Being the Change

The Nexus Global Youth Summit, held last week in New York was a resounding success and may go some ways in changing the way youth people engage in philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. Convened by Search for Common Ground, the Nexus was conceived of by Search-USA Director, Jonah Whittkamper as a way of of bringing resources and innovation together to make real youth-led change.

As Forbes correspondent, Brian Solomon writes, “[the] process may take years, but the participants of the Nexus Summit hope they have kick started a real movement.”

An additional challenge the Nexus Summit tackled was connecting people from all backgrounds and parts of the world. Jessie Spector from Resource Generation, a non-profit that organizes young people of privilege for the public good, spoke about this problem during one panel. “We have common interests, but not the language to build movements,” she said. “It’s about finding a community to break down barriers to galvanize your resources and maximize your impact.”

Writing for Philanthropy 2173, Lucy Bernholz saw the event and the Young Donor Network as an example of institutions that are by the communities they’re trying to serve:

What strikes me about this is the ready and clear statements about who the programs are run by and who the programs are for – whether we are talking about the Nexus conference, the Search for Common Ground (SFCG) or the Young Donor Network. All three are actively shaped by the very people they also aim to serve.

April Rudin of the Huffington Post found the event inspiring and a testament to the power of big ideas:

There is so much more to say about this conference and its attendees, presenters and big ideas which were conceived over these four hot summer days at the end of July 2011. I can’t wait to watch the novel social ventures which this exciting army of young wealthy and powerful soldiers will create as they march into the world and change it for good!

Connections between social entrepreneurs and young wealth holders have formed during the Nexus Summit that will continue to strengthen and through the mash of ideas and resources, we can all make real change happen!

Follow #nexussummit and #nexusyouth on twitter to see what people are saying and keep the conversation going!