The fundamental choice we all face on election day is between competing visions of Aotearoa. But to understand why this is the case, students need to understand the central role of political parties in our electoral and political system.
The Waha Election Special explores this story in lessons. Each lesson explores a key idea:
· The relationship between personal values and political parties
· The relationship between voter turnout and political representation
· How the party vote translates values into political power on election day.
The Waha Election Special connects these ideas to the underlying theme of Waha – youth voice. Young people make up the second largest group of eligible voters – yet have significantly lower enrolment rates. These sessions invite students to imagine the political force young people could be if their enrolment rates increased.
The Election Special is a collaboration between Waha and our awesome friends at GENERATION VOTE, a rangatahi-led organisation who've been sharing civics knowledge to young people since 2018.
The Waha Election Special contains the following three sessions:
SESSION 1: Where Do You Stand?
Students explore how their own values, beliefs and ideas influence the decisions they make, and discover that political parties are simply groups of people with similar values who’ve chosen to work together to make the Aotearoa they want.
SESSION 2: Participation is Power
Students discover how party values and ideologies only get into Parliament if their supporters turn out to vote. Using a tug-of-war metaphor, students learn the impact of stepping up, and the danger of letting go.
SESSION 3: Take Your Seat
Students learn how the party vote determines the overall make up of Parliament, and how political parties may need to work together to form a government.
We hope it's valuable for your space and welcome any feedback.