Millennials talk about the challenges of living rural
Living in a town of less than a thousand people isn’t every 21-year-old’s dream. But an increasing amount of millennials are choosing to live and love rural.
At Rural Talks To Rural 2018, five panelists aged between 21 and 35 shared the experiences and challenges they face as students, entrepreneurs, politicians and members of rural communities in Southwestern Ontario. Their discussion brought much needed perspective to the question of youth engagement at a social and political level.
Nick Vinnicombe, a 21-year-old videographer and owner of Lake Affect Media, moved back to Walton, Ont. after time away for media studies. Despite the fact coming home was his own decision, Vinnicombe says making friends in his community has been difficult. He doesn’t know where young people meet in the area, and even if he did, there also is a shared belief that there is “nothing to do” where he lives.
But there are things to do. Grace Vanden, member of Engage Goderich, says her organization recently hosted a successful comedy night and is organizing an election social in the coming days. An audience member added that libraries in the region are currently creating online boards to advertise events in the region.
The panel discussion later turned into an intergenerational exchange between panelists and audience members. What could organizations do to increase youth engagement?
Panelists suggested that while having an abundance of information on social media is great, this information does little to drive the decision-making process of actually attending an event—millennials will look at events online, but text each other to choose whether they’re worth attending or not. The group discussed a need to re-evaluate communication channels, since they vary between age and social groups. Some suggested offering activities that are of value and interest to target demographics, and actually reaching out to youth personally rather than posting an ad and complaining they don’t show up.
Watch the panel discussion and conversation below for more.
