International day for Youth: Red Deer, August 26 and 27, 2011

Introduction
Theme and purposes of this forum


According to the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD), over 50% of Blacks who immigrated recently live in a chronic poverty. The visible minority immigrants are overrepresented in low-paying jobs, manuals, service and sales, and under-represented significantly in the professional and rewarding jobs.

How then can we reverse this trend?

 

How could Young people from immigrant families be part of the solution? Youth are not all facing the same challenges of integration in terms of academic and professional success. Their path depends on many factors including the fact that they were born in Canada, arrived there very young or have arrived at their age of adolescence. However, we noticed that what they  have in common is the fact of living in families facing enormous difficulties of integration. As consequences, these problems faced by their parents tend to have a negative impact on their children. Whereas the pursuit of excellence is an essential parameter for the success of a project of socio-professional integration in Canada, the theme of the day we chose was:

Excellence, a target within my reach

What is this about:

 

  • to create, for youth, a space for analysis of their personal situation and that of their communities in order to equip them to develop a plan of action individually and collectively;
  • to offer young people a few models that can inspire and leave a positive message that would encourage them to face the challenges and reach personal growth and community development.


The idea of ​​introducing positive role models comes from a recognition that parents of immigrant origin are rarely a model for their children because, in most cases, loss of social status subsequent to the immigration process. Indeed, the de-occupational classification (such as doctors who become cab drivers) and loss of income, have a negative impact on the perception that young people have of their parents. For many of these youth, their parents are no longer social models. However in our communities of immigrant origin, there are young people and adults whose life course can be inspiring for others, especially those in their communities:

 

  • Who are these people to take as models?
  • What was their way of life since coming to Canada?
  • What goals are being met or continued?
  • What can we learn from their experiences?
  • This is what the forum organizers decided to highlight.

Conclusion and Recommandations


Has this forum achieved its objectives? The main objective of this forum was to create a space for dialogue for young people to discuss excellence in various aspects. The interest shown by young people who came in large numbers is an indicator of the importance they gave to this event. Indeed, a total of 46 young adults and 24 parents, in addition to community leaders responded to the invitation of the AJFAS.


In addition, the pursuit of excellence has been made in various angles, depending on the experience of the presenters (socio-humanitarians, academics, artistics and scientifics). Note also that the majority of youth felt challenged to go further in the pursuit of excellence, including their education, artistic passion, etc ... Let us add that the young people now know that there are structured organizations created and run by people of immigrant origin and who can serve as a model.

 

Among other indicators of success:

 

  •  The quality of speakers and the relevance of their interventions. All keynote speakers addressed the same theme but from different angles;
  •  The majority of youth participants indicated that the forum had met their expectations and they would come back next year;
  • For others, the forum should be done as often as possible and we should not wait until next year to do it again since it allows to galvanize young people;
  • Some young participants indicated that the forum was an opportunity for personal growth, motivation and above all hope in their journey. Others acknowledged that they had a long way to the direction of success;
  • Let us also emphasize that the forum was an opportunity for awareness that most immigrants face the same challenges and that young people should take their destiny. Some would become mentors to help younger or be a voice and make a collective reflection.


The choice of location of the event was a precursor to the success of this forum. Frank and sincere discussions between young people, in the presence of their parents has broken some barriers, and decreased prejudice. In addition, Red Deer was an opportunity for AJFAS to have new partnerships, including the Mayor of the City of Red Deer and Red Deer Regional ACFA. The presence and contribution of parents and community representatives also contributed to success.

Recommendations made by participants:

 

  •  Focus groups: Participants hoped that these groups are better structured, meaning that educated young people would be grouped by their level of studies;
  • Promote exchanges between parents and young adults to discover, in some cases, how to get to know each other;
  • Hold a similar meeting in another city or to a larger conference with the participation of other regions, since the challenges of young Francophone immigrants of African origin are the same;
  • That the Forum be held on two full days: Friday night to Sunday. The program would be expanded, then the organizers will have more flexibility to prepare. Saturday evening could be devoted to fun and cultural activities;
  • Create a discussion network between youth immigrants on monthly basis. Create a facebook page for AJFAS where all participants would exchange ideas. The Facebook page would allow the AJFAS to maintain contact with young adults, a good way to promote activities for young people and an opportunity to recruit new members and new volunteers;
  • Find additional ways to provide simultaneous translation in this type of event, because many participants are unilingual (English or French).

Conclusion

 

This forum was a resounding success as we know this is the first time this kind of event is organized. Despite the obvious problems of organization, among other issues like short notices and modest budget. In the future, AJFAS must decide on the short, medium and long term of this type of forum. Note finally that the secondary objective of the forum was to highlight possible Community actions for young people, such as mentoring. This objective was not achieved because the topic was not discussed explicitly. It is up to AJFAS to track it down by including in its plan strategies for of action.