Young Canadians are invited to display the art of democracy.

A national youth challenge encouraging youth to celebrate and learn about democracy has been launched by Elections Canada and the Apathy is Boring charity.

The Art of Democracy challenge asks 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?’

“During the last federal election, social media empowered youth to get engaged in democracy in a way they hadn’t before,” said Ilona Dougherty, Executive Director of Apathy is Boring. “We have an important opportunity through the National Youth Challenge and Canada’s Democracy Week to encourage young people to be active citizens and express creatively what democracy means to them.”

The National Youth Challenge is part of Canada’s Democracy Week, a new Elections Canada civic education initiative that ran from Sept. 12–16. Canada’s Democracy Week supports the United Nations’ International Day of Democracy Sept. 15 and extends the celebration with a week of activities to highlight Canada’s democratic traditions and achievements.

“Through Canada’s Democracy Week, we are reaching out to the next generation of voters, who are critical to strengthening our democracy,” said Chief Electoral Officer of Canada Marc Mayrand.

“Research shows that civic education is linked to increased political knowledge and intention to vote – two important predictors of voter turnout. Canada’s Democracy Week invites young people to learn more about democracy in Canada and around the world.”

Details on the National Youth Challenge and the submission form are available at www.democracy-democratie.ca. The submission deadline is Nov. 30.

As part of its voter education mandate, Elections Canada provides teachers, parents, parliamentarians and organizations with tools to help inform and educate the voters of tomorrow. Visit www.democracy-democratie.ca for more information on Canada’s Democracy Week, including educational resources and a calendar of events.