Engaging young Vancouver voters through comedy and new media

Local artists recently teamed up for a collaborative project to show their support for Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vision Vancouver with the launch of We Back the Juice Man.

I caught up with Cameron Dales and Peter Hadfield, the witty whipper snappers behind this collaborative project.

Why did they create "We Back the Juice Man"?

"Young people don't really watch the news or read news papers," said Cameron Dales. "The media we are consuming is online (Facebook newsfeeds, twitter, etc.) We are accessing news and information through our social circles."

"With all the information out there, younger people are paying attention to what their friends are doing and what's funny," said Peter Hadfield, explaining about youth media consumption. "You can't make them care with simply talking about an issue. Comedy is powerful and engaging."

For Cameron, Peter and their team of collaborators, the effort isn't just about supporting Vision. More than that, they want young people to get up, get out and care about voting. "When your friends are doing it and talking about it online, voting becomes normalized and it's not just something that your parents are doing," said Cameron.