In my previous post I introduced Canada25, an organization that facilitated the participation of thousands of young Canadians in public policy between 2000-2007. As I wrote in that post, I now see Canada25 as a precursor to what the internet now enables: a much larger articulation of citizens' desire to be involved in their communities and their countries.  Canada25 existed to help organ... [More]

Last week I was invited to speak to a group of public engagement professionals who work for the Canadian government. They were interested in some of the work I've contributed to that's helped facilitate people's involvement in public service and public policy over the years, and what I've learned about the state of citizen engagement in our public life today. Watchers of this space (we hope!) h... [More]

Samara is pleased to host guest blogs from those researching or thinking about politics, journalism, democracy and civic engagement.  Our latest contributor, Zakary Paget, recently earned a graduate degree in communications from Carleton University, where he researched digital media issues and citizen engagement extensively. He currently resides in Toronto and works at Fleishman-Hillard, a ... [More]

Below is the last in a series of profiles of first-time federal voters by Samara volunteer Jse-Che Lam. Next up, Alexandra Ogden from New Westminster, British Columbia. ***   1. Tell us about yourself.   My name is Alexandra Ogden, originally from New Westminster, British Columbia. I study International Studies and Modern Languages at the University Ottawa and am in F... [More]

Below is the third in a series of profiles of first-time federal voters by Samara volunteer Jse-Che Lam. Next up, Michelle McCullough, a recent university grad and supply teacher in York Region. *** 1. Tell us about yourself.   My name is Michelle McCullough. I am a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, and am currently working in the York Region as a supply teacher. ... [More]

Below is the second in a series of profiles of first-time federal voters by Samara volunteer Jse-Che Lam. Next up, Kathryn Liberta from Montreal, who explains why, despite voting in local elections in the past, she might sit this one out. *** 1. Tell us about yourself.   My name is Kathryn Liberta, I am a 22 year-old student at the University of Ottawa in Art History. I was born ... [More]

Below is the first in a series of profiles of first-time voters by Samara volunteer Jse-Che Lam. First up, 19 year old Nicolas Maharaj. ***   1.  Tell us about yourself. My name is Nicholas Maharaj. I am a 19-yr-old student in the city of Toronto. I also a community volunteer who encourages students to report anonymous violence through the Toronto Police Crime Stopp... [More]

With the our federal election less than a week away, like many Canadians, the mind's turns to voting.  A few updates from our corner, in that regard: 1. Liveblogs and voting: Tuesday night, starting at 6pm, we'll be part of a GlobalNews.ca liveblog on youth and voting. Heather Bastedo, the director of our democracy index project, did her PhD in youth political participation, and we're lookin... [More]

We are thrilled to have a dynamite team of academic advisors working with us on the Democracy Index project, and even more happy to share with you the first of a series of election blogs from our team. Lawrence LeDuc is one of the country’s leading scholars on political behaviour and voter turnout, and he will kick off this series with a piece that outlines the effects on lower levels of y... [More]