Generation Engage or GenerationEngage

GenerationEngage is a non-partisan youth-civic-engagement initiative, founded in 2004, to connect young Americans - particularly the 49% who lack college experience - to political leaders, other civic organizations, as well as meaningful conversations about the future they will inherit [Arcuri, Amanda. "Group Seeks Non-College Youths," "Roll Call," February 28, 2005.] .

Introduction

GenerationEngage was founded on November 3, 2004 by Adrian Talbott, Devin Talbott, and Justin Rockefeller. Frustrated by traditionally low voter turnout of Americans ages 18-24 the three friends created GenerationEngage as an answer to the political isolation of many young Americans. Specifically targeting non-college youths, GenerationEngage has brought their unique combination of grassroots work and iChat video conferences to New York, Virginia, and North Carolina.

trategy

GenerationEngage centers its strategy around 3 core principles. First that young Americans "suffer not from a lack of interest, but from a lack of access." Second that a democracy and in particular the American Democracy should be a "dialogue," consisting of meaningful exchanges between political leaders and their constituents. And third, that the future of American Democracy depends on young individuals acting at the local level [GenerationEngage guiding principles. [http://www.generationengage.org] ] . With these guiding principles in mind, GenerationEngage uses three strategies to address the lack of political access afflicting many young Americans.

Grassroots Initiatives and Partnerships

GenerationEngage's grassroots strategy focuses on engaging young people without college educations where they already gather. Partnering with local institutions like community centers, places of worship, bars, cybercafes, etc. GenerationEngage sponsors local events which place American political and civic leaders face-to-face with young Americans. Additionally, GenerationEngage employs youths in New York, Virginia, and North Carolina to promote political involvement, interest, and voter registration [Mohammad, Mima. "Web Could Give Young Voters a Voice," "The Los Angeles Times," November 5, 2006.] [GenerationEngage Strategy [http://www.generationengage.org/strategy.html] ] .

GenerationEngage's community work also involves the creation "Engagement Partnerships" with local organizations which already have a tie with the community. One example is GenerationEngage's partnership with "Metro New York" [GenerationEngage Strategy [http://www.generationengage.org/strategy.html] ] .

iChats and the Internet

As a part of their grassroots work, GenerationEngage, in partnership with Apple Inc. and Google, sponsors large iChat events where speakers like Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and Spike Lee address people from disparate communities throughout the country. Connected via iChat video conference technology provided by Apple Inc., participants in the video conferences can engage directly with the speaker and ask questions which pertain to their communities and lives. The videos of these events are then featured on the GenerationEngage website's [http://www.generationengage.org/videoplayer/videos.html Video Library] where one can sort by issue and speaker. The events and the internet Video Library form a major arm of GenerationEngage's effort to promote direct access and interaction between national and local political leaders and the people they represent [Stallsmith, Pamela. "Youth-Voting Group Looks Off Campus, GenerationEngage Promotes Civic and Political Participation," "Times Dispatch," December 25, 2006.] [GenerationEngage Strategy [http://www.generationengage.org/strategy.html] ] [Jayson, Sharon. "Generation Y Gets Involved," "USA Today," October 23, 2006.] .

Past Speakers

Some recent keynote speakers include:

Bill Clinton, Chuck Conner, Tom Daschle, John Edwards, Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, Chuck Hagel, Spike Lee, Peggy Noonan, William Safire, Coretta Scott King, and Ted Sorensen

*All featured speakers can be found in the GenerationEngage [http://www.generationengage.org/videoplayer/videos.html Video Library]

GenerationEngage Media Coverage

* [http://www.generationengage.org/time.htm TIME Magazine]
* [http://www.generationengage.org/national_journal_march-9-2005.htm National Journal]
* [http://www.generationengage.org/washpost2-2-2006.htm Washington Post]
* [http://www.generationengage.org/adrian1.ram C-SPAN]
* [http://www.generationengage.com/latimes11-5-06.html LA Times]
* [http://www.generationengage.org/2-1-06NewYork.pdf Metro New York]
*Additional mentions can be found on the GenerationEngage website section [http://www.generationengage.org/press.html in the press] .

References

External links

* [http://www.generationengage.org GenerationEngage Website]