Press Release
Belfast Welcomes ‘Rock the Vote’ Leader to special event on a Boat.
Belfast plays host to a visit from Heather Smith – Executive Director of ‘Rock
the Vote’ in the USA. Rock the Vote has been hugely successful in getting
young people to register to vote – more than 5 million of them since its
inception in 1991 – by linking voter registration to popular culture. Global
music artists such as Madonna and Snoop Dogg are prominent supporters of
Rock the Vote.
A special packed out event has been organized for today (6.30 – 8.30 pm) on
‘The Barge’ on Lanyon Quay, Belfast by Belfast based charity Public
Achievement – in collaboration with Youth Action NI and ‘Bite the Ballot’ – a
GB based campaign similar to Rock the Vote. Heather’s visit is sponsored by
the US Consulate, and the venue is sponsored by public affairs company,
Stratagem.
The event will include youth representatives of all the main political parties,
young people from a range of youth projects and a range of interested
individuals. Musicians include Peter Donagh, Chris & Claire, local rapper
Dan Magill, Truth for Me and the Left Backs. All the music has been
organized by Youth Action.
Speaking about the event, Paul Smyth, CEO of Public Achievement said:
“We are delighted to be organizing this event. Through our WIMPS
(Where is My Public Servant?) project we will be launching a campaign
to increase voter registration amongst young people in Northern Ireland
in the run-up to elections in 2014, 2015 and 2016. It is vital that young
people register and participate in politics here – and let politicians know
about the issues that are important to them. The recent vote by the
Assembly in support of votes at 16 is a great milestone – but much
more will need to be done to make sure this becomes legislation at
Westminster.
In Northern Ireland we have some of the most accessible politicians in
Europe – and it is vital that young people engage with their elected
representatives. The more young people register to vote, the more
likely it is that parties will pay attention to the issues that they are
concerned about. This is the toughest period for young people here
since the end of the conflict – and Northern Ireland can only prosper if
it engages and values the contribution of its younger citizens.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
- Public Achievement is Northern Ireland’s leading youth focused
civic education organisation – find out more about our work here
www.publicachievement.com
-
The WIMPS (Where is My Public Servant?) project (one of a number
of Public Achievement Projects) is a youth advocacy project run by
and for young people. We teach young people to make films,
including interviews with politicians and films about important
issues, and young people work as reporters, presenters and
filmmakers.
-
WIMPS has local ‘Crew’ in Belfast (5 groups), Coleraine, Banbridge
and Craigavon and will soon be launching 5 new crew in towns
across Northern Ireland. These young people (teenagers) are taught
to make films, research issues and campaign – and will engage
actively with their local politicians.
-
Youth Action Northern Ireland works with young people to support
them as active and equal citizens whose voices are heard, respected
and valued. They specialize in gender based projects, work with
rural youth and arts based youth work. They work across Northern
Ireland and have their headquarters in College Square North, Belfast.
-
Stratagem is a leading public affairs company – and has been
working closely with the WIMPS project over the past few years.
They are sponsoring today’s event.
-
The US Consulate are hosting Heather Smith’s visit. Heather is the
Executive Director of Rock the Vote – and is spending two days in
Belfast visiting a range of organisations.
For interviews, please contact Paul Smyth – 028 9044 2813 or
07905 823 898 paul@publicachievement.com
For interviews with Heather Smith contact Peter McKittrick (US
Consulate) on 028 9038 6100 or 07770 802 679