An ‘Inaugural’ Youth Perspective On The Federal Election

Vibewire Inc. is a non-profit youth media organisation dedicated to providing opportunities for Australian youth to express themselves, communicate with each other and play a more visible role in presenting and defining their ideas, ideals and cultures. They have just launched ‘Electiontracker 2007’:

VIBEWIRE LAUNCHES ELECTIONTRACKER 2007

“Four young journalists have been chosen to join the press pack covering the Federal election as the only youth media representatives on the campaign trail.

During the last two weeks of the election campaign they will follow Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd to report on issues most relevant to young voters, from a youth perspective, and in a style that is accessible to younger voters.

Electiontracker 2007 is the initiative of Vibewire Inc., an independent youth media organisation, and has been made possible by the support and collaboration of the Dusseldorp Skills Forum.

According to electiontracker co-ordinator Tom Dawkins, “Youth voices are usually unheard during election campaigns, and the issues presented are not always relevant to a younger audience. There is little focus on the voters who will truly inherit the decisions made today. This site ensures that not only are young voters well informed on what they will be voting for but that they have an opportunity to put their own viewpoints forward.”

Daily reportage by a team of young contributors’ right around the country will be featured on the website in the form of feature articles, issue blogs, podcasts and vodcasts. They will present a significant youth perspective on the issues, debates and policy of the election. People are encouraged to interact by leaving comments and participating in forums and vox pops.

Whilst on the trail the Trackers will provide unique insights into the ‘behind the scenes’ of politics and will not only publish a daily feature article but also a blog post detailing their personal experiences on the campaign trail. A YouTube channel has been set up to host videos.

The four Trackers, Jacqueline Breen, 19 from Sydney, David Ramli, 21 from Sydney, Matthew Clayfield, 22 from Melbourne and Nick Parkin, 23 from Adelaide, were chosen from almost 100 applicants nationally and are looking forward to their unique opportunity.

As David says “electiontracker is an exciting chance to voice young people’s opinions in an intelligent manner. This election potentially represents the change of an era – the only era we’ve ever experienced – so it’s vital our demographic has a strong voice.”

Contributions are being warmly welcomed and since the site has been live, Jem Anning, the site’s managing editor, has busy answering the emails and phonecalls.

“My inbox has been brimming with enquiries and written contributions. It’s great that we have such new and energetic writers from across Australia. It’s really exciting to be a part of a project that provides a space for such talent to be published.”