Your Inside Look at MCON2016
The wait is over! Details about MCON2016 are finally here and I’m excited to share a sneak peek at what will be the most exciting and influential convening on next gen engagement of 2016. (I also am eager to hear what you want to see/hear/do at MCON to make this convening work for you. If you would like to brainstorm with me, please share your thoughts here.)
Each year, MCON (aka the Millennial Engagement Conference) brings together leaders, advocates and social entrepreneurs from across all generations to better understand today’s social movements and the Millennial generation. Leaders from various sectors will share revolutionary concepts, best practices and lessons learned on how the next generation gives, gets connected and engages to create impact. Together, we will use this knowledge to spark conversations around how to turn next gen interest in an issue into action. (Here are summaries of past MCONs.)
Doubling in size this year, 600 leaders from across sectors will join us on the National Geographic campus in Washington, DC, from June 21 to 23, for three days of learning, networking and ideating. Close to 50,000 more from around the world are expected to tune into the livestream that will showcase excerpts and special features from the convening.
Check out this sneak peek at what MCON2016 will look like!
This year there will be more than 25 different sessions covering a wide range of topics, including:
· Inclusive Entrepreneurship
· For-Profits for Good
· Exploration
· Next Gen Public Service
· Tech
· Creativity
· Social Justice
New to the convening, we also have added several exciting features such as a political town hall hosted in partnership with The Washington Post, a mini-film festival, block parties and much more.
All of this is part of a larger Millennial Engagement initiative spearheaded by the Case Foundation to increase the effectiveness of next generation change and influence the institutions that engage with them. In pursuit of that goal, the Foundation has supported the Millennial Impact Project since 2010. Led by Achieve, the Project provides a platform through which more than 35,000 Millennials to date have provided their feedback, insights and opinions on cause related topics. This effort has resulted in a pivotal series of studies exploring how this generation interacts with and supports the issues they care about.
The research is complemented by the Foundation’s continued sponsorship of MCON, which started to take shape five years ago with MDS11. Guests included Barbara Bush, Grant Garrison, Erica Williams and more. (Some of you reading this may have even participated!)
The one-day virtual event examined Achieve’s Millennial research in front of an online audience of 2,500. With two video cameras, a few microphones and the Case Foundation conference rooms as the set, speakers shared their stories and viewers learned how to build constituent and activist movements.
From those humble beginnings, MCON has gone on to become the leading national convening on Millennial engagement. Each year, there is something new and exciting for attendees — and this year will be no exception. Over the last five years, more than 50,000 leaders have experienced MCON and left with a richer understanding of how to create change in their communities. Those learnings have empowered changemakers to more effectively create and scale impact in the issues areas they care about the most.
I invite you to share below what you want to talk about at MCON and how we can make this convening more effective at turning next gen interest into acton.
Please join me at MCON2016!
