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News Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONTREAL, February 23, 2004 - The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) will hold a youth forum on crime prevention, entitled Forum Jeunesse 2004, in Montreal on February 23, 2004. The event is being held in partnership with other criminal justice and community organizations.

"The youth forum on crime prevention is an innovative way to foster the potential of young Canadians and to engage them in an open dialogue on the importance of building strong and safe communities in Canada," said the Honourable Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

The event will feature guest speakers, planning sessions leading to action-oriented crime prevention projects and a series of workshops. One of these workshops will allow youth to learn about corrections from the perspectives of both an ex-offender and a parole officer.

"I was impressed and heartened with the level of involvement and co-operation that has gone into making this event a reality. It is encouraging to see the Correctional Service of Canada, the police, and community groups coming together to work towards crime prevention and public safety " said the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Yvon Charbonneau.

"This initiative represents an excellent opportunity for people involved in the criminal justice system to share their experiences and empower young people to take action against crime in their communities," said CSC Commissioner Lucie McClung.

After the event, youth from schools, ethnic associations and community organizations will be able to apply for funding to implement crime prevention projects in their communities.

For more information contact:

Or visit the Web site, at www.bankingonyouth.org

BACKGROUNDER - CSC Partners for Youth Forum

Organizations involved in criminal justice issues are working together to share their experiences and knowledge in crime prevention to support youth to take action in their communities. For example, the event was organized by the Correctional Service of Canada in collaboration with the Students Commission, Groupe Jeunesse 2000, Esteem Team Association and Canada Career Information Partnership.

Forum Jeunesse 2004 would not be possible without the support of national and community-based organizations that strive to create opportunities for young Canadians to be involved in crime prevention projects. The following organizations have been part of this initiative:

Students Commission
Together with its sister organization, TG Magazine, the Students Commission is a non-profit youth organization that provides youth with a forum to voice their concerns, direct public policy, learn new skills, and promote positive change in their communities.

Le Groupe Jeunesse 2000
For more than 20 years, Le Groupe Jeunesse 2000 has been working to produce communication tools while offering many youth-oriented educational programs and events. Its mission is to promote the status of young people and help them grow by making available to them tools and events that provide them with opportunities to communicate, make new discoveries and learn.

ESTEEM Team Association
The ESTEEM Team Association is a national not-for-profit organization composed of athletes who are dedicated to inspiring youth to reach their full potential. Esteem Team athletes have experienced many of the same challenges youth are facing and can spark imagination, excitement and share the lessons of life learned on the playing field. An Esteem Team athlete, Nancy Drolet, member of the Canadian Olympic hockey team, will present a workshop at the event.

Canada Career Information Partnership (CCIP)
The CCIP aims to foster a culture of career development through the provision of career and labour market information and by promoting learning and skills development to support Canadians in building effective career experiences.

TakingITGlobal
TakingITGlobal is an international, youth-led organization that uses technology to bring together young people in over 200 countries. TakingITGlobal's aim is to Inspire, Inform, and Involve young people from all over the globe to make a difference in their communities

BACKGROUNDER - Youth Forum 2004

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is organizing a youth forum as an innovative way to empower young people to help make their schools and communities safer by implementing crime prevention projects.

Youth Forum 2004 is part of a national public awareness strategy. Over the last two years a number of similar forums have been held in other Canadian cities, including Kingston, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa.

This is the second year that CSC is holding a youth forum in Montreal. Last year, a group of youth from Honoré Mercier School implemented a successful anti-bullying campaign as a result of their participation. Their campaign included workshops with youth and training for teachers to help deal with this issue. Their project received the attention of the local police, the media and the Ministry of Education in Quebec. As a result of their success, this group was chosen to attend the YouCan! Canada's International Youth Conference in November 2003. At the conference, Commissioner Lucie McClung presented a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of CSC, for their crime prevention efforts.

Youth Forum 2004 - Event Overview

Event - The event is being held on February 23, 2004. It consists of workshops, action planning sessions and facilitation training for youth. At the event, students will discuss issues that affect them and come up with action-oriented solutions that they can implement in their schools or communities.

Web site - A Web site, located at www.bankingonyouth.org, was developed to extend the reach of the event and to support the youth in implementing their action plans. It enables youth to share ideas, report on progress, access tools, recruit team members and interact with experts.

Action Bank - Funds will be made available to youth as an incentive for them to follow through with their action plans. They can apply for up to $500 ($5,000 in total) to implement their project. A youth advisory committee will determine which projects should receive funding. CSC is working closely with the National Crime Prevention Centre to administer the funding program.