Youth Meeting Scheduled for Port Hawkesbury

More than 100 students from the Strait Regional School Board will gather today, May 8, at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre to attend the sixth of eight D250 youth meetings being held across Nova Scotia.

The youth meetings are a Democracy 250 initiative supported by VOX:Point of Youth, the Department of Education, the Strait Regional School Board and Elections Nova Scotia.

The students will participate in a mock election and discuss issues that are of concern to youth. The students will also watch a series of ads featuring D250 Youth Ambassadors, a Rant for Democracy, a thought-provoking video on youth voter turnout, and take part in a question and answer session with Democracy 250 co-chairs John Hamm and Russell MacLellan.

Dr. 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. It is a disturbing statistic that we want to bring attention to and hopefully reverse," said Dr. Hamm.

"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," said fellow co-chair Russell MacLellan.

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 web site at www.democracy250.ca.