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Voice on the Coast is hosting ‘Your VOICE, your VOTE!’ at Roberts Creek Hall on Saturday, October 18 from 7 to 9 pm. The forum is focussed on engaging the younger generations on the Sunshine Coast to speak out about the issues affecting them and to get out and vote.
Lyndsay Poaps, who was one of the youngest Canadians elected to public office when she won a seat on the Vancouver Parks Board, will speak about her research on youth voter trends. She will also discuss the importance of youth participation in elections and ways to get younger voters involved.
“Voice is organizing this event because we think it’s important for the candidates running in this election to hear from younger people about the challenges they face but also about their ideas for making this a morevibrant and attractive place to live” said Voice Board member, Rita Koutsodimos. Voting is important but beyond ballotcasting, a healthy democracy includes ongoing discussion about our community and ideally this should include voices of all ages and from a variety of backgrounds.
This is going to be a lively political pub night but VOICE is also telling people that they can leave the soap-box at home. Koutsodimos says, “VOICE has set up the event so it’s more of a collaborative dialogue instead of a confrontational debate because we want to turn people on to democracy, instead of turning them away.”
Candidates running for local government are encouraged to attend and be open to hearing from young adults and people raising families. Ultimately, VOICE hopes that some of the discussion will help inform their platforms and influence the actions of elected officials after the election.
For more information, people can find it at https:// www.facebook.com/voicesunshinecoast or connect with Voice Board Member, Rita Koutsodimos at 604- 989-4546 or ritakouts@ gmail.com
