If the youth in the city are the future, it stands to reason that they need a voice to address youth issues. The Yorkton Alliance of Asset Champions has been working to develop a new group to give youth that voice. The Yorkton Understanding Minds of Many Youth (YUMMY), is that group.
According to Vicki Lazurko with YUMMY, the goals of the group are to address youth issues and needs to city council and other community organizations, provide a powerful voice for youth in the city, and encourage other youth to get involved in making the city of Yorkton a great place to live.
The committee will consist of 15 youth ranging in age from 14-20. At the end of each school year, in May, two youth co-chairs and a secretary will be elected by the overall committee. Meetings will be held five times annually throughout the school year, and there will be five meetings per year, with sub-committee meetings held as necessary.
The committee will make recommendations to City Council on youth issues, and Lazurko hopes to see the group involved in decision making that affects youth in the community.
One of the first initiatives undertaken by YUMMY will be Youth Speak 2011: Connecting Youth and Adults Together in Yorkton. The youth summit will take place April 13-14 at the Yorkton Gallagher Centre. Meaghann White with YUMMY says that the event hopes to attract 250 youth and 50 adults to find ways to get youth involved in the community.
The event will feature speakers from Hampton, West Virginia discussing the importance of youth getting involved in their community through city planning, activities to get youth thinking of local issues, a live band and breakout sessions to focus on solutions to local issues. White describes the event as the kick-off to getting youth excited about sharing their opinions with community leaders.
White says the summit will be about bridging the gap between youth and adults, having their voices heard in the community in a meaningful way, and being part of positive change in the community.
On the second day of the conference, community leaders will be invited to come together with the attendees to discuss the issues from the day before.
The group will also be sending members to the National Conference on Developmental Assets, held in Regina on May 4-6, where presenters from across Canada and Australia will discuss issues related to youth.
