MTV Will Host Youth Inaugural Ball

MTV just announced plans to host an inaugural ball. Sounds good to me. I've heard that College Democrats are also planning their own event, and Rock the Vote may be as well. Personally, if I had my druthers, Rock the Vote and CDA would scrap their plans, MTV would add them and a whole bunch of other youth groups to the "host committee" list, and everyone would work together to petition the DNC to make MTV's event the official "youth" ball (Obama will show up at whatever event is deemed official).

As long as people who worked their asses off to engage youth during this election get invited, I could care less who sponsors the youth inaugural ball. And as I mentioned in the comments on Sarah's last post about this, these things are quite expensive and completely superfluous to youth organizations doing their job well. Why spend $50 - $100k throwing a big-ass party to win a news cycle when that money could be better spent shoring up the operational budget of an entire organization for the next year? Doesn't seem like much of a choice to me.

MTV & ServiceNation Team Up To Host “Be The Change Inaugural Ball”

America’s Youth to Come Together to Celebrate a New President, a New Generation of Leadership, and a New Era of Community

MTV Programming Will Highlight Young People Across America Taking Action to Aid Their Communities

New York, NY (November 25, 2008) – MTV and ServiceNation today announced they will host the “Be The Change Inaugural Ball” in Washington D.C. on January 20, 2009 to celebrate the massive youth voter turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election and an active commitment from America’s youth to impart positive social change through volunteer service.

Held at The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C., the event will feature leading artists, celebrities and government officials, alongside hundreds of young people chosen to attend based off their demonstrated volunteerism, for live performances and dedications highlighting the power of America’s youth to take action in their communities. The special event will be televised live and premiere across all MTV platforms including MTV, MTV2, MTV Tr3s, mtvU, MTV Hits, MTV Jams and MTV.com on the evening of January 20, 2009 (time to be announced) and will include live broadcasts from locations worldwide where young people are completing major service projects in real-time during the inaugural event. Additionally, MTV will showcase stories of young people providing service within their communities on a daily basis beginning the first day of the New Year, culminating on Inauguration Day.

“Over the last year and culminating in this election, we have seen a groundswell of engagement and a refreshed spirit of activism from young people," said Stephen Friedman, General Manager of MTV. "ServiceNation is the perfect partner for this inaugural event given they encompass a broad coalition of youth service organizations. We want to celebrate young people across the nation who are answering the call and working to make changes in their communities and beyond."

"ServiceNation looks forward to partnering with MTV on a historic inaugural event that will call on all Americans to act on their idealism and answer President-elect Obama's call to serve,” said Michelle Nunn, CEO, Points of Light Institute. “By uniting Americans on the common ground of service, we can roll up our sleeves and help solve the nation's great challenges and inspire every American to be the change they wish to see in the world."

A record 24 million 18 – 29 year-olds voted in the 2008 Presidential election. Out of the 133.3 million total voters, the youth vote accounted for 18 percent of the electorate. This turnout marks the third major election in a row with increased youth voter numbers, and for the first time in twenty years, the number of young voters aged 18 – 29 surpassed that of voters over the age of 65.