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"With youth unemployment at a 60-year high and student-loan debt nearing the $1 trillion mark, can anything be done by the technology sector to help young Americans struggling to find work? Yes, says the #FixYoungAmerica campaign, launching Monday.\n#FixYoungAmerica is seeking to address a single, nagging question in the U.S.: How do we overcome the twin epidemics of youth unemployment and underemployment? \nTo that end, #FixYoungAmerica campaign is releasing a book designed to help fix those problems. It's chock full of ideas from some of the country's top intellectuals, nonprofit leaders, philanthropists, educators, politicians and entrepreneurs. \nSeveral of the ideas put forward involve technology: teaching kids how to code, requiring technology education in public schools and sparking innovation through entrepreneurial competitions.\nThe campaign is led by the Young Entrepreneur Council. The YEC has formed a coalition of partners to tackle youth unemployment, including Codecademy, MassChallenge, Venture for America and more.\n#FixYoungAmerica is asking supporters to help fund the movement via a crowdfunding effort on IndieGoGo, a popular startup-funding platform. But according to YEC founder Scott Gerber, the campaign doesn't want to try to solve youth employment by throwing money at the problem. Instead, it's looking for \"actual solutions\" and to serve as the \"beginning of a conversation\" about the economic conditions facing American youth \u2014 and how to fix them.\nA media campaign launching this week alongside events in 10 cities will spread the word about the campaign's mission. For social outreach, #FixYoungAmerica asks supporters to \"pass the baby\" \u2014 an image of a tool-belt-carrying toddler meant to represent the idea of fixing the nation's youth.\n\n\nThe #FixYoungAmerica book releases in May \u2014 just in time for graduation. But if you're interested in hearing more about the tech-related ideas in the book right now, you're in luck \u2014 Mashable interviewed several brilliant contributors, and we'll be sharing their ideas and inspiration once a week for the next several weeks.\nStay tuned for the first full installment of Mashable's #FixYoungAmerica coverage next week."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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