Youth Leaders Sought for Canadian Roots Exchange

THUNDER BAY – Canadian Roots Exchange (CRE) is a youth organization based on the premise that youth play a lead role in strengthening inter-generational relations – and should be active in developing a generation of leaders that will redefine and strengthen existing relationships between peoples in Canada. CRE works to bring together groups of Indigenous and non-­‐Indigenous youth to engage in dialogue, breaking down walls and stereotypes that divide communities. CRE programming is directly coordinated and led by youth, for youth in partnership with cultural and community resources and support from adult allies.

CRE uses diverse educational approaches to reach different learning styles. This builds bridges through respectful dialogue, recreation, laughter, learning from communities and sharing together. CRE’s youth-­‐to-­‐youth initiatives engage Indigenous and non-­‐Indigenous young people from urban, rural and remote communities to learn first hand about the Indigenous communities in Canada.   CRE engages youth leaders from different parts of Canada to make this programming possible.

With support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, CRE is expanding the Indigenous Reconciliation Initiative to 3 new parts of Ontario. This two-­‐year initiative will involve young leaders (between the ages of 18 to 29) from Manitoulin-­‐Sudbury, Six Nations-­‐Hamilton and Thunder Bay area. We are recruiting 4 youth leaders from each region. Each team will be comprised of Indigenous and non-­‐Indigenous youth.

Phase 1 -­‐   Leadership Development: The Indigenous Reconciliation Initiative will participate in an intensive orientation, learning and training retreat Friday January 24, 2014 to January 29, 2014 to learn from each other and strengthen their skills and knowledge.   The retreat will be held just outside of Toronto. The retreat will involve orientation to the process of reconciliation and decolonization as well as training in facilitation, cross-­‐cultural education, Indigenous history, culture and worldviews.   The selected youth who will form 3 leadership teams representing the 3 different regions.   The teams will work together to develop tools and action plans for the second phase of the project.

Phase 2 – Community Engagement: The Reconciliation Leadership Teams will return to their regions equipped with the tools to deliver workshops and activities for youth in their region. This phase of the project will put into action what takes place during the learning retreat. Youth will implement at least 1 monthly activity that brings together Indigenous and non-­‐Indigenous youth in their region.

Phase 3 – Youth Leadership Exchange 2014: The leadership teams will be participating and getting further training in a 2 week summer exchange organized by CRE. The exchange will be in a different region from where the youth reside. The timing of this exchange is tentatively planned for August 2014.

Phase 4 – Community Engagement/ Exchange Planning: With increased skills from the leadership exchange, youth leaders will return to their communities and continue to engage local youth through interactive workshops and local community events. The regional teams will also recruit and screen youth to participate in a regional youth exchange to be planned the following spring/ summer.

Phase 5 -­‐ Regional Youth Exchanges: The leadership teams will be involved in planning and delivering in collaboration with CRE a week long exchange program for youth in their region. Exchanges will take place in the spring or summer of 2015 and will enable local youth to gain further leadership skills.

Phase 6 – Provincial Wide Conference: Youth will share results and learning of this 2 year project at a province wide conference for youth in the fall of 2015. This conference is tentatively planned to take place in Sudbury, Ontario.

Who are we looking for?

This is an initiative that will take place between January 2014 and December 2016. It will involve three teams of 4 youth between the ages of 18 and 29 years.  Each team will be comprised of youth leaders living in the region identified. Youth who are not living in these regions will not be considered. We are inviting active youth leaders who would like to strengthen bridges between Indigenous and non-­‐Indigenous communities and who can serve as positive role models to youth.

Regional teams will include the following

Sudbury-­‐Manitoulin – 4 youth comprised of youth living in Sudbury and Manitoulin area   Thunder Bay Area – 4 youth leaders living in Thunder Bay and surrounding area (within 100 km of Thunder Bay)

Six Nations-­‐Hamilton – 4 youth leaders living in Hamilton or Six Nations

What is involved?  Do I get paid?

While this is a volunteer project (involving a time commitment of approximately 15 hours per month), all project expenses will be covered. This includes food, lodging and transportation to participate in the orientation retreat in January 2014 and the summer leadership exchange. It also includes a modest budget for activities associated with your activities during the second stage of the project (such as transportation, activity costs). All team members who successfully complete the entire 2 year project will receive a stipend of $750.

Interested in becoming a Canadian Roots – Youth Reconciliation Leader?

Checklist

• I am youth between the ages of 18 and 29 years of age and will fall in this age for the duration of the project (January 2014 to December 2016);
• I currently reside in Sudbury-­‐Manitoulin, Thunder Bay area, Hamilton-­‐Six Nations and will remain in this region for the next 2 years.
• I identify as First Nations, Inuit or Métis OR I have some knowledge about First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities in my region and I have a strong interest in learning more;
• I am excited to work as a team with a group of Indigenous and non-­‐Indigenous youth;
• I am motivated to challenge myself and others to learn more about Indigenous history, culture and issues as well as other the histories of ethno-­‐racial minority groups in Canada – and I want to dispel harmful stereotypes and myths;
• I am comfortable facilitating workshops, giving presentations and organizing activities with youth in my region and would like to improve my skills in these areas;
• I am able to dedicate 15 hours of volunteer work per month between January 2014 and December 2016
• I am available to participate in a training retreat between January 24 and January 29, 2014 and a 2 week leadership exchange in August 2014.

I am INTERESTED!  How do I apply?

To be considered to be a Canadian Roots – Youth Reconciliation Leader, you will need to send a resume and covering letter explaining why you would like to be part of this project. Please talk about what skills and experiences you feel that you can offer to the team, as well as what skills and knowledge you would like to improve. Feel free to include any links to blogs, websites, videos or other creative projects you have been involved with.

Please note that all selected youth will be part of a regional team. Each team must include a minimum of one First Nations, Inuit or Métis youth. CRE will select youth leaders to ensure that 5 different provinces/ territories have teams of at least 2 youth. If you are from a smaller community you may wish to encourage other youth leaders from your community with whom you’d like to work to apply.

Please send your application to: volunteer@canadianroots.ca

All applications must be in MS Word or pdf format. If you have any questions about this project feel free to contact us at the same email address.

The deadline to apply is January 5, 2014 at 11:59pm EST

Interviews and selections will be concluded the week of January 6.  Please note that only short-­‐ listed candidates will be contacted.   Earlier applications are encouraged.

Canadian Roots is committed to principles of equity. In your letter please let us know if you qualify as Inuit, First Nations, Métis or if you identify with an ethno-­‐racial minority community.