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YouthScape Gathering: Change Starts with Youth! When: November 26-29, 2009

Where: Inn at Laurel Point, Victoria, BC  

Proceedings

 

From November 26-29, 2009, 50 individuals gathered in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, to celebrate the achievements of the YouthScape national initiative and engage young people, policy makers, educators, practioners and funders towards a common goal of advancing the YouthScape “community based. youth paced” movement. The Gathering was co-hosted by the International Institute for Child Rights and Development and LifeCycles.

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Features

The Gathering featured:

Discussions about the principles and practices, reflex-ions, and ripples of the YouthScape journey

A Public Forum which created an opportunity for youth, city councilors, practioners, businesses, funders, educators and others to learn about what it means to engage youth in community development. This included participation in parallel learning circles that discussed youth engagement in practice, funding youth initiatives, and stories from youth.

A youth-led presentation linking the five YouthScape communities together through individual community recounts of their triumphs and challenges, as well as, projects and initiatives that engage young people across Canada

An open marketplace for participants to present workshops and discussion topics on the five pillars of YouthScape: youth leadership, learning community, diversity, engaging the unengaged and comprehensive community initiative. Topics linked together the five pillars and asked the important questions: where do we go from here?;how people in our lives have become part of our learning community; youth using leadership skills to create their own projects; and many others.

An Urban Photo Safari where participants explored Victoria’s rich culture and history as well as local hotspots and YouthScape projects

 

The Gathering featured

Discussions about the principles and practices, reflex-ions, and ripples of the YouthScape journey.

A Public Forum which created an opportunity for youth, city councilors, practitioners, businesses, funders, educators and others to learn about what it means to engage youth in community development through parallel learning circles that discussed youth engagement in practice, funding youth initiatives, and stories from youth.

Youth Voice: A youth-led presentation linking the five YouthScape communities together through individual community recounts of their triumphs and challenges, projects and initiatives that engage young people across Canada.

An open marketplace for participants to present workshops and discussion topics on the five pillars of YouthScape: youth leadership, learning community, diversity, engaging the unengaged and comprehensive community initiative. Topics included: linking together the five pillars – where do we go from here; how people in our lives have become part of our learning community; youth using leadership skills to create their own projects; and many others.

An Urban Photo Safari where participants explored Victoria’s rich culture and history as well as local hotspots and YouthScape projects.

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Contents

Features ………………………. 2

Principles and Practices ………………………. 4

Public Forum ………………………. 7

Reflex-ion …………………….. 11

Rippling Out! …………………….. 15

Participant List …………………….. 17

Sponsors …………………….. 18

There is always a unified goal and this goal does not exist in the problems of the project, it exists in the goodwill of the people that are willing to participate in the project. The most we can do about the problems of the world is excel above them and focus on our common goals of achieving something greater than currently exists. – Jake Valliant

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Principles and Practices Day 1 

After a quick introduction and overview of the agenda, the YouthScape participants jumped right into the first item of the Gathering – an ice breaker! Mike Sheehan and Tara MacDonald led the group through some getting-to-know-each other activities and then it was down to business.

Call to Action! Hosted by Caitlin Schwartz and Mike Sheehan

The Call to Action was introduced as a mechanism for creating a tool that grasps the concepts of YouthScape in a concise and creative manner to be shared with funders, educations, practitioners and many others. Ideally this will be used to expand the YouthScape movement and promote YouthScape values and dreams of a youth engaged Canada. The participants broke into groups to discuss ideas about possible mechanisms that engage people. They discussed questions and identified some of the following:

Safe and friendly spaces Creating a “therapeutic environment” Passion and interest Finding common connections Technological engagements Music, arts and culture Apparent transparency Effective communication tools Balance among different roles

Erasing the lines of power Engaging others based on their passions Focusing on development and growth Clarity of a shared vision Following up Making sure people stay engaged Team cooperation Sharing stories

Day’s Agenda:

Call to Action! Summing up

the Parts Public Forum

Question 1:

What engagement mechanisms have worked in the past (to inspire others to become engaged with Canada’s youth movement)?

Question 2:

What are the most successful engagement strategies that you have used or participated in?

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Finding people rather than having people find you Engage others through heads, hearts, and hands Showing opportunities for adventures and travel Showing people that risks can be exciting Granting access to everyone

   

   

                   

            

Question 3:

How can we mobilize our communities to take action?

There needs to be a collective ownership where everyone is involved at all levels of discussion and decision-making. There needs to be something that provides a connection to the larger community – engagement cannot just be about the six people that are sitting at the table, it needs to be about every individual that is part of the project as well.

– Marshall Williams 

Ideas for a Call to Action:

A letter to the field - creating a type of letter that goes into our handbook but can be used by every individual to capture others’ interest in YouthScape

Take our letter and change it into a spoken word poem Getting the tools needed to take all of the experiences of

YouthScape and put them into some sort of database Marketing campaign - how can we create a marketing

campaign to get us noticed? A video - something that will “kick down doors” and showcase

YouthScape in a unique way that captures attention and causes positive reactions 

Youth awards - creating a way to highlight youths’ success stories who aren’t in the room  

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Summing up the YouthScape Parts Hosted by Natasha Blanchet-Cohen

There is a reason why people get engaged in YouthScape. In the initial phases of the project, 24 communities across Canada applied for and were attracted to the proposal. What is it about YouthScape that gets people excited?

YouthScape is guided by 6 key ideas

Comprehensive Community Initiative

Long-term relationships – multiple opportunities Requires quick “wins” to keep the momentum going Broad-emergent Opportunistic – involves multiple stakeholders Balloon effect/ spin off Bigger than just ‘a program’ Flexible – addresses the immediacy/ builds systemic action

Strength Based

Passion of involved individuals Capacity building Providing support Access to resources

Diversity

Difference is our biggest sameness Not applying labels Age is just a number Skin is just a colour Respect Inclusiveness

Learning

Community

Seeking connecting and letting people know Sharing with friends and family Having a youth voice in all conversations Seeking out enthusiasm and following up on it Going out and finding connections not waiting for

connections to find you

Vision

The process needed to engage youth in communities Building relationships and trust Sparking a revolution Engaging the unengaged Acting like an organization, thinking like a movement Youth and adults together Systems change

Youth Leadership

Breaking down barriers and stereotypes Real places and real power Building relationships with adults Sharing ideas Promoting individual strengths and growth

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YouthScape Public Forum Change Starts with Youth!

The YouthScape Public Forum brought together approximately 80 policy makers, practitioners, funders and young people to discuss goals they all share in common regarding youth engagement. Questions such as “how are young people strengthening their communities” and “how can we advance a youth-centered movement” were asked.

The Gathering was structured as:

Change Starts with Youth! (Opening remarks) o Philip Cook (International Institute for Child Rights and Development) o Ronnie Tadesse (YouthScape-Victoria Grantee) o Denise Andrea Campbell (City of Toronto)

Spotlights about YouthScape

Parallel Learning Circles

 

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Philip Cook

International Institute for Child Rights and Development

As the founder and Executive Director of the International Institute for Child Rights and Development, Philip Cook connected the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to YouthScape and Canada’s involvement in child rights and youth engagement. Philip asked the key question:

How can we connect YouthScape’s movement to the global movement?

He recognized that Canada has fallen behind in our commitment to upholding the Convention on the Rights of the Child and that we need to build on the innovation of youth engagement to address the problems facing the world. There are more than 2.2 billion young people in the world today and they are all beginning to hold governments accountable for their actions. He stated that YouthScape is not just about youth engagement – it is about putting youth at the centre of our society where they light a spark which creates a flame which becomes a fire in the rest of the community.  

Ronnie Tadesse

YouthScape – Victoria Grantee

Ronnie’s involvement with YouthScape began in 2008 when she applied for a YouthScape grant for a project called the Age to Engage. The project took the form of a one day middle school youth engagement conference which gave youth the opportunity to learn about community activism and how it is never too early to become involved in one’s community. Ronnie recognized that

for youth the idea always seems to be what do I want to when I grow up and instead it needs to be what do I want to do now. She believes the best way to solve local community challenges is to bring in youth perspectives because youth idealism is such a unique and valuable resource. She feels that it is able to grow and flourish before it becomes a narrow focus. “Adult ideas don’t grow – they turn into something that is doable whereas youth provide the needs and wants of communities. This is where YouthScape shines!”

Denise Campbell

City of Toronto

Denise is a part of YouthScape’s National Advisory. She is currently the manager of Community Development for the City of Toronto. Denise pointed out that

no matter what work you do, even if it is part of the non-profit sector, the government will still be involved in some capacity. Learning about what government does is important in providing social change. She reinforced the idea that it is of the utmost importance to make people realize that they can become engaged in community projects and that youth are part of the community, part of society, and therefore, part of the process. There is a need to shape an agenda that goes beyond young people. If we deal with youth engagement, we can deal with projects that affect the larger community. She believes that an important component of youth engagement is spaces and places; there needs to be some insurance that there are social spaces available for young people within their communities.  

 

Panel Discussion

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Vision

Close your eyes and imagine. Imagine acknowledging young people as competent and enthusiastic contributors… Imagine engaging youth in building and managing our communities… Imagine creating a society where the engagement of young people is an automatic reflex… Imagine igniting a spark in a youth… Now open your eyes

‐ what do you see?

Learning Community

Farmer Joe has a seed and the idea of planting a tree: this is how the learning community starts – with an idea and an initiative. The seed begins to grow with the rain (strength and passion), and the roots begin to form. A seedling is starting to sprout – it growths in faith and with persistence and eventually becomes a tree. A tree supports an environment where it is the ultimate place for people to listen and learn. It is never ending and continually produces seeds with become new ideas and new growths. From Farmer Joe to an entire ecosystem of life, the process is never ending.

Youth Leadership

To us, youth leadership is the opportunity for youth to take charge without having adults talking for them or telling them how to organize a project or idea. Youth leadership can help break down social and cultural barriers.

Diversity You should not seek to judge me by the look of my skin You should not seek to judge me without looking within You should not seek to judge me before our journey will begin In fact, why would you seek to judge me?

Comprehensive Community Initiative

This allows one to build a solid foundation of community allies – it is about making meaningful connections with community partners and stakeholders. Comprehensive Community Initiatives are diverse; stakeholders help identify opportunities and effect change in multiple systems.

Strength based

By taking a strength based approach to youth engagement, officials can help youth develop the strong points of their ideas and use these ideas to develop a working project. Part of YouthScape is reaching out and creating themes.

Spotlight Presentations on YouthScape’s Six Strengths

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The Public Forum was broken into four parallel learning circles

Youth Engagement in Practice – Hosted by Negin Naraghi, Victoria Immigrant Refugee Centre/LifeCycles

Funding Youth Engagement – Hosted by John Cawley, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation

Stories from Youth – Hosted by Che Kothari, Manifesto City Experience: Dorset Part and Toronto – Hosted by Denise

Campbell, City of Toronto

The public forum really was about bringing people together to share their experiences on youth engagement. It created a bridge so we can learn from each other and find new ways to keep the YouthScape momentum going! - Caitlin Schwarz

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Reflex-ion Day 2 

The Public Forum left everyone buzzing with energy. Saturday was filled with enthusiasm as participants gathered for a morning ice breaker led by Thunder Bay. After a few tumbles and many laughs the YouthScapers grew thoughtful as they prepared for a full day of reflection.

Youth Voice: Presentations and Discussions Hosted by YouthScape Youth from across Canada

Youth from all five YouthScape communities collaborated on a joint presentation where each community shared with their audience about what gets them excited about YouthScape. The young people spoke about their accomplishments and challenges, passions and joys, and their desires to change the landscape of community development in Canada.

Community Participants Projects Models/ Strategies

Calgary Hussein, Murtuza

Transit Showcase Go-Grant Program Steering Committee

Youth-led, adult supported Encouragement and support Commitment

Thunder Bay Chelsey, Brittney, Matthew, Devon, Jake, Lisa

What Could a Youth Centre do for you?

Ready, Set, Renovate! Brother Comic Book Bridge Theatre Greenhouse Warriors

Awareness Consensus Building Changing perceptions Pervasiveness Community Building

Montreal Tassyana, Tamar

Youth Mapping Café le Spot Youth led gym Marketing Committee

Creating places and spaces Providing resources for youth Community/culture building

Halifax Amy, Sam Act out Series Africa Diaspora Association

of the Maritimes Second Chance Program iUnique

Project active communities Inclusivity Engaging youth with Law Appreciating Differences

Victoria Ronnie, Sadaf, Matsuko, Ben

Legal Lit

Youth Development team www.youthcore.ca City of Victoria Youth Council

Respect and dignity across Sectors

Youth from a youth perspective Strength Rights Approach Connecting youth and

government

Day’s Agenda:

Youth Voice Workshops/Open Spaces Call to Action: Take II Urban Photo Safari

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Workshops and Open Spaces Hosted by Marc Langlois

The market place was an open area where “sellers” sold their open space discussions and workshop ideas. “Buyers” could shop for the project that best suited their needs. Some of the ideas that came through in the marketplace were:

 

 

 

Zine! Sarah from Hamilton taught eager artists the art of Zine-ing. This creative workshop crafted an eight page Zine that captures what it means to be a youth in Canada.

Circle of Awesomeness!

Amy and Sam from Halifax created a reflective workshop based on the Circle of Awesomeness which includes sections on “Meaningful Contribution,” “Supportive Peers,” “Adventuresome Learning” and more. Amy and Sam encouraged group members to think of people who have influenced their lives in connection to the Circle.

Starting a Project

Hussein from Calgary led discussions on what it means to be a youth with a dream and how to see that dream can become a reality. Hussein talked about how the time is NOW, how starting small is key, and how nothing can happen without passion. Hussein has turned his dream into reality and launched Khorasan – an international book drive.

Working in Partnership

Che, a YouthScape National Advisor, and Josee, the Developmental Evaluator from Montreal led discussions on what it means to include adult allies in youth-led and projects and organizations. Che used his organization Manifesto as an example of how integrating both youth and adult ideas can only make an organization stronger and more powerful.

 

Youth Engagement Funding

John Cawley from the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation discussed how youth are attracted to action and while it can be easy to be caught up in this excitement, funding organizations can easily shift from seeing authentic youth engagement to seeing token youth engagement. Projects need to ensure that they keep youth voices at the centre – funders need to be aware that youth are needed for social change and that they are the solutions , not the challenges, of engagement.

Linking the Pillars

The Victoria crew led participants

through a whirlwind of activities

that linked together the five

pillars of YouthScape: youth

driven granting, spaces and

places, youth in decision making,

working in partnership, and hiring

youth staff. Activities included

cupcake frosting – yum yum!

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Who are we producing this Call to Action for?

Funders, youth, family centres, youth justice,

media, school districts, city councils…

How will we produce this?

Face to face connections – a door crasher that can create allies within the

framework you are trying to connect with.

What would you want to say in a Call to

Action?

Something that shows the foundations of YouthScape, something that explains why

youth engagement is an exciting adventure

Call to Action – Take II

The day wrapped up with a reflective session on the topic of Day 1: a Call to Action. With high hopes of producing something tangible from the Gathering, participants reflected on what a Call to Action would mean to them. The afternoon was filled with questions that required reflective thought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Young people at the centre of YouthScape – this is the vision that has come forward. We as YouthScapers are visionary: we create ripples, we are strength-based, we have young people taking initiative, we are comprehensive and we create systems change. It’s now time for the rest of Canada to do the same.

‐ Marc Langlois

Foundations of YouthScape:

Youth leadership Learning Clarity Comprehensive Community Initiative Diversity Vision Spaces and Places Youth Granting Youth Decision Making Partnerships Youth as Staff

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Urban Photo Safari! Hosted by Victoria

The Victorian co-hosts of the Gathering tested their fellow Gathering participants’ wits and navigation skills in an urban photo safari. Items to capture on film included street names, seals, violin playing Darth Vaders, clocks, art, city squares, cultural icons and Christmas trees! Teams were created and prizes were won – below is a photo gallery of this fun event!

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Rippling Out! Day 3 

Sunday brought a close to the Gathering but participants were far from finished with their projects, activities and discussions about what comes after YouthScape, how to get there, and what expanding the notion of youth engagement can look like.

Workshops and Open Spaces & Call to Action Wrap Up

Hosted by Marc Langlois

Marc once again opened the marketplace for sellers and before long participants came forward to present their topics on youth engagement. Selling features included continuing discussions from Day 2 and chances to participate in new workshops and new conversations.

After discussions, Marc led the group through an insightful session where participants reflected on the impacts that the sharing created on themselves and their communities. Participants made connections between hands, hearts and heads and felt inspired to move forward with the Call to Action and YouthScape as a movement rather than just a project!

Day’s Agenda:

Workshops/Open Spaces Call to Action: Wrap Up Closing Reflections

 

The themes of the Workshops and Open Space discussions revolved around:

Youth Driven Granting

Spaces and Places

Youth in Decision Making

Working in Partnership

Hiring Youth Staff

Because I can see it happening across the national community, I can see that all youth have passion but that it is divided. We need to find these hidden movements and make them work towards a collective youth movement.

- Hussain Khimji

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Closing Reflections: Hosted by John Cawley and Elaina Mack

The last item on the Gathering’s agenda was a review of YouthScape’s learnings, the national and funding commitments to the community partners, and a reflection on what the past five years of YouthScape has accomplished. Participants left the Gathering feeling inspired, encouraged, committed, and excited. YouthScape’s journey is not ending, it is simply the end of the initial project – youth engagement is something that everyone can achieve and is something that never ends. YouthScape has been funded by the J.W. McConnell Foundation and organized through the International Institute for Child Rights and Development; it began as a project, and resulted in a movement.

John Cawley J.W. McConnell Family Foundation

We are trying to achieve social innovation through community based projects. The core of what we are doing might be through community development but in order to make grants successful, we need to include the following:

Gatherings to create and build relationships

Leadership development Community support organizations Knowledge and communications Research Capacity Building Policy Advocacy

McConnell Vision for the Future:

Convening of organizations supported by foundations

Leadership programs Knowledge and communications

sharing Mentoring through systems

support

YouthScape has inspired the McConnell Foundation to look at youth grants in a new light. We are looking to take the YouthScape values and infuse them into other programs that are currently adult led.

Elaina Mack International Institute for Child Rights and Development YouthScape Project Manager

The ripples of YouthScape have resulted from stones that the IICRD threw into the pond of youth engagement. The ripples have grown larger than we could ever have imagined and we are excited to build on them. The IICRD is committed to:

Finishing the Handbook Supporting the Developmental Evaluation

Guide Updating the Website Coordinating the Call to Action Video Continuing to influence national adult led

organizations and government Sharing the ripples Integrating YouthScape into other projects

YouthScape Inspirations:

Continue with Growing up in Cities Case Studies Database Youth Impact Leadership Development Engaging with Aboriginal Youth Communities

IICRD has four main areas of focus – one of which is youth engagement. We do this internationally, nationally and provincially. We will continue this knowledge sharing. We are excited to stay connected and to continue to share our lessons!

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Participant  Community1. Amy Richardson Halifax 2. Ben Porcher Victoria 3. Brittney Marshall Thunder Bay 4. Caitlin Schwarz Victoria 5. Che Kothari Toronto 6. Chelsey Johnson Thunder Bay 7. Christine Battle Thunder Bay 8. Denise Andrea Campbell Toronto 9. Devon Meekis Thunder Bay 10. Elaina Mack National 11. Elizabeth Dozois Calgary 12. Erica Gates Calgary 13. Hussain Khimji Calgary 14. Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson Halifax 15. Jake Valliant Thunder Bay 16. Jess Wishart Halifax 17. John Cawley National 18. Josée Latendresse Rivière des Prairies 19. Joseph Boutilier Victoria 20. Katie Shaw Victoria 21. Lisa Lester Thunder Bay 22. Lise Jean Rivière des Prairies 23. Lloydee Chrispin Rivière des Prairies 24. Marc Langlois National 25. Marshall Williams Halifax 26. Matsuko Friedland Victoria 27. Matthew DeGagne Thunder Bay 28. Michele Cook National 29. Murtuza Sayeed Calgary 30. Natasha Blanchet-Cohen National 31. Nastaisha Zimmerman Hamilton 32. Nayani Thiyagarajah Toronto 33. Nesreen Ali Hamilton 34. Penny Hume Calgary 35. Peter Papagiannis Victoria 36. Philip Cook National 37. Pierre Boulanger Rivière des Prairies 38. Ronnie Tadesse Victoria 39. Rose Nicholson Thunder Bay 40. Sadaf Pourmand Victoria 41. Samantha Kent Halifax 42. Sandra Albertson Thunder Bay 43. Sarah Bardwell Hamilton 44. Tamar Edmond  Rivière des Prairies 

45. Tara MacDonald  Victoria 

46. Taryn Danford  National 

47. Tassyana Mézilas  Rivière des Prairies 

 

 

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Sponsors

YouthScape would like to acknowledge the following people for their support and contributions to the 

November 2009 National Gathering.  

 

 

 

- Thank You ~ Merci Beaucoup! -

National Partners: International Institute for Child Rights and Development: Victoria, British Columbia J.W. McConnell Family Foundation: Montreal, Quebec YouthScape National Advisors

Community Partners:

Heartwood: Halifax, Nova Scotia

Boscoville 2000: Rivière des Prairies, Quebec

United Way of Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay, Ontario

Child and Youth Friendly Calgary: Calgary, Alberta

LifeCycles: Victoria, British Columbia

YouthScape Learning Community:

Youth Engagement and Action in Hamilton: Hamilton, Ontario

Event Sponsors and Organizers:

J.W. McConnell Family Foundation

The Canadian Commission for UNESCO

International Institute for Child Rights and Development

LifeCycles