Provincewide forum seeks perspectives of local English-speaking youth
Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
editor@qctonline.com
Provincewide civic participation organization Youth 4 Youth Québec (Y4Y) is seeking young people aged 16-30 from the English- speaking community of the Capitale-Nationale region to participate in its annual youth forum in Montreal on March 15.
Youth are encouraged to attend the forum in person at the Concordia Conference Centre on the campus of Concordia University in Montreal, but those who cannot or would rather not make the trip in person will be able to participate online. Participants from Montreal, the Gaspé region, the Lower North Shore and the Centre-du-Québec region are among those expected to take part.
Y4Y executive director Adrienne Winrow said the forum represented a precious opportunity for English-speaking youth from across the province to talk to each other and to share their concerns with representatives of the provincial Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers, the federal Office of the Com- missioner of Official Languages and other organizations that support the civic participation of both French- and English- speaking young adults, including Elections Canada. Youth talent will also be on full display with an onsite art exhibit and panel discussions.
“We have put together three youth-led panels on education, the job market and civic engagement, and we want to hear what you think,” Winrow told the QCT. “We want to hear from youth who are in high school, CEGEP or university or who have already started their career path. We want to show the community’s diversity and strength.”
She noted that in policy discussions about Quebec’s English-speaking community, “the focus is often placed on Montreal, but we are stronger if we understand the realities across distances. There is a wide range of different social and economic realities be- tween Montreal and the Gaspé or the Abitibi, for example. If you want to study in English and you’re from the Gaspé or the Abitibi, that means leaving home at 17 – which is obviously much different from growing up in Montreal and being able to live at home and take the bus to school. [The forum] is a networking opportunity, but also a learning opportunity…. My hope is that youth come away from the forum feeling like they are part of something larger.”
Winrow said she is looking forward to hearing the conversations between youth from different regions and between youth and representatives of government bodies. “What is going to be on full display is the potential and professionalism and willingness to engage, of youth in this province. English- speaking youth are a resource for the community, they want to contribute and they are thoughtful about the future.”
To register or learn more, visit y4yquebec.org/youth-forum-2024.