This week I had the pleasure of attending the Feminism2.0 conference in Washington, D.C. It was a one-day event packed full of panels and breakout sessions with leaders from prominent women’s organizations such as Feminist Majority, NOW and NARAL as well as feminist bloggers, artists and activists.

What I liked most about the conference was the diversity of people that attended. It was a great mix of races, genders, ages and because the conference was focused on organizing women online and off, there were techy and non-techy people present.

A major theme that came out of the conference was bridging the gap between old and new activists and using technology to engage the younger audience. Jen Nedeau, my fellow Women’s Rights blogger at Change.org, moderated the panel, “At the Crossroads: Organizing the Next Generation of Feminists Online and Off”. She emphasized in her presentation that young activists need to be engaged where they live online with customizable options to participate.

Here’s a video that Nerdette from NotMyGal filmed of that panel (yup, that’s me listening in the background):

Jen mentioned to me after the panel that NARAL Pro-Choice America is a prime example of an organization that is getting Web 2.0 right with their FreeWillPower campaign.

It was great to hear because See3 created the FreeWillPower campaign specifically to appeal to a younger audience and give them ways to opt-in based on their own interests. For example, participants can watch videos, get ringtones for their phones, submit a design to a t-shirt contest, take a quiz about reproductive rights and find information on an interactive map, among other things.

I think Jen is correct in her observation that young people aren’t necessarily going to search out a nonprofit’s website themselves but will be receptive to participating with the tools and social networks they already use every day.

I think a challenge that the feminist and reproductive rights movements face today is how to provide ways for young people to make the cause their own. Luckily, the internet is a great place to connect with this new generation in fun and creative ways.