Note: Want to learn more about national service and the Aspen Institute Franklin Project? Watch McChrystal’s discussion with journalist Tom Brokaw at the Council on Foreign Relations. The conversation airs live tonight at 6pm ET. And Chelsea Clinton will join talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and ServiceNation tonight to launch Serve a Year.
Millennials want to step up and serve their communities and country. How can society provide them with opportunities to do so? The Franklin Project works to create a year of national service — called a service year — as a cultural expectation, common opportunity, and a civic rite of passage for every young American. This week on Aspen Institute Radio, we delve deeper into the opportunity of a service year.
Aspen Institute Radio, our two-hour radio show, airs every Saturday and Sunday on SiriusXM Insight (channel 121). Each episode will dive into the topics that inform the world around you. Here in our weekly Listen Longer posts, we’ll recap each episode and show you where you can read, watch, and listen to more. Don’t have SiriusXM? Try it free for a month here.
More Than Military Service
“Our vision is simple: a country where a year of full-time national service is a cultural expectation, common opportunity, and civic rite of passage for every young American. Our goal is straightforward: create one million service year positions by 2023. We’re here to think about exactly how to get that done, and to begin the long and hard, but worthwhile process of changing what it means to be an American…This is the unfinished work of our time.” – General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal, former US commander of the International Security Assistance Force & US forces in Afghanistan and chair of the Franklin Project Leadership Council
Watch McChrystal’s full discussion about military and civilian service.
Watch more fascinating conversations with McChrystal:
- Discussing his memoir “My Share of the Task” with Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson
- Launching Tufts University’s 1+4, a bridge year program offering incoming students of all backgrounds the opportunity to engage in a year of full-time national or international service before beginning their traditional college experience
Our Generation, Our Legacy
Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, spoke about the tremendous opportunity for millennials to leave a lasting legacy through national service. She moderated a noteworthy panel with representatives from AmeriCorps, Student Veterans of America, Baltimore Corps, and Service Nation, about making that opportunity a reality.
How does service change your life? Four veterans and service alumni delivered stirring testimonials on service at the Summit at Gettysburg.
1 Year to Improve Citizenship
Our country is suffering from a deficit of citizenship and a general lack of connectedness. Leaders from both sides of the aisle, including former Cabinet Secretaries Ray LaHood and Dan Glickman, discussed ways national service shapes great citizens.
The Private Sector & National Service
Leaders from Bank of America, LinkedIn, EBay, Google[x], and Time Warner shared stories of national service’s benefits and opportunities for their companies.
Panelist Megan Smith is now the White House’s chief technology officer. We spoke with her about her new role and how to bring digital innovation to the government at the Washington Ideas Forum.
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