry. What we are attempting to do through the Millennial Mayors Congress is provide tools for finding like-minded (and differently-minded) individuals to connect about civic/regional issues they care about. This kind of interaction naturally lends itself to development of solutions and community improvements.
Anything else you want our Social Citizens readers to know?
This: I want to know what you know. As Social Citizens, I’m sure you’re oozing great ideas about how we can use social media to better engage in the improvement of our communities. I’d love to hear your ideas!
Comments