CFN – Democracy means that citizens are able to voice their opinions and to make sure they are listened to…That’s Yukon artist, writer and designer Amber Church. She’s one of many young Canadians that were interviewed for Canada’s Democracy Week, a new Elections Canada civic education initiative. Canada’s Democracy Week (September 12-16, 2011) was inspired by the United Nations International Day of Democracy held every year on September 15.
As part of Canada’s Democracy Week, the agency has launched “The Art of Democracy” National Youth Challenge encouraging young Canadians to celebrate and learn about democracy. The Challenge invites youth aged 14–30 to submit an image, video, blog post or Tweet in response to the question “What does your democracy mean to you?”
The submission deadline is November 30, 2011. The prizes include a Nikon D3000 camera, PlayStation 3, an iPad 2 and an iPod Touch.Voter turnout has been declining in Canada and established democracies around the world, and one of the reasons is a continued downward trend in turnout rates among young electors. Canada’s Democracy Week is a civic education initiative which aims to raise awareness among young people of the importance of democracy and their role as citizens.
For more information on “The Art of Democracy” National Youth Challenge, visit democracy-democratie.ca.
