Vote Out Loud

The cause in its own words:
Vote Out Loud - Vote Haut et Fort ("VOL") has been established to address the problem of youth voter apathy in Canada through the medium of music. VOL's mandate is to educate young people about the Canadian democratic process, to encourage discussion and to increase youth voter turn out in Canada. With your help, we believe we can achieve these goals.

VOL is a federally incorporated non-profit organization and we are currently building a comprehensive website to provide information on elections, politics and current affairs, to answer questions and to allow for interactive discussion between visitors. In addition to these online resources, VOL will target young people through advertising and promotional campaigns at schools and universities, and by soliciting the endorsement of Canadian musicians and holding promotional concerts. Rock The Vote, an American organization with a similar purpose, has held such concerts in order to attract and educate young people.

Get Your Vote On

The cause in its own words:
Why Get Your Vote On? Because the world is run by those who 'show up, and young people aren't showing up at the polling both. We have been surveying young people throughout BC. We have found the most important issues for youth are: tuition fees, education, health care, the environment, social services and democracy. If we care about issues we need to be willing to act on our beliefs. There's many ways to express your values - and we believe a crucially important one is to vote.

Get Your Vote On is a non-partisan project that:

• Researchs the issue's important to youth
• Helps young voters get their issues on the electoral agenda
• Helps youth understand where candidates and parties stand on youth issues
• Registers youth to vote
• Mobilizes youth to vote
• Has a lot of fun in the process

Today's decisions shape tomorrows reality - so get your vote on...

Make Poverty History

Wide Mouth Mason's official statement:

"According to the World Bank, 20%--1.2 billion people--of the world's population exists on less than $1 per day. More than 3 billion people exist on less than $3 per day. According to World Vision, 25,000 people die of hunger every day, and the United Nations reports that 90% of starvation deaths happen where food is plentiful but people simply cannot afford to buy it. War, disaster, and famine account for only 10% of starvation deaths. The real problem is poverty.

As the gap between rich and poor grows wider, how will the prosperous few respond? It is the responsibility of the so-called developed world to acknowledge the sources of our wealth. The majority of the world's population struggles with unimaginable poverty because the rest of the world holds a surplus of wealth well beyond any reasonable ideas of future security. This surplus is created on the backs of the poor, as a result of colonization, globalization, and capitalization. The welfare of the victims of the 'politics of greed' must be taken into account.

Let us begin to take the steps necessary to make our world one of equality. Let us stand up and show our fellow human beings that material wealth is not the overriding principal guiding our civilization. Let us begin to reverse the cycle of poverty which has threatened to define our global society, and worse still, rendered so many hopeless and destitute. We must put humanity before money and make poverty history."

Make Poverty History is a unique worldwide effort to end extreme poverty - for good. The symbol of the campaign is a white band which indicates that the wearer is part of the campaign to accomplish an goal that can be summarised in 14 simple words: More and Better Aid. Trade Justice. Cancel the Debt. End Child Poverty in Canada. Visit the site to add your name to individuals, organisations, and Canadian celebrity endorsers who are all in support of making poverty history.