The Election Commission of India organized a two-day SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) Consultation Workshop on August 25-26, 2021. The agenda of the workshop was to review State SVEEP Plans & conduct extensive deliberations on the important aspects of SVEEP for a comprehensive strategy for the forthcoming elections.

 

Addressing the participants, Chief Election Commissioner, ShriSushil Chandra, observed that each voter interacts with the election machinery at two critical stages namely enrollment and polling day. He stressed that the field teams should ensure that the enrolment process is seamless and polling experience remains pleasant and hassle free for the voters. He added that it is imperative that we evaluate our strategy & current interventions at regular intervals; identify critical gaps and address the challenges to devise deliverable action points. He emphasised that implementation of the strategy at the ground level is important. Shri Chandra stressed on the need for a 360 degreeSVEEP - Communication Strategy to ensure that voters have access to all election related information.

ShriSushil Chandra along with Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar unveiled a new initiative to reach out to new voters througha personalized letter from the Commission when sending out their Voter ID Cards. The package would include a Voter Guide for new voters along with a congratulatory letter and a pledge for ethical voting.

 

 

Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar said that the need for communication is selfevident in today’s world. Hehighlighted the role of social media and the new mediums of communication in outreach efforts. Shri Kumar elaborated on the importance of content strategy and distribution channels as part of the holistic communication plan. He said partnering with district level local icons will help strengthen our messaging with our voters.

Election Commissioner ShriAnup Chandra Pandey,while interacting with the teams on the previous day highlighted the importance of synergy between the use of social media &traditional forms of communication in the SVEEP strategy. ShriPandey said that the state teams should further conduct similar workshops and deliberations with District Electoral Officers and their teams in respective states.

 

Secretary General, ShriUmeshSinha during his welcome address said that the consultation workshop would help revisit the fundamentals of SVEEP Programme& take a fresh look at different interventions and approach. He added that SVEEP is a 360-degree communication plan with the objective to reach each and every voter.

The Commission also launched the latest issue of the ‘My Vote Matters- a Quarterly magazine of the Commission; a document on Online Activities for Electoral Literacy Clubs and a song booklet with a compilation of lyrics of motivational SVEEP songs .

The two-day consultation workshop was attended by Chief Electoral Officers and SVEEP Nodal Officersfrom Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. To further enrich the idea & knowledge exchange, Senior officers from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting were also invited for this consultation workshop. The workshop was also attended by Senior DECs, DECs, DGs, CEO Delhi and senior officials from the Election Commission.

As part of the consultation workshop, brainstorming sessions were held on broad themes including Critical Gaps Analysis & Targeted Interventions (Gender, Youth & Service Electors); Persons with Disabilities & Senior Citizens; Mainstreaming of Electoral Literacy & Revitalizing ELCs, ChunavPathshala& Voter Awareness Forums; Utilizing Media & Social Media to amplify SVEEP Outreach; Leveraging Collaborations & Partnerships and Preparation of Booth, AC, District wise SVEEP Plan with special focus on Low Voter Turnout areas.

Based on the inputs of the thematic discussions, CEOs presented their State specific SVEEP Plans for the forthcoming elections.

Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation program is the flagship program of the Election Commission of India for voter education & awareness, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in India.  SVEEP’s primary goal is to build an inclusive & participative democracy by encouraging all eligible citizens to vote and make an informed decision & ethical choice.

 

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