Vote of the Century

There has been an incredibly contentious election in the news cycle, one of the most divisive and shocking in New Zealand’s short history. It involved underhand tactics from foreign actors to influence the outcome and cause a historic upset in our beloved, arguably most discussed, election. Of course, I’m talking about <a href="https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Forest and Bird</a>’s (a non-profit conservation organisation) ‘Bird of the Year’, or in 2023 its ‘Bird of the Century’ competition. Forest and Bird have been running this competition since 2005, and it is prevalent among Kiwis (the people, not the Bird) and, frankly, more engaging than our most recent government elections. The competition raises awareness for New Zealand’s native bird population, many of whom are engaged or are on a severe population decline. It creates a buzz about this under-discussed topic. It generates charity donations toward protecting our native birds, such as the <a href="https://www.metalbird.co.nz/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">metal bird</a> sculpture created for the winning Bird. <a href="https://medium.com/@mac-kay/vote-of-the-century-e945e2b64316">Website</a>