Cape Breton Students Discuss Democracy

One hundred students decked out in D250: Make Your Mark T-shirts in North Sydney today, April 11th, discussed issues of concern to youth and why many young people don't vote.

The Democracy 250 initiative, supported by VOX:Point of Youth, the Department of Education, the Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board and Elections Nova Scotia, was the second of eight youth meetings to be held across the province.

Democracy 250 co-chair John Hamm said the objective of the sessions is to get more young people involved in their communities and voting.

"Less than 25 per cent of young adults under 25 are turning out to vote at any given time," said Dr. Hamm. "It is a disturbing statistic that we want to bring attention to and hopefully reverse."

Fellow co-chair Russell MacLellan said, "Older Nova Scotians need to better understand the reasons why so many young people, who are otherwise very concerned and vocal about issues of the day, aren't voting."

Participating students also took part in a mock vote, watched a series of ads featuring D250 youth ambassadors, previewed Rant for Democracy, a thought-provoking video on youth-voter turnout, and took part in a question-and-answer session with the Democracy 250 co-chairs.

Videographers were on hand to film the day-long session, which will be included in a mini-documentary on youth and democracy. The documentary, along with a report that summaries the findings of each of the youth town hall sessions, will be shared with Nova Scotia's party leaders in the fall.

Deborah Pellerin, youth program co-ordinator with the Department of Education with responsibility for VOX:Point of Youth, welcomed Democracy 250's efforts to get more youth engaged in their communities and participating in the electoral process.

"By working closely with youth organizations, Democracy 250 is doing more than just giving young people a chance to vent their frustrations, it is giving them an opportunity to hopefully change things for the better," said Ms. Pellerin.

Democracy 250, is a year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of parliamentary democracy in Canada.

For more information, visit the Democracy 250 website at www.Democracy250.ca