Student Activity Activate

Activate

In a healthy democracy, citizens can have a say on matters that are important to them. Voting in an election is one way of doing this but you don’t need to wait until you can vote to participate in civic life. You can start making changes in your community right now!

Get Active

It’s easy to feel like your voice isn’t heard when you’re not yet allowed to vote, but it’s not necessary to feel this way. There are lots of ways you can speak up, and ensure that people listen to what you want to say. Some ways of engaging in our democracy may seem a bit confronting to you, but don’t worry, there are many different ways that you can speak up or be heard about the issues that you’re passionate about. It’s all about deciding which methods work best - for both you and the issue you’re passionate about. These activities will provide you with some examples of activism, help you plan and prepare, and give you some tools to get your message out there.

What activism looks like

In a healthy democracy, citizens can have a say on matters that are important to them. Voting in an election is one way of doing this but you don’t need to wait until you vote in order to participate. You can start making the change in the life of your community right now.

Planning for action

It’s important that you have a plan for the action that you want to take. This plan should include your ultimate goal, any resources you’ll need to source, and the steps you’ll take to make your plan happen. If you’re working in a group, creating a plan also means you can allocate roles and responsibilities, ensuring that everyone contributes.

Event preparation

As part of your campaign you may want to organise a public event. Or perhaps use a public space in order to hold an event. When deciding to hold an event, think about what else you can do and why an event is the best action to take. An event can be anything, from organising a school concert which raises an awareness of your issue, holding a debate, inviting experts to discuss an issue or organising community awareness about an issue. As part of your campaign, you may want to organise a public event. When holding an event, it’s important to consider the purpose of the event and what you’re hoping to achieve from this event. An event could be something large scale like organising a concert which raises awareness, or holding a debate or panel to increase understanding and knowledge about the issue. Be sure to check what is legally required for your event to take place.

Spread the word

Using simple, striking posters and other visuals can be highly effective in getting your message across. When you create your poster ensure that you think about the “call to action”: what do you want the viewer to do after seeing your poster? Here are some examples which combine a simple image and text to bring a message across