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What's Being Done On . . . Political and Civic Participation of Youth?
Groups and projects in this section encourage youth participation in elections, educate youth on elections, electoral systems, and the importance of voting, as well as study the factors that influence youth's voting behavior. Campaign for Young Voters - USA www.campaignyoungvoters.org Contact: Richard Russo at rrusso@excelgov.org The Campaign for Young Voters (CYV), a project of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the Council for Excellence in Government, works with candidates for political office to reach out and engage young voters. Drawing on extensive research on young adults' views of politics, elections and government, CYV has developed a set of practical tools and winning techniques for candidates of all parties to engage young adults and get them to vote and participate in the electoral process. Centre for Research and Teaching in Civics, University of Sydney--Australia Contact: m.print@edfac.usyd.edu.au The Centre for Research and Teaching of Civics at the University of Sydney, Australia, is currently working on a major national project investigating youth participation in democracy through voting. The project is investigating why and when young people (17-24 years) enroll to vote as well as when and why they commence voting. Set within the broader study of youth participation in democracy and the factors that account for levels of youth engagement, this project investigates why young people do and do not participate in democracy, how they do so, and what importance they place on voting as part of democratic engagement. The study also looks at young people in school and non-school contexts as well as post-schooling educational contexts. Another dimension of the study is a comparison of the youth "dot.net" group as a new generation compared with Generation X, the baby-boomers, and older generations. "I Vote for the First Time," Gong- Croatia www.gong.hr/eng/ Educating citizens about election processes is one of the main goals of the Croatian civic education group Gong. Gong has developed a project that would help high school seniors who gain their voting rights as they turn 18, to get involved in political and democratic processes in their country. In order to educate students on their basic voting rights and the importance of getting involved and being active in democratic efforts, Gong has designed an interactive workshop dealing with issues such as democracy, political systems, rights and duties of citizens, as well as election laws and procedures. Since its inception four years ago, the project has been carried out all around the country with 58,000 students taking part in the workshops. Out of 365 high schools in Croatia 255 (70 %) have joined the project. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung - South Africa Office www.kas.de/proj/home/home/32/2/ On March 26, 2004, the South Africa office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung held a seminar titled "Election 2004: Focus on the Importance of Youth Participation." The main aim of the seminar was to encourage youth to participate in the South African national elections on April 14, 2004. The first panel comprised of representatives of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) and the National Youth Commission (NYC).The second panel comprised of representatives of political parties, including the Youth Leagues of Democratic Alliance (DA), New National Party (NNP), Independent Democrats (ID), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and Freedom Front (FF). Participants discussed a variety of issues, such as civic participation and its values. What emerged from the discussion was that there was youth apathy, but young leaders had mechanisms to encourage their peers to engage actively in political participation. It was also highlighted that HIV/AIDS is one of the political/social issues that concerns young South Africans the most and has mobilized them to organize and engage in various support and advocacy activities for the victims. The National Youth Movement for Transparent Elections - Liberia Contact: activist@myway.com The National Youth Movement for Transparent Elections (NAYMOTE), a group young Liberian university graduates, students, and professionals, seeks to contribute to building peace and democracy in Liberia through civic education encouraging more civic and political participation of youth; voter education for upcoming 2005 elections; training sessions for youth to enable them to educate more voters; advocacy for constitutional and electoral reform; and networking with other pro-democracy and human rights groups. The Movement also provides a forum for discussions on many national policy issues related to governance, and the role of youth and students in Liberia's democratization process. Palestinian Center for Peace and Democracy - Palestine www.arts.mcgill.ca/MEPP/ngoproject/pcpd.html Palestinian Center for Peace and Democracy (PCPD) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting the concepts of peace, democracy, social justice, human rights, and civic education in Palestine. PCPD conducts a serious of workshops throughout the West Bank for Palestinian youth between the ages of 18-24, educating them on the importance of youth participation in democratic processes. Workshop participants are selected from youth organizations and political parties, as well as from previous PCPD activities with an emphasis on gender balance. At the workshops, participants engage in discussions on the role of youth reform processes; debate over reforms of the election law; and discuss the principles of separation of powers, transparency and accountability. Participants also asses the third draft of the Palestinian constitution. As a follow-up to the training sessions, and to help keep participants engaged in the topics, participants from each workshop elect five people who comprise a follow-up committee that is tasked with developing activities to address the recommendations of the workshops. The recommended activities include additional meetings, campaigns and advocacy initiatives on pending legislation. Rock the Vote -USA www.rockthevote.com/index.php Rock the Vote, a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in the United States, is dedicated to protecting the freedom of expression and empowering young people to change their world. Rock the Vote engages youth in the political process by incorporating the entertainment community and youth culture into its activities. From actors to musicians, comedians to athletes, Rock the Vote harnesses cutting edge trends and pop culture to make political participation attractive to youth. Rock the Vote mobilizes young people to create positive social and political change in their lives and communities. Young people who have desire to promote youth participation in political process may join Rock the Vote "Street Teams" and engage in such activities as registering voters at concerts, various youth events, and online; and organizing online and street campaigns that educate youth on their role in elections. The goal of Rock the Vote's media campaigns and street team activities is to increase the youth voter turnout. Rock the Vote coordinates voter registration drives, get-out-the-vote events, and voter education efforts, all with the intention of ensuring that young people take advantage of their right to vote. Ukrainian Youth Association of Ukraine- Ukraine www.cym.org/ua/ The Ukrainian Youth Association of Ukraine, a nonpartisan organization founded in 1996, aims to develop hardworking, honest, and intellectually mature citizens. In preparation for the October 2004 presidential election, The Ukrainian Youth Association of Ukraine is focusing on mobilizing youth, particularly in small towns and rural areas, to vote in the elections and to take an active role in the political life of the country. The Association has selected five small towns of Ukraine to carry out two-day training focusing on the basic issues of the Ukrainian electoral system. The training prepares young people, especially young activists with little prior experience in NGO and political work to serve as election observers, members of local electoral commissions, or exit poll workers. The trainees are expected to explain to the groups of their peers why it is important for young people to take part in the elections and ensure that they are held in a democratic way; and to submit articles to the local mass media focusing on issues important to young people. After the elections are over, same participants will take part in another training session in the legal and management procedures for creating and managing community, youth, charitable, and professional organizations. Seminar participants will be encouraged to create their own organizations or to found branches of the Association in their towns. Young Rukh - Ukraine www.mr.org.ua/Sait_MonruENG/about_as.html Young Rukh, formerly the youth wing of the Rukh political party, was officially registered as an independent, non-partisan public organization in July of 1999. Its aim is to support the development of active Ukrainian youth, to promote open civil society in Ukraine, and to encourage Ukraine's economic, political and cultural integration into Europe. In anticipation of the October 2004 presidential elections, Young Rukh has initiated a nationwide campaign to mobilize and educate young voters with a special focus on the role of Universities, and University administrators in elections. University rectors, who are often rewarded with increased budgets when students vote in for the government-backed candidates, often require students to attend rallies in support of (and even vote for) particular candidates. In order to combat this abuse of young people's rights, Young Rukh works closely with other student organizations to encourage students to turn out and vote in a responsible manner. Young Rukh trains teams of observers from universities throughout Ukraine, and encourages university rectors to sign a memorandum in which they promise not to interfere with students' voting. Young Rukh's newspaper Molodoy Chas, is used to publicize the results of monitoring. About "What's Being Done On . . . " For three months at a time, we highlight the activities of various organizations in different global regions, and links to important resources, that are focused on a particular theme or area of democracy work. Each new theme is announced via DemocracyNews, and the information from the previous installment is placed in the archives below. We hope to receive and post information about the work you or others may be doing that is focused on these issues. Send information via e-mail to the or by fax to (202) 378-9889. |
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