So You Think You Can Lobby?

If you were born between 1982 and 2003, you are a millennial.

I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you.

As a millennial (aka Generation Y), you are in a group that represents 30% of Australia’s population — more than Gen X (which makes up 29%) and the Baby Boomers (20%). You will inherit a damaged earth, a bunch of extremely poor old people, and an echo chamber in place of a parliamentary system which, for the most part, refuses to listen to you. Of the 1.2 million Australians not registered to vote, 46% are made up of YOU. You are the largest generation in Australia, and you have been subjected to opinion piece after opinion piece decrying your self-centeredness, apathy, laziness and disengagement. You are pretty sick of these opinion pieces. Also, you hate the word “millennial”.

But! It’s not all bad.

Today is the United Nation’s International Day Of Democracy. It’s also the launch date of Movement: a campaign conceived by MTV Australia and the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (MADE), who are using their influences and resources for good: to start a conversation about how and why Generation Y engages with democracy, and to find — via public engagement, and a panel of influencers and change-makers — a “Millennial Leader”, who will represent the voice of the generation in Canberra and beyond.

Between now and October 10, you can nominate yourself by answering four questions and posting a 30-second campaign video to the Movement website. 30 candidates will be shortlisted, based on how well each has engaged the public.

The five finalists will be chosen by a Gen Y panel including people from Change.org, the Reach Foundation, the National Youth Advisory Council of the National Council for Indigenous Excellence, the Oaktree Foundation, and Youth Without Borders. These are all good people to get your face in front of. After a three-week campaign, including a public forum, the Millennial Leader will be chosen by the public.

The winner gets invaluable experiences and access for anyone interested in entering public life: two weeks spent lobbying in and reporting from Canberra, and one-on-one meetings with members of an extremely varied brains trust: a group that includes the managing director of the ABC, Mark Scott, journalist Peter Fitzsimons, Robert Connolly (who curated The Turning),  Jamila Rizvi (who edits Mamamia), Claire Bowditch, Adam Goodes, and Ian Hickie, from Headspace and beyondblue.

So if you’re sick of complaining to a closed circuit of friends and want to actually do a thing, this might be a thing for you to do. Visit mtvmovement.com.au; applications close on October 10.