| Campaign for a Presidential Commission on Youth and Intergenerational Partnerships |
Memo to Obama
Presented by Jonah Wittkamper & Franziska Seel on behalf of the Global Youth Action Network
Forming a Presidential Commission on Youth and Intergenerational Partnerships
Dear President Elect Obama,
In 1960, during his presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy asked Eleanor Roosevelt for her political support. She agreed, but not without his promise to create a Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. The commission was created the next year and had an historic impact on the lives of women, nationally and globally.
In 2007, as you prepared for your own White House run, you asked young people for their political support. You got it, but in exchange for what? Many young people supported you because they believed in your message of hope and promise for social and political transformation.
I'm sure you will agree that when young people are empowered with new technology and a new political vision they can revolutionize politics. They did so in 2008 by helping you raise more money and mobilize more people than any campaign in history. We believe that young people, when given the opportunity, can improve the social fabric of this country and transform what it means to be a citizen of the United States and of the world.
We want to create the space for this opportunity and believe that bringing the agenda of youth to the world stage will make that possible.
There are many ideas for youth engagement, but a Presidential Commission holds special promise with its ability to recognize and raise the profile of key issues and their solutions. Moreover, Presidential Commissions can be created with relatively few financial or political obstacles, making it an ideal platform to spearhead the vision presented here.
We call for the creation of ...
A Presidential Commission on Youth and Intergenerational Partnerships to serve as a temporary platform, under the direct supervision of the White House, to review issues, consider solutions and make policy recommendations. In contrast to previous Commissions this one should rely on the Internet and forms of widespread participation that were part of your campaign. Specifically the Commission should advance the following goals:
| 1. Youth-led development: Investigate, promote, and augment the contributions of young people to society through existing social programs. |
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2. Youth participation in decision-making: Study and foster the participation of young people in decision-making process, such as non-profit boards, local and national youth councils, inter-governmental delegations, electoral politics and more.
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| 3. Intergenerational partnerships: Examine and promote the mobilization of social, intellectual, and economic wealth of older generations. Recognize the value of young people and encourage partnerships with elder generations. |
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| 4. Marketplaces and networks: Create a permanent marketplace for investors and innovators to come together to dialogue, network, collaborate and share best practices on issues of youth and intergenerational partnerships. |
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| 5. Execution and implementation strategy: Engage government agencies in the activities of the Commission, evaluate potential impacts, and implement relevant recommendations in the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government at all levels - locally, nationally, and globally. |
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Conclusion:
President Kennedy said, "The future promise of any nation can be directly measured by the present prospects of its youth." This commission would be a landmark in the history of this country, improving the lives of young people and ultimately everyone.
The unprecedented nature of your election has created a wave of hope, globally. It is important to seize this "opportunity capital" and encourage the rest of the world to consider and apply some of the lessons learned from your campaign. Of particular significance are the concepts of 1) putting an end to the practice of negative campaigning, 2) using new technologies as a platform to shift power from special interests to average citizens, and 3) embracing and empowering youth.
The symbolic nature of a Presidential Commission on Youth and Intergenerational Partnerships holds special promise to extend the impact of your election to people globally, especially young people. It should not be missed. The global origins of your upbringing make new expressions of diplomatic power possible, opening an opportunity to convene non-traditional allies to solve intractable problems, such as addressing root causes of terrorism through inter-religious youth exchange. Finally, the goals outlined for the commission above should be upheld in the international sphere as much as they are at home. Innovation of policy at the national level should be accompanied by parallel innovations in foreign policy.
We deliver these recommendations to you, but we understand that the ultimate responsibility of social and political transformation will fall in our hands. We believe that a Presidential Commission, on the world stage, is the best vehicle to inspire the global community into these new directions. As you have said before, you and your office are merely a receptacle for the latent will of humanity to come forward and play its hand in designing its future. Please consider our proposal and open channels to put that future in our hands.
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Jonah Wittkamper was a co-founder of the Global Youth Action Network (www.youthlink.org), is currently part of the team that built the technology behind Obama's text messaging campaign, and is a proponent of young philanthropy.
Franziska Seel has been a youth activist since the age of 12. Now, at the age of 27, she is the Executive Director of the Global Youth Action Network and Associate Director of TakingITGlobal (www.takingitglobal.org). |
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