Empowering Toronto's Youth: Engage's 'Turn Out The Vote' Event Inspires Civic Engagement and Policy Change
In this conversation, we examine the goals and programs of Engage, a nonprofit group devoted to policy advocacy, instruction, and the development of young people's talents. The emphasis is on "Turn Out The Vote," a forthcoming youth mayoral election activity designed to boost youth voter turnout and give young people more power to influence policy reform. We look at the event's goals, activities, approaches to overcoming obstacles, intended results, and the significance of youth participation in the election. The conversation ends with a strong call to action for Toronto's youth to participate in the event and exercise their right to vote, highlighting the transformative possibilities of their involvement in determining the future of the city.
Details for the June 17th event
“Wherever youth land on the political spectrum, the best step we can take is to understand how a candidate’s policies align with our own vision of Toronto.””
Q: Can you please tell us about Engage and its mission
A: Engage is a nonprofit organization whose mission centers around 3 pillars:
Policy advocacy
Policy education
Youth skills building
We exist to make difficult policy issues easy to understand and teach youth the skills to make progressive policies a reality.
Q: You’re hosting a youth mayoral election event “Turn Out The Vote”, What is the purpose of this event?
A: The purpose of this event is to show youth how the mayoral election (and political participation generally) functions as an entry point into achieving life-changing policy reform
Q: How does the organization hope to achieve its goal of raising youth voter turnout for the Toronto mayoral election?
A: Deciding who to vote for is hard enough without having to select among 102 candidates. By deconstructing campaign promises and explaining their impact to youth, we make it easier for young people to form their own opinions, reducing the cognitive barriers that stand in the way of voting.
Q: What specific activities or initiatives are planned for the event to engage and motivate young voters?
A: Attendees can look forward to taking part in four interactive activities:
Engage with peers to unpack insights from campaign platforms
Participate in the ideation of an ideal Toronto with attendees
Produce an open letter to mayoral candidates, sharing insights from ideal Toronto
Create opportunities for youth to network with community leaders
Q: Are there any targeted strategies in place to address any barriers or challenges that young voters might face in registering or casting their votes?
A: At our event, we will discuss grassroots solutions to certain systemic challenges that stand in the way of electoral participation. To accommodate participants and ensure they can go out to cast their votes, we’ll be providing free TTC tickets to our event and to a polling station.
Q: What are the desired results of this event? What would the organization consider a successful outcome in terms of increased youth voter participation?
A: We will have hosted a successful event if attendees emerge with a confident and independent electoral choice and commit to vote. To hold youth accountable, we will encourage them to sign YouCanVote’s pledge.
Q: Why is it important for youth to get involved in this election?
A: Looking at the data from a non-partisan perspective, if current poll results hold until June 26, this election stands to produce a progressive mayor not seen in Toronto in over a decade. Voting in this election can make such a radical change a reality in our city.
Q: What message would you like to convey to the youth in Toronto to encourage them to attend this event and exercise their right to vote in the mayoral election?
A: This election has really strong candidates on the right and the left. Wherever youth land on the political spectrum, the best step we can take is to understand how a candidate's policies align with our own vision of Toronto. We organized this event to make it easier for youth to visualize how their votes can transform Toronto's policy landscape at a practical level, making it easier to vote their conscience.
We hope that all who are able attend engage’s event on June 17th. Turn out the vote!
