Aaand We’re Back!

Hi everyone–did you miss us? We sure miss you and the dynamic conference we were able to host this summer! We’ve been busy trying to organize ourselves for 2011 already (yes, already!) and want to give you a run down about a couple of things.

1: GYA 2009 Yearbook: we are still seeking submissions for the GYA 2009 yearbook. This yearbook will collect your memories, your spoken word pieces, your music–anything relating to your experience at the GYA and put them together into an ebook format for a keepsake as well as showcasing how awesome Canadian and international youth can be when they get together to bring awareness to action!Send us your  favorites from the GYA 2009 and anything else that you wanted to share but didn’t get the chance- photos, poems, lyrics, messages, videos, and your most powerful moment from the GYA 2009.  Don’t forget to tell us about your project.  It could be THE project featured in this inspirational book.

2: Theme for 2011: The GYA is opening the floor to you! We have chosen the theme Active Citizenship for 2011 but want to hear your thoughts. Do you like this theme? What kind of guiding questions would you ask? Put your comments and thoughts in the comments section below!

3: New Branding: The GYA is undergoing a bit of a facelift! The University of Alberta’s Visual Communications department will be working with the GYA team to redesign the “face of GYA” and you could have your say on the final logo! Stay tuned for more information.

Finally–have a project but need some guidance getting it off the ground? We’re here to help! Fire an email off to info@youthassembly.ca and we’ll work with you to help you ignite change now!

Thank you! Updates

Hey everyone!

So…it has been a week since the Global Youth Assembly and the GYAteam is just recovering and coming back to work after a well-deserved holiday.

A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported us in making the GYA a huge success. The feedback we received from delegates and speakers alike were overwhelmingly positive and we hope that all delegates were able to gain meaningful connections, make new friends and of course, be inspired to ignite change in their communities!

The Global Youth Assembly 2009 is over now but it’s not done yet. The Ignite Change Now! Program is kicking off in the fall in full force and this blog will be regularly updated with our activities, plans and action items as we move forward with planning Global Youth Assembly 2011.

Check out a few of these blogs for reviews, pictures and videos of the GYA

Daveberta

Alex on the Web

The Edmontonian

GetInvolved.ca

Speak up for Change

ReelYouth.ca

CPAC–Global Youth Assembly Coverage

Flickr–GYA2009

It’s the GYA!– YouTube video (sorry–for some reason, video won’t embed)

Next: The GYAteam recaps the Global Youth Assembly!

Be part of the movement and ignite change now!

A Change Agent: You Might Already Know Him

Hey Everyone–because we’re all gearing up for the Global Youth Assembly here at GYA/JHC Headquarters,we’ve decided to let one of Edmonton’s very own change agents write a guest post for us! You might know him by his real name of Dave Cournoyer or you might know him by his online brand as Daveberta. Either way, Dave is a young engaged Albertan whose passion for public engagement, especially amongst youth and young professionals, really shines through on his blog and his grasp of the issues reflect that passion. But we’ll let you decide–check out Dave’s guest blog below!

No More Funds :(

Hey everyone–sorry guys but we’ve officially run out of funding for the travel busary. We filled the roster in less than 24 hours so if you missed out, we are sorry!

Travel Funds Now Available for Canadian Delegates

Calling Canadian Youth: Travel funds available to attend the Global Youth Assembly

We’ve ran into some luck!  Last minute we have received a funding opportunity to bring youth from throughout Canada to attend the Global Youth Assembly.  If you are interested in being part of this dynamic and creative social movement, get in touch with us today!!

What is the Global Youth Assembly?

A 4 day conference in Edmonton from July 30^th – August 2^nd that will connect you and hundreds of other Canadian and international youth together to talk about saving the world—and then actually doing it. Rock out to Nomadic Massive at the Concert and Dialogue featuring the Governor General; learn about ethical purchasing at the Shop4Change Fashion show; experience films that are making an impact. Along the way, hear inspiring keynotes of people who have done some pretty amazing things and attend the workshops to get some ideas on the kinds of tools you can use to make a difference and Ignite Change NOW!

Visit www.youthassembly.ca for more details today – it’s an event you won’t want to miss!

What does the funding include?

Funding includes air travel to attend the Global Youth Assembly. Accommodations are not covered, however room rates at Grant MacEwan are only $35 per night!  Registration fees are also not covered but with this offer, we are willing to offer a 50% reduction of the rate to make it $99 which includes four days of food and amazing programming!

How to apply?

Contact Savanna or Chelsea as soon as you can at: savanna@jhcentre.org or Chelsea@jhcentre.org.

This will be done on a first come, first serve basis! Once in touch, we will work with you to organize travel arrangements.

We look forward to seeing you in Edmonton at the GYA!!

The Governor General is Coming!

Hey everyone–if we haven’t already said it, let us say it now: Thanks for being part of this event. Thanks for all your comments about which speaker to add to our panel; your responses have all been taken into consideration.

We’re about 1 week away from the GYA and lots of exciting things have been happening. If you haven’t already heard, we are pleased to announce that Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, will be hosting her Youth Dialogues and Concert at the GYA! This is in partnership with Apathy is Boring (which we’ve featured extensively on this blog) and of course, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights.

That’s right! We got the freakin’ Governor General of Canada to come out to this great event! It doesn’t get any more exciting then that! She will be hosting her Youth Dialogue along with a panel group to discuss ways in which youth can get involved with becoming active citizens. The headliner for the concert portion is Nomadic Massive, a Montreal-based hip-hop group and will feature other Edmonton hip-hop artists like People’s Poets and Blueprint 4 Life.

This event, by the way, is open to the public free of charge. So if you’re in Edmonton and have nothing to do on a Friday night, why not come check out Canada’s Leading Lady and hear what she has to say? All you have to do is send an email to rsvpedmonton@gg.ca to get on the list and you’re set.

For all of you still not registered for the GYA, now would be a good time to take advantage of the promotion we’re running in honor of the Governor General’s appearance. Register now and receive 10% off the regular fee of $199! Just enter the promo code SPGG and you’re set.

And as always…

Be part of the movement and ignite change now!

Get Involved: Name Your Speaker!

Hey everyone–remember that “Action is Hot, Apathy is Not” panel we were talking about earlier? Well…we need one more speaker for that panel so this is your chance to tell us who you want to see on it and why. It can be anyone (well, anyone who is engaged or wants to be more engaged)…it can even be you!

Leave a comment and we’ll take your suggestions into consideration. Comments are moderated.

Be a Change Agent: Promote the GYA and Win!

Video and Essay Competition!

The struggle for peace in our world is continual…we see violence within our local communities through acts of bullying or even through poverty…we see it on the global scale with the testing of nuclear weapons and civil conflicts in countries such as Somalia and Sudan.

Do you want to play a role in building peace? Do you want to network and engage with youth from around the world to learn and build strategies that advance peace and human rights?

If so, Project Ploughshares would like to invite you to participate in a contest to tell us your story:

• What does it mean to have a peaceful world?
• What does peace look like or mean to you?
• What can we as a community or as individuals do to promote peace?

We encourage you to express and show us your story of peace though either an essay submission or a video project. Essays should be no more than two full pages (750 words max) and video projects should be no longer than five minutes.

The winner of this contest will receive sponsorship to attend the Global Youth Assembly (GYA) to be held in Edmonton from July 30-August 2nd.

Project Ploughshares is a non-government organizations focused on educating for peace and justice, and ultimately to building new solutions to building peace and preventing war.

Please submit your projects to us c/o the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights at:
Email: info [at] jhcentre[dot]org (to prevent spammers…please insert the appropriate symbols)

Mail to: 7723-85 Street, Edmonton AB T6C 3B4

DEADLINE: June 30, 2009

Be a Leader of Tomorrow, Today

Hey everyone! As the GYA approaches, we’ve been swamped with getting everything ready for you wonderful delegates. The workshops have been finalized and posted on our website so when you register, you can also select your workshops. Have a read through and see what interests you!

Are you a twenty-something young professional with big ideas, big hopes and a vision for a more equitable and just world? Have you ever been called a leader of tomorrow, today? Well, as clichéd as might sound, it’s true. Gen Y is a demographic of citizens that seems to fall into two rather distinct categories: the hyper-engaged and the apathetic.

Apathy is Boring…

Apathy is a very serious problem within a democratic society. Democracy is only as strong as a healthy engaged citizenry and when youths don’t bother learning about the issues, participating in civil society and making their voices heard. When the citizenry is apathetic, a government will begin to believe that it alone knows what is best for us and make our decisions for us without our consent.

When governments make generalizations like, “This is supported by the silent majority”, this is when red flags should go up. Arguably, there is no such thing as a silent majority but even if there was, there is no basis for consent to be had especially when there is a particularly vocal opposition. Argumentum ex silentio (argument from silence) cannot be taken for a form of consent in a democratic society—at least not when the proper procedures are followed and debate and consultations are allowed to take place.

However, it’s not entirely unreasonable that a government might come to the conclusion that argument from silence is perfectly acceptable in lieu of actual consent when the citizenship doesn’t participate. So…what to do about that?

Action is Hot!

One of our partners, Apathy is Boring, promotes democratic participation in today’s citizen by promoting the fact that democracy is sexy.

By engaging youth who are disengaged, Apathy Is Boring aims to be the entry point for young people into lifelong active citizenry. Our aim is to really communicate with youth using a mix of creative, content-driven projects that engage, motivate and educate. With this site, we aim to create an online resource and a community in which young people can connect with each other — because apathy is boring, and democracy is sexy.

–Apathy is Boring (Overview)

We are very pleased to say that Apathy is Boring will be coming out to the GYA to host a panel entitled Action is Hot, Apathy is Not: Politics and Building Community that will discuss this featuring young politicians and activists from across Canada.

Be a Leader Today. Ignite change now!

The Inconvenience of Change (Matt Cheuvront)

Hey Everyone! Today we are very pleased to present a guest post from Matt Cheuvront, the Change Agent we profiled on our last post. Give Matt some love and check him out on Twitter and of course, at his blog, Life Without Pants. Enjoy!