New Social Media Campaign Launch: Are You Speaking Up?
YouthSpeak Survey to Reach 3.5 Billion People in 14 Days
NEW YORK, NY–(Mar 16, 2016) – YouthSpeak, a global youth movement and youth insight survey powered by AIESEC announces its survey focused on raising awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals aiming to reach 3.5 billion people in the world in only 14 days. This indicates the power of Millennials: they are the largest generation after Gen X, and the ones capable of driving meaningful change in the next 20 years. As Ban-Ki Moon, UN Secretary General, said: “Ours is the first generation with the potential to end poverty — and the last to act to avoid worst effects of climate change.” However, in order to engage this generation, it is necessary to understand them, how they see the world, and what they care about; and this is what YouthSpeak powered by AIESEC is trying to achieve.
Last the survey identified that there’s a need for better education systems in the world, as 23 per cent of respondents think it is the most serious global issue, and 53 per cent don’t think their higher education experience is connected with their future goals. At the same time, the survey reported a need to integrate experiential learning, as 68 per cent of respondents prefer this method when learning new skills. Finally, it allowed to discover that millennials are a purposeful generation, and that the triple bottom line approach (people, planet and profit) is critical to millennial evaluations of employers’ attractiveness.
Young people do not have it easy. Not only they are three times more likely than adults to be jobless, but also face an environment, social, and political crisis. But youth are more than victims of poverty and economic downturns — they can be agents of change. They want to be involved in conversations and decision-making processes, not only in their place of employment, but also in their societies. “Youth do not want to be talked at — they want to be engaged in a meaningful way. They should not only be seen as beneficiaries; they should be seen as partners,” Ahmad Alhendawi, UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, said.
YouthSpeak is about opportunity: for millennials to speak about their interests, passions and challenges; for business and organizations to understand this generational shift from the inside; and for youth around the world to unite, creating a movement that sends one message; a global youth voice that can then influence leaders across government, business, media and civil society.
This year the movement is growing, but in order to achieve real, visible impact it needs to grow faster. The more people are engaged in the YouthSpeak initiative, the stronger and more credible the message can be. This is why global youth is invited to help spread this message, raise their voice and participate in shaping the world. How? By joining our Thunderclap campaign, inviting your network to participate, and advocating for YouthSpeak.
To join YouthSpeak Thunderclap campaign please follow this link: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/38914-are-you-speaking-up
About YouthSpeak
YouthSpeak is a global youth movement and youth insight survey powered by AIESEC. The movement focuses on understanding the hopes and challenges surrounding various issues which involve young people in the ages of 16-30. For more information, visit: http://youthspeak.aiesec.org
About AIESEC
AIESEC is an international non-governmental not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development and cross-cultural global internship and volunteer exchange experiences across the globe, with a focus to empower young people so they can make a positive impact on society. For more information, visit: http://aiesec.org
This press release was made possible through our media partner PVBLIC Foundation, an organization focused on using media to drive impact and social change. PVBLIC utilizes existing and emerging technologies to increase issue awareness around important causes and to help non-profits amplify their message.
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Media Contact:
Ivana Gusic
AIESEC International
ivanag@ai.aiesec.org
