Welcome to MAC—A Message from Chair, Julian Domanico
By: Philadelphia Millennial Advisory Committee
Tags: City Living, Local Government, Millennials, Millennial Trends, Philadelphia

Headshot Credit: Helena Raju Photography

After four years of service on the City of Philadelphia’s Millennial Advisory Committee (MAC), I am grateful, but more so humbled to be appointed as Chair. I take seriously this role to steward MAC’s efforts to affect positive change within Philadelphia. Now, after a fruitful recruitment and onboarding process that added 10 new members from across the city, we have doubled our capacity. MAC and I recommit ourselves to advocating on behalf of those who have historically been — and continue to be — excluded or oppressed by our social and economic systems. To that end, we encourage organizations of all sizes throughout Philadelphia, as well as individuals dedicated to fostering young leadership, to work alongside us in the fight for justice and antiracism across sectors through Philadelphia’s recovery from the pandemic and beyond.

MAC will continue advocating within municipal government on behalf of our generation — and those young at heart — by amplifying and convening around ideas, resources, and initiatives that reach the communities we not only serve, but come from.

So, where do we go from here? MAC has a new organizational structure that has further enabled us to be nimble, allowing us to be more responsive to the needs of the community. We will do this by focusing on four pillars: (1) Legislative Transparency, (2) Civic Education and GOTV Efforts, (3) Community Collaborations, and (4) Millennial Spotlights.

As millennials, we value transparency — understanding how, why, and by whom decisions are made. A 2017 study by Forbes found that out of 2,000 millennial consumers, 94% of respondents said transparency breeds loyalty. When millennial consumers changed their behaviors in favor of increased or complete transparency, 56% said they were likely to stay loyal for life.

Through MAC’s first pillar, Legislative Transparency, we will share in layman’s terms and in various languages, through testimony, pop-up activities in the community, and more, the impact of bills working their way through our city council or the state legislature. By being better adept at following the movement of bills that have impact on our lives, MAC can better inform our next pillar: Civic Education and GOTV Efforts.

Elections have consequences and a lack of civic education matters. Philadelphia will be better able to retain and attract millennials (and younger) if they are more civically engaged now. We know that youthful perspectives, in particular, are an important barometer for the health of communities. Millennials have begun to settle down, build roots, and juggle the needs of today with the wants of tomorrow. By being more deeply educated on how our city runs, young people will continue building a sense of ownership and pride for our communities. When one knows how to stay connected — in ways that leave their mark — through accessible points of entry, there becomes an inherent deeper care of their community.

A 2010 study by Zaff et al. in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence found that engagement that maximizes the impact at both individual and community levels increases a sense of civic duty, confidence in one’s abilities to foster change, and active involvement for the purpose of being a part of their community, connected to it and its members, and having relationships with both of them.

Through our second pillar, Civic Education and GOTV Efforts, MAC will add its own spin on tying opportunities for learning with culturally competent and conscious activities. Through initiatives that demystify how laws are made, the structure of government, and the impact of proposed policy, MAC will help meaningfully connect millennial Philadelphians to information and resources necessary to effectively advocate for themselves and the future of all of our communities. By sharing ways millennials can support our own communities, MAC helps to open the door for our penultimate pillar.

MAC’s third pillar, Community Collaborations, seeks to amplify the resources and programs around Philadelphia that make a difference in the lives of youth over the long term. We will work with any mission-aligned group that seeks justice and works to build an antiracist future. In doing so, MAC challenges the notion that Philadelphia’s communities who experience marginalization lack deep roots of hard-working, caring organizations and people who make a felt difference daily. In the past, MAC has been privileged to collaborate with the Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition (SEAMAAC), African Family Health Organization (AFHO), the Anti-Violence Partnership (AVP), and others who are building a stronger society based on the principles of justice and equity for all. The power of being a part of the fabric and culture of a community that has history, social nuances, and complex trauma gives way to our final pillar.

None of this work can — or should — be done alone or in a silo. MAC’s final pillar, Millennial Spotlights, seeks to highlight our peers — and the programs and organizations — that make Philadelphia’s future bright. We are inspired by the many unsung heroes who continually show their best selves professionally and personally in the service — and for the benefit — of all of us. The only way forward is to unlearn and actively redirect exclusive gatekeeping tactics that bottleneck collaboration and stifle progress. Toward the end of 2021 for our culminating event, MAC will invite organizations and their leaders to share their work and visions for the future of social justice and youth development in Philadelphia.

I invite you and your organization to join me and MAC this year as we get to work. If you would like to collaborate with us, reach out to PHLMillennial@gmail.com. You can follow MAC @PHLMillennial on all social media for resource sharing and upcoming activities.

In Solidarity,

Julian Domanico

Chair, Millennial Advisory Committee