Hat tip to ELGL member Stephen Harding (LinkedIn) for including ELGL in his recent PA Times article. Stephen writes how “each passing generation not only develops a generalized sense of self and reality, it creates its own needs based agenda.”
The Millennial Generation—Is There a Challenge to Civic Engagement?
As observed by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic of the University College London, “Older generations have always complained about young people and they always will, despite the fact that they were once remarkably similar. Even generalizations based on scientific evidence are unlikely to help, because they undermine important individual differences within a generation.”
These internal generational differences are evidenced by the number of civically minded millennials already occupying responsible positions in governmental and nonprofit institutions. This is depicted by such professional organizations as Engaging Local Government Leaders. Their members, and those of similar bastions of emerging civically minded young leaders, are the conduits to their peers.
In spite of their documented self-interest and individualistic tendencies, they are socially engaged and involved in their communities. In partial contrast to the inferences of data, civic engagement is happening. It just is not as evident to those of us stuck in our own generational “ecologies.” One way or another, a millennial civic imprint will become indelible.
Read the entire article: The Millennial Generation—Is There a Challenge to Civic Engagement?