Mobilize.Org Tackles The Challenge Of Higher Education
Subscribe to the Blog RSS FeedWe all know that education, like service, is a key to building both a stronger democracy and a stronger future. That's why BTC, and its ServiceNation and OpportunityNation campaigns, are thrilled to see our friends at Mobilize.org rallying the Millennial generation to help address the challenges Americans face when it comes to higher education. The campaign is called Target: 2020. My Education. Our Future, and it is part of Mobilize's powerful Democracy 2.0 Summit series.
Here's the backstory, from Mobilize:
For the first time in the 21st century, the current generation of college-aged Americans will be less educated than our parents.
Fewer than 46% of students at 4-year universities complete their degree within 6 years and only 3 out of 10 students attending community colleges complete their 2-year associate degree within 3 years.
Higher education is a primary factor in improving the state of our communities and our country, as individuals who complete some form of postsecondary education are able to earn higher wages, likely increasing the financial stability for themselves and their families. But if the current student population, all members of the Millennial Generation (those born between the years 1976 and 1996), is somehow falling short of achieving its educational goals, our country faces a significant problem with consequences impacting our nation for decades to come.
Mobilize.org believes that educational attainment is one of the single most important factors in reversing generational poverty. We also believe the Millennial Generation should play an active role in the future of education in our country.
With generous support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Rappaport Family Foundation, and to offer Millennials the tools they need to achieve their personal educational goals and realize the impact it can have on their communities by the year 2020, Mobilize.org will convene three Democracy 2.0 Summits in North Carolina (October 22-24, 2010), California and Florida (dates TBD), titled “Target: 2020 | My Education. Our Future.”
So what will happen at the Summits? Again, from Mobilize:
At each summit, 150 students from America’s community colleges will work together and identify barriers they face in achieving their educational goals and develop Millennial-led solutions to address them. Utilizing keypad-voting technology, Summit participants will select the top five projects that will receive Democracy 2.0 Awards; a share of $25,000 and a year of expert support to successfully be implemented on their campuses, in their communities or online. Watch video from a Democracy 2.0. Summit featured on MTVu.
Right now, Mobilize is looking for community college students from North Carolina (if you are a student in California or Florida, and interested in attending upcoming summits in those states, go here). So if you are an aspiring North Carolina grad, and ready to share your ideas on how to make educational achievement more attainable for all Americans, apply here. (All selected participants will receive meals, a travel stipend and hotel accommodations, provided by Mobilize.org).
There's no better place to look for solutions to the challenges of education than students themselves. So if you happen to know students in North Carolina, Florida and California, please let them know about Target: 2020. My Education. Our Future.
It's a very cool initiative, which will be a powerful way to support the broader goals of the American Graduation Initiative, the Obama administration’s commitment to helping an additional 8 million students graduate with a degree or postsecondary certificate by 2020. Eight million? Imagine the impact on America and the future of all those additional grads.
Here's President Obama talking about exactly that:
