Canadian Rural Partnership
Rural Dialogue



YOUNG LEADERS' FORUM
Rural Dialogue Summary Report

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
March 17, 2005

This report is a summary of discussions that took place at the Young Leaders' Forum, held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), on March 17, 2005. No limits were placed on the participants during discussions that took place in brainstorming sessions. In order to present a true report of the free-ranging discussions, recommendations made by participants that fall outside federal jurisdiction are also included. Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Government of Canada.

The Young Leaders' Forum had the participation of the Honourable Wayne Easter, Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development. This event was part of the Rural Dialogue, an ongoing, two-way discussion between the Government of Canada and Canadians from rural, remote and northern regions. Launched in 1998, the Rural Dialogue is a key citizen-engagement component of the Canadian Rural Partnership (CRP). The CRP is designed to support a horizontal approach to rural development within the Government of Canada that responds to rural, remote and northern priorities. The Dialogue process helps the Government of Canada to understand local and regional priorities, and provides rural, remote and northern citizens with an opportunity to influence government policies, programs and services that affect them.

The event gathered 30 participants, 21 of which were young people between 18 and 29 years old, and included but were not limited to: representatives of regional rural and youth organizations; representatives from universities, community colleges, and a First Nations organization; and representatives of the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

The principal goal of organizing the Young Leaders' Forum was to bring together youth leaders from different backgrounds and sectors to encourage discussions on the need for the establishment of a provincial forum or association for young leaders.

The objectives of the Forum were as follows:

• enable young leaders to network and share their experiences;
• stimulate discussion on youth leadership in PEI;
• generate discussions about the needs of youth leaders on PEI in terms of continuous support and mechanisms for exchanges; and
• establish ongoing communications and possible network for youth leaders in PEI.

The discussions that took place during this event were grouped around two key questions:

• What are the challenges for youth leadership in PEI?
• What are the suggested solutions to address the challenges?

The results presented will help inform the Government of Canada on future actions, and will contribute to the proposed National Rural Framework (NRF) that will guide the actions of the federal, provincial and territorial governments. The over-arching goal of this federal-provincial-territorial collaborative effort is to ensure the long-term viability and sustainability of rural communities by creating an environment which will ensure that communities and citizens have access to social and economic opportunities.

The NRF is based on five policy areas that affect community sustainability. The issues and priorities discussed at this event are presented under the relevant policy area (Section 4 of this report.)

Sustainable Livelihoods

A range of activities, economic and social, that enable citizens to support themselves and their communities in the long-term and through changing circumstances.

Shared Environmental Stewardship

Recognition by governments and communities that all must share in the management, as well as share the benefits of our natural resources and healthy environment.

Smart Approaches to Infrastructure

Innovative, appropriate and effective means of planning, building, operating and maintaining physical, social and knowledge-based infrastructure that takes into consideration the rural context.

Engaged Population and Institutions

The active participation and collaboration of all citizens and their institutions in decisions that affect their community.

Demographic Adaptation

The ability of a community to accommodate, on an ongoing basis, the impacts or effects of changes in population, economics and services.

The issues and priorities discussed at this event focussed on the following policy areas: Smart Approaches to Infrastructure; and Engaged Population and Institutions. Proposed actions and solutions that could address the issues discussed are also included in this section.

New or Knowledge-based Infrastructure

Developing and sustaining an ongoing communications channel was identified as one the primary challenges facing youth and youth organizations. According to participants, the challenge is two-fold: providing the right information to the right people (identifying the target audience) and maintaining the audience's interest.

Maintaining the interest of youth was viewed by participants as key to overcoming the challenge of ensuring effective communication. Participants indicated that a certain level of apathy or disinterest currently exists among youth. Lifestyle choices and values were cited as possible reasons for the existing disinterest. Participants concluded that an innovative and structured channel of communication is essential to maintaining interest among youth. A brainstorming session gave participants the opportunity to reflect on possible approaches to address the issues of communication. Developing a youth-run Web site and newspaper were suggested as means for youth to communicate among each other and with other youth organizations.

Participants expressed that a PEI youth Web site should be created to provide information to youth and feature all youth groups in PEI and across Canada. The Web site would also offer news and entertainment information of interest to youth as well as provide a Web message board, forum services and host e-mails. Participants envisioned this Web site as a one-stop site to access information and services and to meet their networking needs.

Having a voice and visibility was one of the powerful explanations provided when describing the need for a youth newspaper. Participants agreed that current newspaper offerings do not reflect who they are or what they have to say. Similar to the Web site, the newspaper would cover topics of interest to youth and could also serve as a tool to highlight accomplishments of youth across PEI. The newspaper could also be combined with the Web site to offer an online newspaper or magazine. Running a newspaper was viewed not only as a communications tool but also as means of positioning youth as leaders in their communities.

Citizen Engagement

Participants indicated that youth are extremely passionate and energetic and expressed, in a number of ways, that being taken seriously as young leaders in their communities was an ongoing challenge. They advised that young leaders should be empowered to set the agenda as leaders in their communities. Participants also noted there was a big difference between being "pigeon-holed" as youth leaders and actually being in charge of their own agenda.

It was expressed that some youth may have different styles or models of leadership compared to adults. Participants mentioned that studies reflecting those differences exist between generations have been conducted in the private and public sector. Interestingly, the leadership challenges described were very similar to the communications challenges - the major challenges being the lack of information from their peers and interest among them coupled with the lack of credibility or power with adults. Other youth leadership challenges identified, which also overlap with the communication issues raised, are the lack of visibility and recognition as leaders.

Participants identified various solutions to address their leadership challenges. One solution is to create a forum for non-youth adults as this would be a good starting point in addressing their communication and leadership issues. The term "non-youth adults" is also revealing as one participant explained, "I consider myself an adult even though I am young". This is a prime example of how youth would define and carve out their space on their terms, if the opportunities were available.

They envisioned a forum for non-youth adults that was designed and delivered by youth. The numerous objectives suggested by the participants for this type of forum are listed below.

• To demonstrate that the youth are capable entrepreneurs and leaders.
• To make presentations (by youth to the non-youth participants) on what is holding the youth back as young leaders.
• To create activities where adults can remember back to when they were young leaders.
• To work with the adults and youth to complete a task or goal.
• To get adults more excited about the work they do in a team.
• To teach adults to "let go" - youth are people who can take their place in certain roles in the community.
• To inform non-youth on the presence of youth in communities.
• To provide opportunities for non-youth to imagine a youth leading an organization, e.g. What would happen if ...
• To discuss the changes that have happened since their (non-youth participants) youth years.
• To develop an activity with two groups (youth and non-youth) to build a community based on specific characteristics, e.g. What would the communities look like?

The participants were very satisfied with the overall event and were satisfied that the Young Leaders' Forum had met their expectations. They did, however, offer a suggestion as a possible area to improve the event. The date should be verified with youth prior to a youth event to ensure that the largest number of participants could attend. The young participants also provided very positive comments on the event. They indicated that it was a very good and really interesting Forum with a good atmosphere, and expressed a great interest in participating in the next event.

The two key challenges for young leaders in PEI that were raised during the Forum are: communication and leadership. Participants proposed three potential solutions to address these challenges:

• the development of a provincial youth Web site or portal;
• the production of a printed or online youth newspaper or magazine; and
• the creation of a forum for non-youth adults (designed and delivered by youth).

Participants expressed that a steering committee or core group of individuals would be needed to assure the start-up and governance of any or all these projects. By the end of the Forum, a group of participants showed a keen interest in being part of this start-up group or committee. They further noted the need for provincial representation, such as an association, to oversee or be the anchor organization for any of their initiatives.

A number of different types of structures exist for provincial youth organizations and could serve as good models, such as:

• the New Brunswick Advisory Council on Youth [www.gnb.ca/0049/nbacy-e.asp]; and
• the Nova Scotia Youth Advisory Council [http://youth.ednet.ns.ca/council/council.htm].

Both organizations work with 15 to 24 years old youth. The provincial governments are also funding partners of these two organizations.

A follow-up meeting will be organized and held within one month following the Forum with the participants who volunteered to establish and develop a strategy to implement the three solutions identified. These young leaders are determined to initiate the three solutions in 2005-2006. The PEI Rural Team committed to support the youth initiatives identified and the provincial government has expressed willingness to be an active partner.

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