Raise Your Voices! National Student Banner Contest is a cross-Canada public art contest for students in Grades 5 through 8 (Elementary 5 through Secondary 2 in Quebec). The National Capital Commission invites young Canadians to speak out — through their art — about what matters to them. As a classroom activity, students create a one-of-a-kind banner design that represents an issue or topic of importance to Canadian youth. Seven winning banners are chosen from the entries, professionally produced and flown only a few steps from Parliament Hill in Major’s Hill Park from spring until fall.

This partnership with Classroom Connections will be the fourth edition of Raise Your Voices! The response to the competition in the past years has been tremendous and more than 6,000 students from across the country have already participated.

We are pleased to announce that this year, the artists who create the top three banners, along with their classmates, will meet with the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, via videoconference, to discuss their banner and how they can participate in building smarter and more caring communities, as well as to share their hopes for the future. For more information about the role of the Governor General, please visit www.gg.ca/eduzone .

This year’s contest was launched on October 1, 2012, and the deadline for submitting entries is February 15, 2013.