Elections Canada and Public Policy Forum propose actions to spark youth voter engagement during Canada's Democracy Week

OTTAWA, Sept. 17, 2012 /CNW/ - Elections Canada and Canada's Public Policy Forum today released Building Youth Civic Engagement through Collaboration: report of the roundtable on youth voter engagement. The report details work on youth voter engagement issues which took place earlier this year among 30 leaders from civil society, the private sector and government, including educators, student leaders, and representatives of youth-serving organizations and the media.

Key policy directions within the report include the need for a more cohesive and multi-sectoral approach to youth voter engagement issues throughout Canada, as well as a special focus on strategies to support education and engagement among an increasingly fragmented youth demographic.

"Engaging young Canadians is key to maintaining a healthy democracy. As leaders, educators or parents, we each have a role to play in fostering civic participation among youth" said Marc Mayrand, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. "Today's report is a good example of the kind of collaboration required to reach out to the next generation of voters."

"One of the most important outcomes of this work," noted Public Policy Forum President and CEO David Mitchell, "is agreement that all sectors of Canadian society need to be active in helping to address issues related to voter engagement. Government cannot act on its own - partnerships across all sectors must be built to ensure enhanced voter participation."

The release of the report coincides with Canada's Democracy Week, an Elections Canada civic education initiative that is running from September 15 to 22 across the country. The week includes a series of events and activities designed to help young Canadians learn about democracy and the importance of voting.

For more information on Democracy Week, please visit democracy-democratie.ca, Twitter at @democracyCA #demcda or facebook.com/canadasdemocracyweek.

To download the youth voter engagement report click here.

Elections Canada is an independent body set up by Parliament. The Public Policy Forum is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of government in Canada.

SOURCE: PUBLIC POLICY FORUM

Ryan Conway
Project Lead
Public Policy Forum
613 238 7858 x 232
[email protected]