On our way to the 6th edition of Young Citizens

The Young Citizens program for students aged 10 to 16 focuses on citizenship and is a complementary component to Heritage Fairs, an annual event where students publicly present the results of their research on Canadian heroes, legends, and key events in Canadian history.

Participants selected for the Young Citizens program create a short video about their Heritage Fair topic, much like an evening news report or short documentary film. The videos are posted online, and the public is encouraged to vote for their favourites. The winners will receive a trip to Ottawa to screen their films and participate at the Canada’s History Youth Forum.

Since the creation of the program in 2012, more than 700 student videos have been posted online. The videos have been viewed over 300,000 times and close to 200,000 Canadians have logged a vote for their favourite video.

This year, across Canada, 200 students from all provinces and territories will be selected to participate in Young Citizens. Their videos will be posted online in June 2017 so that Canadians can view their stories and appreciate their hard work. The public — families, teachers, schools, and community members — will be encouraged to view, comment on, and vote for their favourite videos starting on June 12th, 2017. The online vote will close at midnight (Eastern Time) on July 7, 2017.