Since the founding of the Millennial Action Project (MAP), our mission has been to re-establish political cooperation across parties and defeat the polarization and gridlock that is holding back our government and country. Our efforts through the years culminated in the launch of the first-ever “Serve Together: National Week of Post-Partisan Action (NWPA).” NWPA is a week-long campaign to galvanize young people across the nation to overcome partisan behaviours and refocus on political bridge-building and future-focused solutions. From February 17th-21st, 2020, this nationwide effort brought together legislators and community members from across the aisle to draft resolutions, introduce and pass bills, and increase public awareness of and support for political collaboration.
Through our Congressional Future Caucus (CFC) and State Future Caucus Network (SFCN), MAP facilitates bipartisan relationship building, creating the spaces legislators need to partner and work together. As the partisan climate becomes more rancorous, MAP is working towards the next evolution of political collaboration: Post-partisanship. Post-partisanship takes bipartisanship to the next level. Post-partisanship means moving beyond conventional partisan divides and inviting all opinions into the conversation. Where the goal of bipartisanship is often to cooperate and compromise, the end goal of post-partisanship is to develop new and innovative policy solutions together.
NWPA garnered outstanding engagement amongst our SFCN members. From announcing new leadership in Mississippi and Georgia to taking us behind the scenes of statehouse action, NWPA engaged more than 35 state legislators from 9 different states. Throughout the week, SFCN members introduced legislation targeting key priority issues, including democracy reform and attracting and retaining young talent. Legislators took to social media to share what post-partisan means to them and how they have incorporated the concept into their leadership styles. We used #MAPservestogether to track our impact.
The past few decades of American politics has seen a growing unrest and frustration with the political system and culture, particularly amongst young people. Increasingly, young people are identifying less with political parties and are less likely to view public service jobs as desirable, yet they remain hopeful as more Millennials dedicate their time to charitable causes. Today, with a plurality of Millennials identifying as independents, young people are united by specific issues and forward-looking policies. At MAP, we see the rising generations as a powerful force in revitalizing our nation’s politics with innovative approaches to policy and post-partisan leadership.
NWPA may have only been one week, but the spirit and intent of this movement continues to carry beyond the seven days. Over the next few months, stay tuned as existing Future Caucuses announce their 2020 leadership, new Caucuses are formed, and SFCN members continue to drive forward future-oriented legislation in their statehouses.