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These trends and predictions reflect what is top-of-mind as NPQ closes 2019 and begin a new decade. And what we’re seeing is a pivot to a more generative design role in democracy. If that is true, we must hold ourselves to greater account when it comes to inclusivity and equity. It starts with us.
But this list is clearly not exhaustive. Using the comment section, please add your own observations about trends in civil society and among nonprofits. It will help all of us make a bridge to next year.
1. A new generation makes itself heard and felt in the public sphere…
It’s not for nothing that Greta Thunberg, age 16, was named Time magazine’s person of the year. At NPQ, we have always urged caution about generational stereotypes. Truth is, most members of the post-millennial generation (often called Generation Z or “zoomers”) are not political activists, but it is also true that an unusually high percentage of them are. And their collective force has taken the world by storm.
We have covered this new generation of social movements widely. One of the first notable movements of this new generation was Black Lives Matter. Many of the most prominent victims of police violence—Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice—were 18 or younger themselves. (12, in Tamir’s case.) So, it shouldn’t surprise us that youth were the ones to lead the response. Other notable examples, as a recent Teen Vogue article details, include the Parkland students who started March for Our Lives, and of course climate change activists, such as the Sunrise Movement that helped fuel proposals for a Green New Deal. What distinguishes many of these movements is a willingness to challenge the status quo and not accept as normal what have been considered mainstream, bipartisan, standard policy prescriptions. How this wave of activism is ultimately integrated in our society remains to be seen, but already these movements have upended many mainstream “common sense” assumptions.
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