Empowering youth

I’ve long been an advocate of empowering youth in the democratic process—going way back when I actually was a youth. So I’m glad to see an effort here in NZ to do just that.

A multi-pronged effort called #RockEnrol is launching with three objectives: Enrol young voters, inform them of issues affecting them and then get them voting. These are all important.

Statistically, young voters are among the least likely to register or vote, but when they do, they tend to vote progressive (which is good for the issues I care about). Of course, if they don’t then people with grey hair (like me!) get to make decisions for them. That’s not ideal, to say the least.

I first heard about them when Russell Brown Tweeted a link to a statement from them and I followed that. As I often do. In fact, I find a lot of stuff the mainstream media never covers, this is only one such thing.

I think this effort is fantastic, and I really hope it succeeds beyond their wildest dreams. We need fresh think and fresh ideas in politics and government. While people like me, and even older, need to be heard, we shouldn’t be dominating the conversation. Efforts like this may yet put us oldies in a role appropriate for our share of the population. With a little luck, anyway.