Jingle dress dancers at the 2019 Heart of the Youth Powwow in Prince Albert. A youth led conference is being planned for the day before the powwow in 2020. (Brady Bateman/paNOW staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Youth talk

New conference to highlight young voices

Oct 29, 2019 | 8:15 AM

A youth led conference is being planned for May next year in Prince Albert.

Voices of our Youth (Weyawaw Oki Osakayak Pekiskwewina) will bring together non-profits and other service providers working with young people to hear directly from them about their needs, interests and experiences.

The idea for the event was born last May at a youth led conference in Saskatoon that was attended by representatives from P.A. based organizations including Tricia Lucyshyn of Sober House.

“It was so inspiring to hear from them, and about the care youth have for their communities,” she told paNOW after last night’s city council meeting.

Lucyshyn hopes participants in the Prince Albert conference will have a similarly moving experience, and be able to take the knowledge they gain to design better programs for the youth they serve.

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The conference already has six youth groups interested in presenting. Young speakers will cover topics including trauma and mental health, experiences in foster care, LGBTQ issues, and experiences with the justice system.

“The uniqueness of our goal is youth presenting to adult learners about their issues and their successes,” organizer Kevin Mugford said while introducing the idea to city council.

He added the timing of the event will coincide with the annual Heart of the Youth Powwow, set for May 22, the day after the conference.

“We hope this gives our youth the opportunity to be leaders [at the powwow] and make that even bigger and better,” he said.

The location of the Voices of Our Youth conference has not yet been finalized as organizers are still in the beginning phases of planning the event.

alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom