Kids Voting - Making It Real
Poti Tamariki - Kia Tika Ra
Did you know that over 15,000 school students will cast their vote for the Parliamentary elections this year?
Kids Voting is an exciting new initiative to raise awareness among young people about New Zealand’s electoral processes. It gives Year Nine students the opportunity to participate in an authentic voting experience. Students vote for real candidates, on a real ballot paper, and compare the results from the Kids election with the results of the real election.
In New Zealand, as in most developed democracies, voter turnout is falling and levels of political engagement are low among young people. Building first-hand experience of active participation by young people will increase their personal understanding, belief and confidence in electoral participation. Kids Voting aims to engage the voters of the future.
In October 2007, 83 schools and over 8,000 students took part in Kids Voting for the local government elections. 43 city and district councils actively supported the initiative. Held nationally for the first time, Kids Voting was an opportunity for the voters and leaders of the future to understand the voting process. Feedback from students who took part in the programme indicates it was successful not only in demystifying the electoral process, but also in emphasising the importance of voting to make their voices heard. A summary of the evaluation for 2007 is enclosed for your information.
Kids Voting is happening again in 2008 in conjunction with the Parliamentary elections. We already have over 15,000 students in over 100 schools registered to take part, so we expect Kids Voting to be even bigger and better in its second year.
You can find out more about the Kids Voting programme at www.kidsvoting.org.nz
The Kids Voting Team
Kids Voting is part of the “Growing Active Citizens project”, coordinated by Local Government New Zealand with support from a range of central and local government partners. The project aims to increase active participation in decision-making locally, regionally and nationally by developing a range of resources to support citizenship education for young people in schools.