Youth Ambassadors Help Launch Youth Campaign

Youth ambassadors helped launch a campaign today, Feb. 21, aimed at getting young people more involved in communities and voting.

Democracy 250 co-chair John Hamm was joined at Province House by local hip hop artist Jordan Croucher, 2008 ECMA award winner Stephanie Hardy, singer/songwriter Dwight d'Eon, and high school anti-bullying activists Travis Price and David Sheperd to announce D250: Make Your Mark.

Other campaign ambassadors include Chad Denny, formerly with the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers and now with their East Coast Hockey League affiliate the Gwinnett Gladiators, and Halifax Mooseheads' Brad Marchand, gold medalist at the 2008 World Junior Hockey Championship.

The campaign, part of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of parliamentary democracy in Canada, features the youth ambassadors in national and provincial ads that will air throughout the year.

Dr. Hamm said a key objective of Democracy 250 is to increase youth voter turnout.

"The vast majority of young people under 25 aren't voting," said Dr. Hamm. "To change this, we need to know what's on their minds and, hopefully, respond in a way that encourages more of them to see the importance of democracy and the value of voting."

The slogan Make Your Mark, developed in consultation with VOX: Point of Youth, the provincial government's youth advisory council, encourages youth to get involved in communities and to make their mark by speaking on issues and voting.

Deborah Pellerin, youth program co-ordinator with the Department of Education with responsibility for VOX: Point of Youth, said the Make Your Mark campaign isn't just about getting out the youth vote, it's also intended to encourage greater youth participation at the community level.

"When people get involved as volunteers, or as advocates for something they feel strongly about, they're more likely to vote," Pellerin said. "Hopefully, the campaign will yield positive results on both fronts."

In addition to the campaign, Democracy 250, in co-operation with VOX: Point of Youth, the Department of Education, school boards and Elections Nova Scotia, will host a series of youth town hall meetings. The meetings, which begin later this month, will start with students participating in a simulated election, before breaking into smaller group discussions on youth issues.