The cold, grey morning did little to curb the enthusiasm of nearly 200 youth attending Queen's Park on Nov. 27.

Local Democracy Week (LDW) made its way to Toronto this year. Put together by DiverseCity Fellows, a year-long learning-by-doing leadership program to develop potential leaders for Toronto, the event aimed to encourage youth to become more involved with local politics which in turn will empower themselves and their communities.  

According to Shauna Rhodes, youth programming manager of Free the Children, 15 schools from the GTA participated in LDW.

Craig Kielburger, Founder of Free the Children, talked to the massive audience without the aid of a microphone, asking, "Who's going to change the world?" Youth answered with a resounding "we are."

Kielburger explains that youth can influence massive social change and encourages them to participate in politics.

"We need more young people to get involved with the political process," said Kielburger. "... Decisions are made by people who show up, and we need more young people to show up."

Project One Dance Crew also did its part to get the students' attention and inspire them to action by dancing on the steps at Queen's Park. 

"You not being active in the community can lead to a lot of downfall. You might be that one person that actually helps change the world," said Joshua Viloria, a member of the dance crew.

A more sombre message came from Michel Chikwanine, a former child soldier that recounted his harrowing tale in the Republic of Congo.   

"I think it's important for young people to recognize the privilege that it is to have our voices heard," Chikwanine said. "In other countries... when you raised your voice, somebody killed you. In Canada, we have the privilege, the freedom and the right to speak freely without the fear of getting hurt, of being killed. We have to take advantage of that, because a lot people don't have that opportunity."

 

After the speeches, youth went on a tour of the Queen's Park building before getting ready for political speed dating. Divided into smaller groups, students were given the chance to speak with several MPPs and ask them questions without limitations.

"[Youth] are the whole administrator of our tomorrow, so it's important for them to learn when they're young," explained Michael Chan, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

Georgia Scudder, a grade 10 student from Humberside C.I., left with a new perspective on voting.

"Everybody's vote counts," Scudder said. "It's not really easy to get your say unless you're really involved. Voting's the easy way."

Louroz Mercader, program co-ordinator for Youth Can Move the World and the leader for Toronto's LDW, was proud of the results of the event. 

"To see the politicians and young people interact with each other, I thought it was very powerful," Mercader said.


Words by. Navreet Dhillon + Photos by. Jenna Muirhead-Warren courtesy of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario