Information
September 2000
Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement
As one of the five Centres of Excellence for Children's Well-Being, the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement is a consortium under the administrative leadership of the Students Commission in Toronto, in partnership with Heartwood House in Halifax, N.S.; the Environmental Youth Alliance in Vancouver, B.C.; the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa, Ont.; Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont.; the Wellness Centre of Memorial University in St. John's, Nfld.; the National Youth in Care Network in Ottawa, Ont.; and the Saskatoon Action Circle on Youth Sexuality at Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon, S.K. These organizations make up the core group that will provide direction to the work of the centre.
Meaningful youth engagement is built on the recognition that every young person has something to contribute to the active betterment of Canadian society. Research has shown that youth who have been engaged and are active participants in society turn into adults with less health, career, family and societal traumas and distresses. Additionally, they are better able to handle those stresses and in turn to give back to society more effectively and generously.
The Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement will focus on effective strategies for engaging youth in meaningful participation in making decisions for healthy living. A unique feature of the centre is its commitment to engage youth directly in planning, designing and implementing the centre's activities in partnership with health and academic professionals. Young people will be trained and supported to find, describe and build models of effective strategies for engaging youth as well as to help communities implement them at the local level. Not only will the Centre develop tools to evaluate, measure and demonstrate effective youth engagement, and create a accessible clearinghouse for information on the issue, it will also be a working model of youth engagement. The overarching goal is to support lasting youth empowerment as young people become confident in themselves and are able to make responsible choices for healthy living.
Other organizations that will contribute to the work of this centre include the Aboriginal Youth Research Committee, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, and the Multicultural Association of Northwestern Ontario. Many of the consortium's 27 partners will contribute financial and in-kind resources over the five-year lifespan of the centre. These contributions will supplement the funding provided by Health Canada.
For more information on the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement:
Denise Campbell
The Students Commission
70 University Avenue, Suite 1060
Toronto, Ontario M5J 2M4
Tel: (416) 597-8297,
Fax: (416) 597-0661
e-mail - denise@tgmag.ca
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