Voice on the Coast, a group dedicated to attracting, retaining and engaging young adults, is hosting Your Voice, Your Vote, an election forum meant to engage young voters and encourage them to speak out about issues of importance.
The event is planned for Oct. 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Roberts Creek Hall and will feature speaker Lyndsay Poaps, one of the youngest Canadians ever elected to public office. She will talk about her research on voter trends for young adults, the importance of participation in elections and ways to get more young people involved.
After the talk attendees will be invited to visit different tables to discuss their views on themes such as environment and sustainability, economy and affordability, social issues and youth engagement.
Each table will be facilitated by a Voice on the Coast member or volunteer who will compile the feedback, and ultimately a list of questions will be formed as a result of the round table discussions.
Those questions will be sent out to candidates, said Rita Koutsodimos, Voice on the Coast member and organizer of the event.
The answers will be posted to the Voice on the Coast Facebook page, she said.
“So the dialogue is sort of twofold, to inform municipal politicians on some of the issues that the Voice generation thinks are important, and then it’s also going to be used as a tool to check back and see where do the different candidates fall on these issues,” Koutsodimos said.
She’s encouraging candidates to come to the meeting to listen and get a feel for where young voters are coming from; however, there won’t be an opportunity for a question and answer session with those running for office.
Voice on the Coast members felt the regular all-candidates meeting format was too confrontational at times, which Koutsodimos noted can “push people away from politics.”
“We really wanted to provide a more collaborative kind of format,” she said. “We’re not going to be having people get up on soapboxes.”
Koutsodimos hopes a good cross section of voters come to the event and that the event’s style will encourage some to show up who have never voted before.
“We want people to know that their voice matters,” she added.
