THE BIG DREAM ...
Calgary is a city in which all young people are seen, heard, and respected as citizens of the community. Youth, in all their diversity, are honoured; their voice serves as a catalyst for community change. As a result, Calgary is a stronger, more resilient city and a nurturing, exciting place to live.
Child and Youth Friendly Calgary, in partnership with funders and community agencies is excited to be a part of this innovative initiative aimed at greatly expanding community involvement for ALL youth in Calgary. This is a nation-wide initiative established by the McConnell Family Foundation, and it is funded locally by the United Way of Calgary and Area. They are underpinning the Calgary project, not only with financial support but also with years of research in the field of societal impacts on our children and youth. Calgary is joined in this initiative by four other cities: Halifax, Montreal, Victoria, and Thunder Bay.
The first phase of developing the Big Dream consisted of community consultations during 2007 that came in various shapes and sizes from talking to youth in downtown Calgary to pulling together the ‘movers and shakers’ of the Calgary business and philanthropic community for their input. We talked to 275 youth and 100 adults in a two month period and the resounding theme that resulted from these consultations was the hunger for intergenerational connection.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS ...
YouthScape is involved in several community projects to develop relationships and advance the youth engagement agenda with diverse youth.
Bounce Back
This project led by The City of Calgary – Community and Cultural Development, and a lead artist Vincent T Joachim, was a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club – SCRIPT program and YouthScape – CYFC; involved a group of professional artists from the Hip Hop community. The objective of the project was to make a music video with homeless youth that depicting the reality of living on the streets of Calgary. Through the medium of Hip Hop, young people were given an opportunity to express themselves and improve their life skills. The music video was presented at the Live Style festival on May 1st. Live Style is the annual Calgary Urban Arts Festival and it provides an opportunity for young people to enjoy Urban Arts and connect with the Urban Arts community, it was attended by 600 to 1000 people.
Discovering Choices – Downtown Campus
A partnership between YouthScape - CYFC and Discovering Choices has begun. The purpose of this partnership is to provide an opportunity for the students accessing Discovering Choices to have a space for their voice. The space is open for students at the school and it has embarked in a learning experience on youth rights
Bus Pass Transit Project
In 2008, two young people asked “Why are the bus passes designed by adults”? After hearing this we connected with Doug Borch at the City of Calgary. Doug brought together representatives from the Calgary Board of Education, Calgary Separate School District, and Calgary Transit. This question was posed to the group and no one could provide an answer. This was the catalyst for the Calgary Transit Bus Pass Showcase. The main goal was to create an opportunity for children and youth to submit a design for a Calgary Transit Bus Pass.
As of April 2009, over 260 submissions have been received. There has been overwhelming support from schools and the community. Currently, we are in the process of bringing together youth, bus drivers, and other key individuals to select the final 16 designs that will be used as Calgary Transit Bus passes. All partners involved have been pleased with this process and discussions related to how children and youth can have an even greater role in within Calgary Transit has already begun. Everyone believes that this is just the beginning of something big in Calgary.
FUNDING SUPPORT ...
In addition to these “targeted projects” Youthscape Calgary has also developed at Open Granting Project model called the Go Grants. The Go Grant program is designed to get youth between the ages of 12 and 24 years, in Calgary, to make changes in their community by providing funding and support. Youth can access these funds and support for youth- led, community- based projects. This means that youth can create projects that they feel are needed in their school, community, or neighborhood, and can receive up to $2,500 to help make it happen. In addition, the youth grantees can be paid an honorarium of up to 20% as a part of the grant model to encourage youth preoccupied with paying their monthly bills to still get involved in their community.
The YouthScape Steering Committee as well as the YouthScape Facilitator will review Go Grants applications and make final decisions to ensure that all criteria are met.
For more information on Go Grants click here
To apply for a Go Grant, please submit a completed Go Grant Application Form
CONTACT US...
If you are a youth or an adult who would like to get involved in the YouthScape project, please contact Child and Youth Friendly Calgary @ friendly@cyfc.ca, or (403) 266-5448, and join us in this three-year plan to realize our goal: a more vibrant and inclusive Calgary for all ages.
Check out the YouthScape Calgary website:
www.calgaryurbanvibe.ca/youthscape
Check out the YouthScape website:
www.youthscape.ca |
