Vakan: Icelanders Encouraging The Youth Vote In A Novel Way

Parliamentary elections will be held in Iceland this Saturday, and one group is encouraging young people to take a selfie at the polls.

The group in question, Vakan, has organised a concert to be held at 20:00 at Valsheimilið on election day. The concert includes a stellar line-up, and is free. Participants are also encouraged to use the tag #vakan and to share their pics widely.

The purpose of this event, as outlined in the group’s mission statement, is to encourage more Icelanders aged 18 to 30 to vote, as voter participation in this age bracket is usually lower than other brackets. They emphasise that they are not connected to any political party or movement; they simply want to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process.

It should also be mentioned that, according to Icelandic law, it is illegal to take photos inside the voting place, within the voting booth, or of your ballot. So if you do participate, please confine your selfies to the entrance of your appropriate voting place.

The full line-up for Vakan’s concert includes the following acts:

Reykjavíkurdætur​ – Emmsjé Gauti​ – Hildur​ – Páll Óskar (a.k.a. Paul Oscar)​ – Sturla Atlas​ – Sylvia Erla​ – Aron Can​ – Góði Úlfurinn​ – Floni​ – GDRN​ – Úlfur Úlfur​ – FM Belfast​ – Cell7​ – Birnir​ – DJ YAMAHO​ – Joey Christ​ – Unnsteinn​ – GusGus​ – Snorri Ástráðsson​.

Join the Facebook event here.