Powerful Inspiration Around Every Corner at MCON 2017

If you’re familiar with the annual Millennial Engagement Conference, you’ll know that MCON draws a diverse and inspirational lineup of changemakers. Speakers, attendees and sponsors alike convene around a singular mission—to better understand, activate and showcase the power of the millennial generation to drive social impact. And MCON 2017 was no exception, as everyone in attendance and on stage continued to inspire!

I was particularly happy to sit down briefly with fellow MCON sponsor Blackbaud for a Facebook Live interview to talk about the Case Foundation’s nearly 10 years of work and research on Millennial engagement. However, the real action took place on stage where the entire community could engage directly. There were many great moments throughout the 2-day conference, but let me highlight the top six  “power themes” I saw on display at MCON 2017:

    1. The Power of Networking: Building off of last year’s positive feedback, MCON 2017 included an opening night party—no agenda, no speakers, a pure focus on networking and building connections. This year, participants gathered at National Geographic (thank you, NatGeo!), surrounded by the work and photography of an institution that for more than 100 years has inspired adventurers and scientists to preserve our planet. Social capital—the networks of people we know—is a critical component of any social movement. Get out there and build it, share it and advance the issues you care about!

 

    1. The Power of Showcasing Movement Practitioners: The Igniting Good Town Hall, hosted by #GivingTuesday, took place just before the official start of MCON. The town hall allowed participants to hear from practitioners and learn about their tactics for building, sustaining and unleashing coalitions of Millennials and others to tackle some of our biggest social issues. The session included diverse groups like the Movember Foundation whose movement has contributed to more than 1200 projects for prostate and testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention, and Amnesty International’s 7 million-person global coalition campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by everyone. The town hall provided inspiration, through the sharing of practical information, on the potential to affect social change by building strong coalitions and communities around a common cause. Movement building isn’t easy—it always involves behavior change and disrupting the status quo—so learning from history and those in the trenches now was a powerful feature of MCON 2017.

      Photo courtesy of MCON.

 

    1. The Power of Storytelling: At the Case Foundation, we are huge believers in the power of what we call “inspirational capital,” showcasing through stories, blogs, film, photos and infographics the images and narratives that convey the real history and ultimate end state of the social causes we are advancing. The imperative of storytelling to build community and catalyze social movements was front and center in the exclusive screening of Crown Heights. An awardee at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, the film tells the true story of Colin Warner, an 18-year-old Brooklyn man wrongfully convicted of a 1980 murder and sentenced to life in prison, and his childhood friend who fights for more than 20 years to reverse the verdict. Nnamdi Asomugha, who stars as the friend to Colin Warner in the film also spoke about the film and its context.

      Photo courtesy of MCON.

 

    1. The Power of Your Platform: Actress Allison Williams of the HBO show, Girls and most recently the film Get Out, closed out MCON with a powerful discussion about the social issues that she is working to address through the use of her public platform enabled by her celebrity status and increasingly influential voice in Hollywood. She has recognized that as an actress her voice can reach millions, and wants to use her proverbial microphone to push for greater action to drive movements for education, and most recently, chronic racism in the criminal justice system and the negative impact on minorities that enter that system. Bravo Allison!

      Photo courtesy of MCON.

 

    1. The Power of Personal Engagement: As a sponsor of MCON, the Case Foundation, in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal created the Peacock Lounge to encourage attendees to share their stories of inspiring change in their communities through the use of innovation and technology. And what we heard was definitely inspiring, from a NASA scientist seeking to be more fearless, to an immigrant translating her past struggle into opportunities for young people currently living in countries in crisis, to a cancer survivor building networks for other survivors to more easily make the transition back after treatment, and many more.

      In the lounge, we gave participants a platform to turn their energy and their interest into action, by inviting them to make a pledge at the ribbon wall, to declare their commitment with a Word Art Portrait, and to share their unique story of taking action in the NBCUniversal Chat Box. And the response was overwhelming. We were thrilled to see that in-person engagement come through online as well, as people shared their videos and their portraits on twitter, facebook and Instagram using #GetInTheArena and #NBCUStoriesThatInspire. We look forward to continuing to share those stories in the coming months, so stay tuned for more great content on our website and at NBCUniversal.

 

  1. The Power of Data and Research: Finally, MCON would not be complete without the vital research on millennial cause engagement conducted by Achieve and sponsored by The Case Foundation. When you’re in the business of catalyzing social movements, data and research is a key component of both designing your programming and measuring its effect. This year’s  Millennial Impact Report will examine how changing social issues are affecting millenials’ interest and engagement in cause involvement, and how millennials activate with specific social issues based on demographic characteristics. Phase 1 of a three-phase research report was released at MCON 2017. This qualititative research phase with a small cohort of millennials is already revealing that today’s evolving political and social climate is changing the cause behavior of millennials. We’re already excited about the potential for Phase 2, which will be released in September.

Huge thanks and congratulations to Achieve and all the sponsorship partners for another successful year of MCON. The Case Foundation has supported Achieve to bring MCON to the world since 2011, and we’re thrilled to see the content and reach continue to grow and improve every year. For a generation of changemakers, millennials can truly find their tribe at MCON where the speakers, the discussions, the sponsors and their fellow attendees all help to inspire them to get in the arena and translate their interests into action to create change in the world.

Keep sharing your stories of using innovation and technology to inspire change in your community with #GetInTheArena and #NBCUStoriesThatInspire.

Join the 2017 MCON Speakers on Twitter

The count-down has begun, and we’re less than one week from the kick off of the annual Millennial Engagement conference. MCON has become the marquee event on millennial cause engagement, and we’re thrilled to have it hosted again in our own back yard in Washington, DC. For more on the event, check out our recent MCON2017 blog post.

As in years past, MCON is assembling a list of can’t-miss speakers that represent a multi-industry approach to doing good for our communities and our environment. From filmmakers, to artists and actors, to activists, to chefs and restaurateurs, the MCON speakers—like the audience—is a gathering of diverse people who care about social change and want to #GetInTheArena by turning their interests into action.

We’re sharing our Twitter list of MCON speakers to make joining the online conversation using #MCON easy for everyone. Whether you’re here at MCON (registration is still open) or joining via the livestream. Be sure to follow along as we share event highlights, quotes, photos and more at @CaseFoundation using hashtag #GetInTheArena.

Tip: Access each of the Twitter handles below with just one click by following our Twitter List.

Name
Twitter Handle
Bio
Diana Aviv
@diaviv
CEO of @FeedingAmerica, striving for a hunger-free nation. Love hiking, book club, & gardening in my city plot.
David Forsell
@dforsell
President of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. Focused on how KIB can grow its impact for people, communities and the environment.
Rob Greenfield
@RobJGreenfield
Adventurer, Activist, Humanitarian for a sustainable & just world. Host of Free Ride on Discovery Channel. Donates 100% of media income to grassroots nonprofits
Robin Hammond
@robinNHammond
Documentary photographer, W.Eugene Smith Fund recipient, 4 time winner of Amnesty International Award for human rights journalism.
Maria Teresa Kumar
@MariaTeresa1
Mami of two tykes who see wonders all the time. @VotoLatino Founding President. @MSNBC Contributor. My views. Married to this guy @raj_devex
Michael Lastoria
@__lastoria
Long hair. Bearded. Driven to create. Passionate about design and culture. Founding president @andpizza + @jwalkny
Palika Makam
@PalikaMakam
To Do List: 1. Awake Global Consciousness 2. Film Everything
Spike Mendelsohn
@chefspike
Chef/Owner of D.C. Good Stuff Eatery/We,The Pizza/ChairmanDCFoodPolicyCouncil
Simon Moss
@sdmoss
co-founder + MD – Campaigns @ Global Citizen (@glblctzn / @glblctznimpact).
Dalia Mogahed
@Dmogahed
Director of Research at @TheISPU. Co-author of Who Speaks Islam?
Holley Murchison
@HolleyMurchison
Reporting live from my dreams.
Amanda Nguyen
@nguyen_amanda
Founder of Rise @RiseNowUS. Penned own civil rights into existence & 25 million others’ too. Aspiring Astronaut. Pathological Optimist.
Ali Noorani
@anoorani
.@NatImmForum, bad golfer, #immigration advocate, aspiring fashion blogger, author of ‘There Goes the Neighborhood.’ insta @alinoorani Tweets are mine.
Quin Tivey
@QuinnTivey
The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation
Tipiziwin Tolman
@ThipiziwinYoung
Lakota Language Nest Instructor
Karen Weigert
@KarenRWeigert
Cool jobs working for a cooler planet. Senior fellow @ChicagoCouncil. Chicago’s 1st chief sustainability officer. Film producer. Tweeting sustainably since 2016
Eric Asche
@easche
Chief Little Bet Maker for Truth Initiative. Fighting for market share – one person at a time.
Cecilia Clarke
@BklynFoundation
As the community foundation for NYC’s largest borough, we are on a mission to #SparkChange, mobilizing people, capital, and expertise for a fair & just Brooklyn
Adam Garone
@adamgarone
Movember Co-Founder | Entrepreneur | Leader | Men’s Health Champion | Speaker
Zain Habboo
@zainyh
Sr Director Digital & Marketing @UNFoundation, former @Natgeo Digital. Proud #Jordanian. Platform of choice: Instagram (@embratora). ps I love Xanadu
Sarah Hemminger
@Thread_Org
The New Social Fabric
Margaret Huang
@MargaretLHuang
Executive Director, @Amnesty International USA. Tweets are my views only.
Andrew Slack
@andrewslack
Civic Hall fellow in civic imagination, Harry Potter Alliance and Imagine Better creator/co-founder.
Justin Wheeler
@justinbobbyw
Founder and CEO at Funraise.