Al Jazeera America Interviews Steven Olikara on Election Day 2014

Is voter turnout an accurate measure of civic participation? Al Jazeera America’s The Stream hosts Lisa Fletcher and Wajahat Ali talked to Steven Olikara of Millennial Action Project about the millennial generation redefining what being politically engaged looks like.

“There’s no substitute for voting, but this new Millennial generation is really expanding and redefining the notion of civic engagement. One thing we know about Millennials from the research is we are very impatient and pragmatic for change. That means our generation is not going to wait for legislators to make policy and make change. But rather, we’re going to grow our own entrepreneurial solutions in the private sector and through non-governmental work.”

— Steven Olikara

“If the ‘next big thing’ maybe 10 years ago was social entrepreneurship, I’d say that the ‘next big thing’ now is political entrepreneurship. What we’re finding is — whether you care about energy or education or health care — the real underlying problems facing our democracy is polarization. The gridlock is so pervasive, and you’re seeing even in this midterm election, among the most important issues that voters are concerned about is congressional gridlock. We need our generation’s best and brightest thinking how we can reimagine and reinvent our democracy.”

— Steven Olikara