It is a commonly held belief that Canada’s future rests in the hands of our children and youth, and that, as they learn, grow, and become active participants in Canadian society, they will shape our values and determine our future social and economic course. If it is true, then the care we demonstrate, the investments…
Contents: Volume 25, Issue 2 (2013)
Community engagement and development offer youth the opportunity to communicate their desires and have their voices heard. But young Canadians do not participate in community life, for example, political elections, political campaigns, or interest groups, in the same capacity as older Canadians. They are less interested in and have less knowledge of politics (O’Neill, 2007),…
Show Roger Hart’s Ladder of Young People’s Participation (1997) to a room full of engaged young people and you will likely be greeted with vigorous head nods. “How many of you have experienced the bottom three rungs of the ladder—manipulation, decoration, or tokenism?” I tentatively asked a youth audience several years ago during a civic…
Introduction Indigenous peoples in Canada belong to diverse and distinct Nations and are an increasingly young population. Although Indigenous communities differ in language, culture, and geographical location, they often share similar political and social histories that have had many negative intergenerational effects on the current generation. Unless the situation changes for the better for Indigenous…
Introduction When I saw the call for papers for this special edition “Young People and the Future of Philanthropy,” I jumped at the opportunity to contribute to this important dialogue. As a worker, employer, and volunteer in the nonprofit sector, I am acutely aware that young people have many choices about how to direct their…
Introduction This article discusses the stigma faced by young people growing up in state care. It presents an exploration of the concept of stigma and considers the potential economic, social, and political consequences of growing up with a public stigma. It then describes techniques that support the engagement of young care-leavers by providing a platform…
Introduction This article is about ways in which digital natives converse day-to-day and explains the value in knowing how they converse. “Digital native” is a term that is used to describe young people in First World countries who were born into an era during which the Internet truly became popular: the digital era. The focus…
In 2012, Jamaica celebrated its 50th Anniversary of Independence and nationhood. Jamaica’s Golden Jubilee was marked by a series of celebrations in Jamaica and across the Jamaican Diaspora. In Canada, a not-for-profit organization, Jamaica 50 Celebration Inc., was established to plan and execute a year-long program of celebratory events and activities in Toronto and the Greater…
Background The idea of renewing or revisioning philanthropy, so that it better serves young people, is of great personal interest to me. I have spent most of my working life as an educator, counsellor, researcher, psychologist, and advocate trying to improve the lives of youth, particularly those pushed to the margins of Canadian society or…
According to the 2006 Canadian Census, there was a total of 1,172,785 Aboriginal people in Canada, comprising 3.8% of the Canadian population. In 2006, the median age of the total Aboriginal population was 27 years, 13 years lower than the median age of non-Aboriginals (Statistics Canada, 2008). The increase in Aboriginal children and youth comes at…