::CYFC::

The 2005 Gathering	Participating Schools
Dream Catchers	Sponsors
Testimonials	Contact

Wake up to the cultures around you! Youth for the Future is an annual gathering that addresses barriers between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal youth. Those involved consider it a life-changing experience and an opportunity to create change. This program is designed for grade eleven students in Calgary and the surrounding area.

Youth for the Future has an Advisory committee with members from both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal communities, providing strategic direction to the program. In addition, 10 youth facilitators support fellow peers attending the gathering.

THE NEED

There is a great need in Southern Alberta for a program focused on encouraging cross-cultural communication between Aboriginal and Non- Aboriginal youth. The majority of Southern Alberta youth have no opportunity to meet young aboriginals; in these circumstances it is too easy for their views to be stereotypical. For youth on reserves there is enormous isolation from the dominant society, and it is too easy for hostility to develop. From our Youth for the Future meetings it is plain to see that aboriginal students in the Calgary school system also face racial discrimination and isolation.

A number of community organizations and school boards along with several First Nations began meeting in early 1999 to discuss the need for a youth gathering that would bring together aboriginal and non aboriginal high school students.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

To share, experience and develop respect for each other's culture.
To help provide opportunities to encourage positive Aboriginal /Non-Aboriginal relations.
To develop awareness of stereotypes and promote the elimination of discrimination and mistrust.
To develop and foster leadership skills for youth.
To equip participants to return to their community and share their experiences.