Shadow elections in Hafnarfjörður
The project „Shadow Elections in Hafnarfjörður“ by the Hafnarfjörður Youth Council was one of the projects to receive a grant from the Icelandic Equality Fund. The project is about engaging young people in democracy.
The presentation of grants from the Icelandic Equality Fund took place at a ceremony in Iðnó on 19 June. Almost 100 million krónur were available for allocation, and grants were awarded to projects and research aimed at promoting gender equality. Eygló Harðardóttir, Minister for Social Affairs and Housing, presented the grants. The project by the Hafnarfjörður Youth Council, „Shadow Elections in Hafnarfjörður“, was one of the projects to receive a grant on this occasion.
The Youth Council project aims to engage young people in democracy by holding so-called “shadow elections' in secondary schools in the City of Hafnarfjörður (possibly also in the junior secondary sections of primary schools). The model for such mock elections is based on a system the Norwegians have been using since 1989 specifically to engage and spark the interest of secondary school students in democracy. Youth wings of political parties, for example, visit schools to introduce pupils to the democratic process and elections. It was María Birna Jónsdóttir of the Hafnarfjörður Youth Council who accepted a 500,000 króna grant from the Minister for Social Affairs and Housing.
42 applicants received a grant
A total of 114 applications for grants for a variety of projects were received, with the total amount requested being 570 million króna. This time, 42 applicants were awarded grants. In accordance with the rules, the board of the fund places an emphasis on providing funding for projects that, among other things, aim to promote equality in the labour market, highlight the social and economic benefits of equality, combat gender-based violence, fall under development projects in the school system, encourage young people to increase their social participation and political activity, and shed light on the status of the sexes, both in the present and the past. This is the first time grants have been awarded from the Equality Fund of Iceland, which was established last year by a resolution of the Althingi no. 13/144, to mark the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in Iceland.