The Active Citizenship/Voter Education Programme that is used by the VPSJ was adapted with permission from NETWORK Washington, who had their own American Voter Education Programme. The programme which was amended to meet the needs of Irish voters, is strictly non-party political, and has been very successful in encouraging people to register to vote and have their say in the democratic process. The programme which is 15 per cent presentation and 85 per cent participation is divided into three units. The first unit deals ‘Our Voices, Our Vote’, whilst the second unit covers ‘Issues’ and the third looks at ‘Candidates’.
Since it began in 1997 over 600 community groups have taken part in this Active Citizenship/Voter Education Programme and a National Active Citizenship Network (NACN) has been established with representatives in all counties in Ireland. The members of this network are the community leaders/adult educators who have trained as trainers for the workshop. The success of the programme and the positive contribution it has made to the democratic process in Ireland is evident by the almost 5 per cent increase in voter turnout in our most recent General Election in 2007.
As a result of the success of the Active Citizenship/Voter Education programme in Ireland and also following numerous requests for follow-up material in Post Election periods, it was decided that the VPSJ would put together a pilot workshop entitled ‘After the Elections’ to encourage people to continue to use their voice to bring about social and economic change. The success of the pilot programme highlighted the need to promote the idea that Active Citizenship does not begin and end at election time and that the performance of elected representatives must be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
The success of the pilot programme has led to the roll-out of ‘After the Elections’ workshops throughout the country, acting as a complimentary addition to the original Active Citizenship/Voter Education programme. This new programme is very beneficial in that it promotes the idea that politics and politicians should remain visible and accessible at all times. It builds on the work done in the original programme and introduces the 3Ps – Prepare Present and Persist. It ultimately equips participants with the tools to lobby politicians to bring about change and reinforces the point that it is the people’s voice and the people’s vote that can be the real catalyst for change.
This article was published in Politeia Newsletter 48 - February 2008