Group to launch campaign to encourage youth participation in electoral process

A small group of Vincentian youth will launch a non-partisan campaign in the coming week with the overall goal of encouraging youth participation in this country’s electoral process.

After some teasing of the campaign on social media platforms, “Voice Yo Choice” will officially be launched on Tuesday, October 6 when coordinators will share detailed information about the initiative.

But Franz George, one of the coordinators told SEARCHLIGHT this week that “it’s the belief of myself and the organisers, as well as the organisations that we are a part of, that youth should be engaged, but they should be engaged in a responsible way in the sense that they get their facts, they be educated on how the process works and that kind of stuff”.

George is the Caribbean and Americas Resgion representative at the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC).

Other coordinators include Nafesha Richardson of SPARK SVG, Demion McTair of OneNews SVG and individuals, Devonte Peters, Utamu Rose, Ronelle King and Shafique Sam.

George noted that conversation about the electoral process and national development only starts around election time, while the conversation should happen all the time.

“…being a responsible citizen doesn’t just end with the electoral process. So, we feel that, after you vote, after you engage with leaders during campaigning, after you look at the manifestos, you still have a responsibility and an opportunity to basically help in development of the entire country afterwards,” George said.

And he is encouraging persons to follow the campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; @voiceyochoice where Tuesday’s campaign will be carried live.

The event is scheduled to begin at 10am.