No need to be 18 to vote!

Once again, thanks to the Elections Canada Voters in Training Program, and with the collaboration of Forum jeunesse Laval, young people under 18 will be able to follow the campaign and participate in mock elections in their school, youth center or youth group, and it's all free of charge from Elections Canada.

"Voters in Training and Forum jeunesse Laval encourage schools and youth organizations of our region to register online as of today at www.votersintraining.com" says spokesperson Mélissa Giroux, of Forum jeunesses Laval and CRÉ (Conference of Elected Representatives) de Laval.

Participants will receive free of charge the material needed to organize different activities: guide, polling booths, and ballots, among other things, Mrs. Giroux specifies.

Voters in Training, an original non-profit and non-partisan citizenship education program, has allowed over 100,000 future voters to discover democracy and political institutions at all levels of government. First offered in the 2004 federal elections, the project now covers all levels – federal, provincial, municipal and school board. “It's a unique program to get youth interested in current affairs, develop their critical thinking and participate in a public debate” explains Mr. Jimmy Ung, president of Forum jeunesse Laval. Activities offered are many and varied and can give young people excellent opportunities to explore some of the fascinating dimensions of an election campaign during which voters in training will participate in exchanges, read newspapers, meet candidates, write opinion pieces or even conduct a poll. “Our project aims at increasing future electoral and citizenship participation of youth, an essential initiative in the present context of low participation of young adults in elections” concludes Mr. Ung. "We are very pleased with the response from youth groups and schools. Each campaign sees more schools and groups participating," explains Mélissa Giroux adding that the interest from the educational community has been on the increase since 2004. At press time, Laval Junior High School of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board was already on board for the 2008 federal election, with several other schools expected to follow suit as the election approaches. The mock elections in schools and youth centers will be held during the last week of the campaign and results will be announced to media on www.votersintraining.com when the real polls close on October 14, 2008.

Voters in Training, 2008 federal edition, is coordinated by the Forum jeunesse de l’île de Montréal and is carried out by the Centre de développement pour l’exercice de la citoyenneté with the help of all of Quebec’s regional youth forums. These partners work closely with the Student Vote organization that encourages citizenship education throughout Canada. Elections Canada offers the electoral material free of charge.

Voters in Training is funded from the Secrétariat à la jeunesse through the 2006-2009 Youth Action Strategy project. It also counts on the precious collaboration of the Quebec Federation of School Boards, the Quebec English School Boards Association, the Regroupement des maisons de jeunes du Québec and the Table de concertation des forums jeunesse régionaux du Québec.

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