SC conferences youth program

The Students Commission Conference with the
Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement

Conference Program

Plenary Sessions:
During the conference, adults and youth attend and participate in Plenary sessions with youth speakers and a question and answer dialogue with the audience. Key concepts are introduced through various large group interactive activities. Expect it to be lively, loud, emotional at times and energizing.

Youth Discussion Teams:
Youth delegates and facilitators meet in their discussion teams to share their ideas and experiences of the problems, causes and solutions to the issues they have chosen (eg. mental and physical health, violence, drug abuse, relationships etc.).

Adult Workshops:
While youth delegates are meeting in their discussion teams, adult delegates meet in a workshop format led by experienced youth programmers and researchers from the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement.

Team Production Sessions:
Adult and Youth Teams work together on Tools and Action Plans for community projects to take home. Applied Theory and Practice.

Optional Activities:
Our program is intense. Past conference delegate evaluations have recommended a break with optional activities that allow for networking opportunities, casual conversation and recreation and relaxation. In the afternoons and evenings, there are Optional Activities and Casual Workshops created by participants in the areas of sports, drama, drumming, dances, song writing, video production, press release writing, and napping!

Evaluation:
With the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement, funded by Health Canada, Brock University and Wilfrid Laurier University, The Students Commission conducts on-going research on the impact and outcomes of our Commission conferences. Results are being published in academic journals, and summaries are available at www.engagementcentre.ca.

Learning Process

At The Students Commission, the emphasis is on process and youth empowerment through achievement. The role of adults is to facilitate the process of discovery, self-confidence and skill development.

Youth:
* learn respect for individual differences
* learn to work together
* end ignorance through communication
* learn by doing
* discover they can make a difference
* gain confidence by making their voices heard
* become empowered through achievement and adult respect

Diversity

The Students Commission starts from the premise that every youth has ideas that can make a difference if they are given the framework and the tools.

We specifically seek out a balanced youth group representing various levels of academic achievement (vocational, basic, general and advanced levels), representing various family income levels, representing varying ethnic groups, linguistic groups, varying levels of articulateness and varied personal interests.

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