What’s the Forum about?
Join us for a day dedicated to elevating English-speaking youths’ voices.
Whether you attend the full day’s worth of activities, or just the portion that interests you most, your time with us on Friday, March 15th will be time well spent! In order to gain insight into youth’s perspectives on the issues that impact their lives, Y4Y has invited youth to participate in 3 panel discussions that will take place during the day. The broad themes this year, as selected by Y4Y’s youth-led Board of Directors, are employment, education, and civic engagement. Thanks to the youth from diverse backgrounds and varied life experiences who will sit on each panel, we are hopeful that the discussions will break new ground in our community’s understanding of this sector’s aspirations for the future of youth in Québec.
Date:
March 15th, 2024
Venue:
9th floor, John Molson Building, 1450 Guy, Concordia Conference Centre, Montréal
Event Objectives
to inform: Providing a platform for English-speaking youth to share their views in order to shape the common understanding of our community’s priorities and needs;
to empower: Inspiring and motivating youth to continue to speak their minds on the issues of greatest concern to them, now and in the future;
to engage: Encouraging active participation in civic life by connecting youth with community leaders, and reinforcing a sense of social consciousness among all participants.
Agenda
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Welcome! Goodies Table, Coffee & Tea
9:15 a.m. Keynote address by Madeleine Lawler, Y4Y President
9:30 a.m. Active Citizenship with Elections Canada
9:45 a.m. “English-speaking youth: Who we are, In Numbers and Nuances” with A. Pettem and C. Owusu-Acheaw
10:30 a.m. Snack Break
10:45 a.m. Youth Panel #1: Education
11:00 a.m. Opening of Youth Art Gallery
12:00 p.m. Lunch Break & Lightning talks: Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages; Apathy is Boring
1:00 p.m. Youth Panel #2: Civic Engagement
2:15 p.m. Snack Break & Lightning talk: Institut du Nouveau Monde
2:45 p.m. Youth Panel #3: Job-readiness
4:00 p.m. Networking Cocktail
5:00 p.m. Adjourn
Funded by
Meet the Moderators
Isabella is currently a student at Concordia University in the Early Childhood Elementary Education program. With aspirations of becoming a teacher, Isabella has always taken an interest in helping others and joining non-profit and governmental organisations. Her previous experiences include her presidency of the Vanier College Student Association as well as being a volunteer at Y4Y. She is looking forward to learning more about the youth opinions on the educational system.
Born and raised in Côte-des-Neiges, Stephanie Valenzuela is a 1st generation Filipina-Canadian. A graduate from McGill University in Political Sciences and International Development, Stephanie has focused her efforts on non-profit organisations and community initiatives. In 2014, post-graduation, she volunteered and worked in Monterrey, Mexico for an NGO called “La Paz Comienza Con Los Niños” (Peace Begins with Children). Stephanie is now the city councillor for the district of Darlington in CDN-NDG and the Vice-President of the Water, Environment, Sustainable Development and Great Parks commission.
Director of Policy and Research at the Provincial Employment Roundtable, Sta Kuzviwanza is a policy researcher and analyst with a background in employment, language and technology policy. She currently directs PERT's Policy and Research team with the goal of positioning PERT as the leader in policy solutions and research on the employment issues facing Québec's English-speaking communities. Sta previously worked in public policy at Airbnb Canada and as a consultant providing policy analysis to organisations in the private and public sectors. She holds a Master of Public Policy and a Bachelor’s in Economics and African Studies from McGill University.
