New Survey: Generation Y Most Equipped to Handle Today’s Greatest Challenges

A new survey of 17- to 26-year-olds finds an optimistic generation that believes it has more potential and is better equipped than the past generation to handle the greatest issues facing society. Of the young people polled, 62% said that it is likely that their generation “is better equipped to handle the greatest issues facing societyâ€; 72% said that is a result of “access to better technologyâ€; and 79% said that they are “optimistic about the direction of their local community.â€

More than 1,000 college students gathered recently for the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) meeting at Arizona State University in Tempe to engage in developing solutions to some of the most pressing concerns of their generation. These undergraduate and graduate students will create new, specific and measurable plans to address their generation’s greatest challenges.

The poll examined the issues that drive young people to action, the tactics they think are useful to enact change, and the characteristics that their generation has that gives them the potential to make the world a better place:

Most Important Issues:

Education (97%)

Human Rights (94%)

The Economy (96%)

The poll indicated that 59% are committed to action and believe that the best way to make an impact on a cause or issue is by dedicating time to a cause; 86% think it is important that businesses donate to worthy causes, 80% think it is important that businesses give back to the community.

They also believe their generation is uniquely positioned to handle social issues because compared to their parents’ generation, they are more creative (81% to 19%), open minded (81% to 19%), and innovative (79% to 21%).