Subject: CONTESTS & AWARDS

National Democracy Challenge Winners Announcement

GATINEAU, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - March 26, 2015) - The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada Marc Mayrand is pleased to announce the winners of the National Democracy Challenge 2014.

In September 2014, Elections Canada asked students between the ages of 14 and 17 to show us why Canada should vote with a creative and innovative video, image or artwork, or piece of writing.

"Despite not yet being of voting age, Canadian youth demonstrated their interest in their democracy and the electoral system," said Mr. Mayrand. "I congratulate this year's winners - and all of the participants - for their great work and inspiring vision, and for being civically engaged."

                                                                            
Best video     The winner is Cathryn Plaxton, 16, from Mississauga, Ontario.
               She combined storytelling and humour to deliver a personal   
               and effective message. Ms. Plaxton wins a six-day civic      
               education trip to attend the "Politics in Canada" theme week 
               organized by Encounters with Canada in Ottawa in April 2015. 
               The runners up are Marie-Claire Barasubiye, 15, and Elijah   
               Dominic MacDonald, 15, who are both from Ottawa, Ontario.    
                                                                            
Best image or  The winner is Matthew Pieper, 15, from Mississauga, Ontario. 
artwork        He chose to convey his thoughts on democracy through a       
               Bitstrips-type cartoon, which has the added benefit of       
               integrating both visual and textual content. The runners up  
               are Emilia Lilek, 16, from Waterloo, Ontario, and Kelly Liu, 
               18, from Burnaby, British Columbia.                          
                                                                            
Best writing   The winner is Harriet Smith, 14, from Okotoks, Alberta. "We  
               as a country have a chance to set an example to other        
               countries, showing that you do not need a law to make people 
               vote", said Ms. Smith. "Instead, you just need people to care
               about what's happening to their country." The runners up are 
               Amina Mecheri, 16, from Montreal, Quebec, and Natasha        
               Levesque-Wong, 15, from Mississauga, Ontario.                
                                                                            
School         The winning school is Laurier MacDonald High School, in St-  
Challenge      Leonard, Quebec, with 37 eligible entries, the highest number
winner         of entries received by any one school. The school won a      
               bursary for one student to travel to Ottawa to attend Forum  
               for Young Canadians' week-long civic education program during
               the winter of 2015.                                          

This year's winning entries were selected by a jury of accomplished Canadians: Canada's top political satirist Rick Mercer, Commonwealth Games and Pan-Am Games silver medalist Rosanna Tomiuk, and Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila.

Canadian high school and cegep students from 10 provinces and one territory participated in the National Democracy Challenge 2014. With 282 entries submitted, the initiative was a resounding success again this year.

The National Democracy Challenge is a hands-on learning activity launched every year as part of Canada's Democracy Week, an Elections Canada civic education initiative. Canada's Democracy Week 2015 will take place from September 14 to 21.

Visit http://www.democracy-democratie.ca/content.asp?section=nyc&dir=nyc2014&document=index&lang=e to see all the winning entries and full contest details.

Contact Information:
Elections Canada
Media Relations
1-877-877-9515
www.elections.ca


News published on 26 march 2015 at 09:50 and distributed by: