We have an amazing week planned!  A copy of the working schedule can be found here,  but here are some of the highlights!

 

We are pleased to announce that Young People’s Theatre (YPT) is a partner in the project and will be  guiding the youth Participants in the creation of their culminating performance to younger children at YMCA Cedar Glen on Friday, July 5^th.  Together they will present a collection of performances that touch on all the ways the youth have explored themes of diversity and inclusion throughout the week.  The goal is for youth participants to feel they have a toolkit of stories and activities they can take home with them to inspire other children and youth in their own communities to reflect on their own ideas for personal action.

 

Throughout the week, youth will be working with and learning from our exceptional program partners already engaged in addressing the barriers and challenges to inclusion.  For example,

 

The Students Commission of Canada will kick off the week with their brand new #ThisIsCanada workshop enabling participants to explore a timeline of key events throughout Canadian history not typically found in textbooks. By reflecting on the Canadian government’s historical priorities and approaches to diversity and inclusion, participants will share their own experiences to build a more complete narrative of Canada’s past and present.”

 

Big Brothers, Big Sisters National Youth Mentoring Advisory Council will conduct a workshop sharing their personal mentoring experiences and offering tips and tricks on engaging and mentoring young people to become drivers of change in their communities.

 

TNO – THE NEIGHBOURHOOD ORGANIZATION will invite youth participants to their space to learn about Settlement Services as it pertains to youth. TNO serves the highest concentration of newcomer youth in Toronto and have been providing integration services including newcomer orientations, school success strategies, and community information and referrals that are geared towards positive strategies to cope with social isolation. In our session we will tour one of Toronto’s most diverse and innovative neighbourhoods and view the largest kindergarten school in North America.

 

The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) will encourage youth to break barriers and build bridges together.  It’s important to educate our youth to think critically, have empathy, see bias, and advocate for peace, civility, and justice. Youth will leave this activity-based workshop with an awareness about Islam and Muslims and that there is more that unites us than divides us as Canadians.

 

Covenant House will deliver a “ Reality Check” workshop, deglamourizing street life and discussing the struggle homeless youth face – how they’re driven to steal, sell drugs or worse, targeted by predators and often trading their dignity to survive. The session will include a video featuring Covenant House youth describing the challenges they faced on the street and what they’ve done to overcome them.

Forum participants will be encouraged to challenge stereotypes; see homeless youth with compassion; and to volunteer in their own communities and “pay it forward”.

 

Community Living Toronto will challenge youth participants to reshape their notions of disability. Through guided discussions and interactive exercises, youth will be encouraged to explore the idea of disability as one of the many elements of diversity. Participants will be introduced to the diversity and inclusion tool “Spinclusion”: a fun, interactive game that increases awareness about inclusion with children and youth. Following the workshop, youth participants will receive a copy of the tool to utilize the game “Spinclusion” in their own schools and communities.

 

At Daily Bread Food Bank, youth participants will be sorting food collected from food drives in the community and packaging fresh produce donated by farm partners, which will then be delivered to food banks across the city of Toronto. The sorting and packaging will take place at 3 different stations in the warehouse. During the visit, an orientation and tour of the facility will be provided, where participants will learn more about the issue of hunger.