I sit on the Premier’s Council on Youth Opportunities. It is an advisory board made up of 25 people ranging from youth, young professionals, to those working in the youth sector. Each month we meet to advise ministries and the Premier on policies and programming that will directly affect Ontario’s young people. Not only has this been a great opportunity to advocate for the young people I know and work with but it has been an excellent learning opportunity on the barriers to success young people face across our province.
One risk factor for young people is where they reside. Young people living in rural areas of Ontario have been identified as one of the groups with a higher chance of becoming at risk. This can be due to a number of reasons two of which are: the lack of resources readily available to them and the lack of funding spent on rural areas. Often rural youth are forgotten, looked over, and indirectly told every day that life is better in urban centres. There are more resources, more education options, and more access to employment, more everything in urban centres. Rarely is the message one of rural positivity. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of data documenting the migration of young people to urban centers. This deprives rural areas of the energy, insight, initiative, and fresh ideas that young people have to offer. Something that does have the potential to benefit these young people is the support they have within their own communities. One of the ways communities can support their young people is by allowing them to feel that they matter, that they are important, and that they belong. A great way to instill these beliefs is to recognize the work young people do within their communities. The chance to showcase youth within their hometown is an important step in encouraging further engagement of youth. Recognizing what youth do for our community lets them know we see them, we appreciate them, and that there is a place here for them.
I want to share with you a great opportunity to recognize local youth that are engaged in the process of creating a better future for rural Ontario. The Rural Ontario Institute is looking for nominations of young people, 29 and younger. The Institute would like to profile compelling stories of youth engagement, highlight the impact youth can have in their local communities, and demonstrate how communities of all shapes and sizes, are successfully engaging and supporting youth in addressing local challenges.
If you know of a young person (29 and under) in your community who is actively engaged in the process of community improvement please nominate them at: http://www.ruralontarioinstitute.ca/youth_engagement_showcase.aspx.
Let our youth know how important they are to our rural communities. Nominate a young person today. Deadline for nominations is November 27th.
Thank you for supporting Ontario’s youth.
Maddy