We’re a group of young, passionate, community-minded individuals who are taking the future into our own hands by creating a city that attracts and gives voice to the next generation of Edmontonians.

Simply stated – NextGen is a hub for connecting people, places, community and ideas together. Through events, leadership opportunities and professional development we foster young leaders and support initiatives of interest to the Next Generation.

Read a message from Community Co-Chair, Tegan Martin-Drysdale.

Vision

Edmonton is a vibrant, welcoming city shaped by the lives and leadership of the next generation, ages 18 to 40. Succession and sharing the learning’s from one generation to the next is what this is all about – the next generation steps up to the plate to lead as our city continues to grow.

Mission

We are creating a city that attracts and gives a voice to the next generations in the life and growth of our community. NextGen is hub for networking as well as connecting people, places, community and ideas together. Our mandate is to understand, solicit input and develop focused and practical recommendations for action about how Edmonton can be more attractive to the next generation and how it can keep them here. We have the desire to make Edmonton a better place to work, live and play in the future.

History

NextGen originated in 2005 as a task force created by Edmonton’s City Council. Under the leadership of Councillor Kim Krushell and former Councillor Michael Phair, the 15-person task force conducted public consultations with over 100 young community members to discover what young Edmontonians wanted to see in the areas of arts and culture, business opportunities, sports and recreation, education, and employment. In the spring of 2006, the task force presented nine recommendations to City Council and Edmonton’s NextGen Committee was formed.

The current NextGen Committee, chaired by community member, Tegan Martin-Drysdale, and City of Edmonton Branch Manager, Heather McRae, is comprised of 16 members – eight community leaders and eight civic leaders who represent each City Department, as well as two City Councillors and a Coordinator, Christine Causing. In addition to the committee, there are over 75 NextGen volunteers that spend their time developing policy, organizing events, learning new skills and connecting with fellow community leaders on one of the five working groups (sub-committees).

Highlights
Since spring 2006, the NextGen Commitee has made much progress to address the nine proposed recommendations. Highlights include:

• Worked in partnership with the Information Technology Branch to establish the Wireless Edmonton initiative.
• Provided input into the Art of Living, Cultural Plan for the City of Edmonton.
• Organized a workshop at the United Nations Global Youth Assembly, featuring discussions on the relationship between building a city of peace and urban design. This gave the NextGen initiative a distinct visual opportunity, as it was the first time the UN Global Youth Assembly had ever been held outside of the United Nations headquarters in New York.
• Providing input on several City plans including, The Way We Live, The Art of Living , the Blue Bin Program and, most recently, The Way We Green and the City Centre Redevelopment Project.
• Showcasing the diverse interest, talent and knowledge that Edmontonians possess through successful Pecha Kucha and Engage events
• Presented a report to City Council at the Capital City Downtown Plan Public Hearing calledYour City Your Voice: Life in the Urban Core which  was a collection of opinions and input from next gener’s on urban core issues.
• The development, coordination and implementation of the Edmonton Community Challenge.

Interested in receiving our bi-weekly email newsletter of the latest NextGen and community events in our city?  Want to find out when our next Pecha Kucha Night is or the next event we’re hosting? With over 2,000 members on our NextGen newsletter list subscribe today by signing up here.