YouthScape Gathering: Celebrating Youth-driven Community Development!
During January 14-17, 2009, more than 100 people gathered in Calgary and Banff, Alberta to celebrate youth and the role they play in building stronger communities across Canada. The purpose of this intergenerational gathering was to:
- Deepen our understanding of youth involvement in community-based initiatives
- Share experiences, ideas and lessons within the YouthScape community and beyond
- Identify innovative strategies and opportunities to expand the YouthScape learning community and push the youth engagement agenda forward in Canada
The gathering featured:
- Learning about the people and projects driving YouthScape in Calgary including presentations from young filmaker, City Transit, TeenZone, Calgary Parkour and more!
- Creating community rivers to share YouthScape partner journeys
- Discussions about the nuts 'n bolts and ripples of YouthScape grants
- Open space discussions and the creation of a YouthScape café
- A talk show on re-thinking how to address complex problems
- Experiential theatre activities
- Skill-based workshops on topics ranging from power analysis and youth councils, to youth-adult partnership and institutional change
- Graffiti walls, theatre and cafe conversations on how to create Canada-wide movement to mobilize youth and communities to embrace a bold vision for change.
This event would not have been possible without all the hard work of the YouthScape partners and advisory, the generous financial support of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, the United Way of Calgary and Area, Suncor Energy, Penn West Energy Trust, and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. We would also like to acknowledge the facilitation support of Outward Bound Canada and BeatBoard.
A special thank you to all of you as this collective support has allowed young people—from Victoria to Halifax—to participate in this exciting event. We trust that this investment will plant the seeds for exciting youth actions with far reaching ripples within communities across Canada.
Community Partners:
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YouthScape Learning Community: |
HeartWood (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
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Youth Engagement and Action in Hamilton (Hamilton, Ontario) |
Boscoville 2000 (Rivière des Prairies, Montreal)
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Communities for Children (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) |
United Way of Thunder Bay (Thunder Bay, Ontario)
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Child and Youth Friendly Calgary (Calgary, Alberta)
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LifeCycles (Victoria, British Columbia)
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National Partners:
International Institute for Child Rights and Development (Victoria, British Columbia)
J.W. McConnell Family Foundation (Montreal, Quebec)
United Way of Calgary and Area (Calgary, Alberta)
YouthScape National Advisory (Elisabeth Barot, Senator Landon Pearson, Denise Andrea Campbell, Barbara McMillan)
TakingItGlobal (Toronto, Ontario)
Event Sponsors and Organizers:
J.W. McConnell Family Foundation
United Way of Calgary and Area
Suncor Energy Foundation
Penn West Energy Trust
The Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Outward Bound
International Institute for Child Rights and Development
Child and Youth Friendly Calgary
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What Happened?
Watch a video created by a talented team of participants at the gathering.
Full Agenda (Jan 14-17, 2009)
Proceedings of the gathering.
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Who participated?
Over 100 representatives from as far West and north as Victoria and Whitehorse and as far east as Montreal and Halifax participated in the gathering.
Participant list of the gathering.
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How can I stay involved?
Join YouthScape's on-line community. Share photos and keep in touch with new and old friends.
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