Passionate about social causes, brimming with new ideas for problem solving, and equipped with digital tools and people power to make change in the world -- enter Social Citizens.
We kicked off this initiative in early 2008 with the release of Social CitizensBETA, a nontraditional discussion paper from the Case Foundation focusing on how Millennials are influencing civic engagement.
What we realized was that they happen to be a very large and diverse group driving an even bigger trend. Social citizen attributes -- digital fluency, idealism, immersion in social causes -- can cut across any generation. So if you are, or think you are, or want to be a social citizen, then we need your help.
The paper actually raised more questions than it answered, and we need to find those answers so we can fully understand the impact that new technologies and strategies are having on engagement and activism in our country and around the world.
We could sit for months culling through research, synthesizing and talking among ourselves about what it is that makes Millennials -- and social citizens -- unique. We could debate internally for hours whether or not they're truly turning the tide of civic engagement. But that wouldn't be very social citizen-like behavior, would it? And it certainly wouldn't be fun for us -- or you.
So consider this our personal invitation to you to help us learn all we can about social citizens and their passionate engagement with communities and causes larger than themselves. We encourage you to read it, skim it, or at least hop to the end where the paper's author Allison Fine has left us with some thought-provoking questions:
Can Institutions Survive? Moreover, Should Institutions Survive?
Sure, they may be necessary to offer expertise, focus efforts, provide institutional memory for communities, and lead issues, but in order to successfully engage Millennials, they will need to look, feel, and actually be quite different than they currently are.
Are "Bubble Cultures" Inescapable?
Most social networking sites are relatively safe and open places to create a sense of self in relation to one's peers. However, social change efforts need broad, open networks that cross everyday boundaries to include unusual suspects-people who are not just like you-in order to be successful.
Is Access Granted or Taken?
As a generation we are accustomed to immediate, open access in most areas of our life, but when it comes to public policy, we have effectively been shut out of the decision making on important issues and policies that affect our lives. Do we simply need to stop waiting to be invited to the table?
Does Government Really Matter?
There are few stories in this election cycle larger than the power of the youth vote. Iraq, jobs, health care, global warming, and college costs are a few of the issues striking a chord with the Millennial Generation. Strapped for cash, worried about our future, and sick of gridlock politics, we're taking issues into our own hands, rather than sitting back and complaining or looking to government to solve all of our country's ills.
Your answers, experiences, and counterpoints are going to help inform this conversation, and help us figure out exactly what makes civically engaged Millennials -- and social citizens -- tick. So read on, friends, and say everything you've ever wanted to say about how to change our brave new world.
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