Change12 was born in 2007 from Saeed’s vision of starting an organization that would bring about youth led change by empowering other youth, inspiring them to recognize their potential and combat apathy by being civically engaged.

Like any start up organization, Change12 faced a myriad of challenges – building organizational capacity, recruiting talent, fundraising, finding support, incorporating and obtaining charity status, etc. Adding to the challenges was that as an entirely youth run organization, its members were not in a financial position to strongly contribute to Change12.

Nonetheless Change12 prevailed. It was able to fundraise tens of thousands in donations and in-kind support. Since 2007, it has met weekly to plan projects strategically geared towards social change. Using money from donors and fundraising events Change12 created 2 powerful programs. In 2008, Change12 implemented project 1 MIC which involved 100 participants over 8 weeks in a program that promoted public speaking and leadership skills as well as a vision that one youth with just one microphone could change the world. In 2008-2009 Change12 worked with the CBC to create a program called Change It Up TV that showcased stories of Canadian youth achieving social change and better their communities; the program aired on TV with a viewership of 27 000 and distributed many DVD copies of the program.

These results demonstrated the passion of the team and were a clear indicator of what a few dedicated young people could do to make a difference.
Saeed is passionate about fostering a more youth friendly world. He has personally seen the negative consequences that result when society fails its youth. Saeed believes that in every youth is the potential for greatness and that access to opportunities as well as role models are major factors in helping youth self-actualize. Saeed continues to enjoy being an active member of the communities around him. He is currently an advisor to the Toronto Police Services, Chief of Police on youth matters and initiated “Youth Speak Out to Youth” press conference in response to the 2005 “Boxing Day Shootings”. Equity and tolerance are close to Saeed’s heart. Prior to his work with Change12, Saeed created 4 innovative projects tackling youth poverty, apathy, marginalization and disenfranchisement.

Valerie is one who believes in the power of love. She defines love as both the desire to help others and the passion to dream. This phrase certainly permeates everything she stands for. She decided to engage herself in Change12 to empower youth to achieve their goals, persuade them to get involved in contemporary political issues, and ultimately spread a positive message: small changes can make big differences. With this organization she will change attitudes, mindsets, and actions. She is passionate about youth engagement and she aspires to create a more inclusive society one step at a time.

Saeed and Valerie are currently University of Toronto students completing an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Equity Studies.

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Velocity is the brainchild of online marketing specialist and web enthusiast, Kaitlyn Braybrooke. Kaitlyn is passionate about social change and a graduate of University of British Columbia with an B.A. in Political Science focusing on comparative Canadian-American systems.

“I started VELOCITY because I was sick of hearing so many negative theses about our generation (the Millennial Generation) and about our so-called apathy and narcissism compared to previous generations. I kept coming across political scientist after political scientist all regurgitating this general idea and complaining about today’s woebegone lost youth. However, as an activist and enthusiast of community building plus citizen-based initiatives here in Vancouver, I was constantly seeing amazing projects and ideas by people my age who truly want to make a difference. I wanted to have a multi-author, youth-run blog based on the efforts and ideas of people our age who are doing interesting things in their own communities – getting involved, being loud and active, ultimately showing just how wrong the ‘apathetic web2.0 generation’ thesis really is. VELOCITY does just that.”

A desire for social change and building progressive communities is not a new idea, but the idea of using Web 2.0 tools to achieve social change is something new. Web 2.0 is a set of digital tools that promote information being produced by democratic, free, easily accessible and participatory web communities. Web 2.0 tools are widely embraced by Millennials; add to that the social conscience prominent in many Millennials and the result is a powerful synergy that facilitates social change action in a wired globalized world.

There are many examples. In 2008, the American Cancer Society raised $214 000 USD through a virtual fundraiser – Relay for Life, on Second Life. The success of Gulu Walk was due to awareness generated using social networking websites. The speed and ease of access of Twitter allows citizen journalists and activists to get their stories out and compete with large media. Facebook groups can rally people behind a cause. PlanetConnect.org offers a social networking site focusing on green jobs, planet friendly technology, environmental grants and green issues.

Kaitlyn Braybrooke

When asked about her future – “I’d really like VELOCITY to expand in a larger way, to become more of an online magazine than just a mere blog. I feel lately like I’m bursting with idea and projects I want to get involved in. Particular longstanding passions of mine are voter engagement (especially centered around young voters), social/new media, science fiction, (I’ve been a fan since childhood) municipal or progressive coalition-based politics and art in all of its forms – I’m an artist myself and am especially inspired by guerrilla and post-modern art.”

Kaitlyn grew up in Las Vegas, NV, but has since fallen in love with the strong progressive Vancouver community. With her strong skills in new media, design, volunteer coordination and communications, the future is looking very bright for this passionate and talented young woman.

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To understand how this misconception came to be requires explaining 3 points. First, who exactly are the Millennials? Second, why are they regarded as politically disengaged? Third, how are they involved in their communities?

The Millennials are a generation born between 1980 and 1995, although some include those born up until 2000. Defining characteristics include liberal beliefs, high education, tech-savviness, quick embracing of change or innovation, high value on independence plus uniqueness, distrust in large media as well as government, a fervent belief in not compromising on their dreams or their lifestyle and a strong interest in social/environmental issues. Millennials are also a feminist generation, where today approximately 60 per cent of university graduates are women, with more women entering medical and law schools. ¹

The belief that Millennials are politically disengaged comes from the fact that they have had weak turnouts in past elections at the municipal, provincial and federal level. This problem is also present in other developed Western nations. ² Most young Canadians are also not interested in participating in party politics or staying informed through traditional news formats such as TV news stations and newspapers. From this point of view Millennials are disengaged and disenfranchised.

The truth is that Millennials care a lot about the world and are engaged; but the majority just don’t feel connected to traditional political institutions. According to Elections Canada, some Millennials argue that none of the mainstream political parties address issues that are relevant to their generation such as high car insurance rates, tuition fees, the need for student loan restructuring, modern internet laws, etc. Donald Green and Alan Gerber have been studying American federal, state and municipal elections in 12 states since 1998; their book – “Get Out the Vote! How to increase voter turnout “, links declining voter turnout in western democracies to the depersonalization of politics. In Canada, the theatrical and scripted style of Question Period is not compatible with the expectations of this generation. Even former PM Brian Mulroney said (2009), “If you look at Question Period, you can see that it’s often the theatre of the absurd. There’s no relationship whatsoever to the problems of ordinary Canadians, and that’s one of the reasons why ordinary Canadians turn off so quickly in politics.”

Millennials are not political dropouts. According to a study by D-Code and the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, Millennials are involved. They buy products using their social conscience. They donate to charities. They try to use public transit and prefer green cars. They volunteer. They organize. They expect corporate social responsibility. They express news, share opinions and mobilize through blogs. They promote workplace equality by pushing for flattened hierarchies. They pursue social entrepreneurship, combining business and social change. They join causes on social networking sites. The World Values Survey supports this and shows data that compared to older generations, Millennials are just as likely to volunteer and discuss social/environmental issues with friends but they are almost twice as likely to pursue non-traditional political methods such as boycotts, ribbon campaigns, marathons and social movements like Earth Hour or Pride Week.

Yes Millennials should vote more and if they are properly engaged they will. After all, Millennials played a significant role in helping Obama win the 2008 US Presidential Election. There are many young, inspirational Canadians driving transformational change and improving the world; they are just doing it innovative ways.

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