Canadian Rural Partnership
Rural Youth



THIRD YOUNG LEADERS IN RURAL CANADA AWARDS

Stakeholder Meeting Summary Report

Ottawa, Ontario
February 12, 2007

Index

FOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES

SUMMARY OF THE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

• What worked and why in your rural community?
• What were the key challenges? What lessons can we learn?
• How can stakeholders contribute?

CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS

1. FOREWORD

This report is a summary of discussions that took place at the Stakeholder Meeting held in Ottawa, Ontario on February 12, 2007. This meeting was part of the program to recognize the recipients of the third Young Leaders in Rural Canada Awards (YLRCA). No limits were placed on the participants during discussions. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Government of Canada.

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Rural Secretariat hosted a half-day Stakeholder Meeting involving the following:

• the Young Leaders in Rural Canada Awards recipients: Diane Carey, Noba Anderson, Luella Chiasson and Heather Muir;
• the members of the third Awards Review Committee;
• federal government representatives from: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Heritage, Environment Canada, Human Resources and Social Development Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Service Canada;
• representatives of youth organizations: the Canadian 4-H Council, the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement, the Forum for Young Canadians, HeartWood, Place aux Jeunes, and Youth in Motion;
• members of the National Rural Youth Network; and
• a representative from the City of Ottawa.

This event would not have been possible without the insightful contributions made by the 27 participants at the table discussions. We thank the youth, stakeholders and government representatives for their time, effort and interest in continuing discussions on rural youth. The Rural Secretariat also thanks them for sharing their stories and for providing information about youth programs and services during this meeting.

3. INTRODUCTION

The Young Leaders in Rural Canada Awards were initiated in 2003 as the Government of Canada's way of recognizing rural youth between the ages of 18 and 29 years old who share their passion and skills to the benefit of their rural, remote and/or northern communities. These annual Awards recognize individuals in each of the following three categories: Innovation, Leadership and Partnership. More information about these Awards and this year's recipients can be found on the Canadian Rural Partnership Web site (http://www.rural.gc.ca/dialogue/youth/index_e.phtml).

On February 12, 2007 the recipients of the third Young Leaders in Rural Canada Awards attended the Stakeholder Meeting to talk about their initiatives and were provided with an opportunity to exchange with representatives from federal government departments and youth organizations. In the evening, they were officially celebrated at a ministerial award ceremony dinner held in Ottawa.

This year, three recipients were recognized under the following categories:

Innovation: Diane Carey – Tracadie-Sheila, NB

Recognized for her innovative efforts in attracting youth to her rural community to address the issue of the high and rising level of rural-to-urban youth migration. She succeeded in attracting many youth, who had left to continue their education or in pursuit of employment, to return and work in the community.

Leadership: Noba Anderson – Manson's Landing, BC

Honoured for her leadership role in promoting community eco-forestry practices in her community of Cortes Island and beyond. Her initiative was done through the collaboration of a community group, a local First Nation and a logging company. They worked to resolve difficult land-use issues and presented their model to the provincial government.

Partnership: Luella Chiasson – originally from Belle Côte, NS

Rewarded for creating partnerships to develop collaborative opportunities focussed on youth. Luella was also instrumental in initiating a partnership between three Cape Breton organizations, which led to the development of their first joint-project – a youth awards program.

An Honourable Mention was also awarded in the following category:

Leadership: Heather Muir – Walkerton, ON

Acknowledged for her energy and contributions towards the high success of rural youth blood donation. Heather motivated and encouraged not only her peers but her entire community to give blood through the Canadian Blood Services.

4. PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the Stakeholder Meeting was to gain an understanding of what rural youth need to become innovators, leaders and partners.

Presentations were made by all the award recipients on their initiatives. Representatives from HeartWood, Place aux Jeunes, Service Canada and Canadian Heritage provided an overview of their role in working with rural youth. Facilitated table discussions followed.

The objectives of the stakeholder table discussions were:

• To create a network for all table participants.
• To provide an opportunity for table participants to identify gaps, lessons learned and barriers.
• To provide an opportunity for table participants to identify new stakeholders able to bridge the gaps.

In meeting these objectives, three questions were asked:

1. What worked and why in your rural community?
2. What were the key challenges? What lessons can we learn?
3. How can stakeholders contribute?

5. SUMMARY OF THE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

5.1 What worked and why in your rural community?

Even if their initiatives were very different, recipients were unanimous in saying that the reason as to why their projects worked in their communities was that youth engagement had been recognized. It was felt that having passionate people working on issues attracts others to the cause. Having initiatives led by youth for youth was also an important issue that was raised. They recognized that being a leader helps to get the ball rolling, including the ability to influence and obtain the support of local partners. Their philosophy was "the more people are involved (collaboration), the more powerful is the project or event". It was noted that sometimes media attention is needed to help awareness. The ability to demonstrate concrete results and to obtain financial support was identified as another key to success.

Other comments shared was that systematic change requires educating the policy-makers to ensure they can effectively listen to the ideas and solutions proposed by youth. The transfer of knowledge, whether inter-generationally or from one leader to another, was considered important to the continuity of an initiative or of an organization.

5.2 What were the key challenges? What lessons can we learn?

There were a number of key challenges raised by the award recipients reflecting on their projects (e.g. financial and human resources). It was expressed that youth should be creative when searching for resources. For example, asking for in-kind support such as the free use of office space. An important lesson is to seek the engagement and active participation of youth and promote their successes. It was reported that youth do not know where to go for support and are concerned about trusting someone. This, in turn, can make it challenging to obtain mentorship. Concerns were also raised over the sustainability of an initiative. The importance of celebrating the positive news and getting the word out about the successes was also noted.

One of the key challenges raised relating to the environment and natural resources is the general trend that young people are becoming disconnected from nature. Another was the need for women representation in rural community leadership roles and the need to examine how to attract women into these roles.

The award recipients expressed that believing in yourself and in your project was key for success. They indicated that youth should not hesitate to ask for help as they cannot know who may be able to support their project or initiative if they do not ask. There could be opportunities for assistance through "word of mouth" as people have networks of family, friends and business partners.

5.3 How can stakeholders contribute?

From the recipients' perspectives, they saw the need for stakeholders to invite rural youth at the table and to include them in discussions or opportunities for collaboration. They also felt that there needs to be a shift in mind-set. It was expressed that when youth approach stakeholders to support them in a project, stakeholders are quick to ask about the costs and what they get out of it. Collaboration was recognized as a way to bring people together to share services.

Stakeholders from federal government departments and youth organizations also provided valuable input on how they could contribute to the success of rural youth. The importance of mentorship in developing young leaders was acknowledged, and it is a way stakeholders could also contribute to an initiative. Government programs and services, as well as youth organizations, were considered great resources for providing skills in leadership, entrepreneurship and engagement. It was felt that shifting the way the rural youth awards are viewed and using them as an opportunity to change the recipients' roles – by focussing on them as mentors and stakeholders – could also contribute to other youth's success.

Stakeholders expressed that youth should not be shy or afraid to ask for support. They recognized that this was often an issue as youth are hesitant to do so or do not know who to go to. If youth have an idea or initiative and want support, they should begin by contacting their school, service clubs, local restaurants or other community leaders, such as the Mayor or their Member of Parliament. Although stakeholders may not be able to provide help for the youth's initiative, they could know someone through their networks that can offer support. It was reported that sometimes support can be provided in different forms. It may be financial or in-kind support or it may mean an opportunity to share space or provide a photocopier and other services. Through multiple contributors, the needed support could be obtained to achieve the goals of an initiative.

6. CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS

In summary, the Stakeholder Meeting has highlighted some of the key issues rural youth are facing to become innovators, leaders and partners. The perspectives shared helped to validate what other young rural Canadians have expressed through dialogues and what organizations/stakeholders know. Namely, youth want to be listened to, engaged and empowered to become successful leaders in their communities. They also want to provide a rural voice and be recognized for their contributions to initiatives.

Furthermore, youth understand that to be successful, they need to believe in what they are doing and to demonstrate results. Youth, stakeholders and government representatives alike recognized that mentorship is key to help youth develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Youth again raised the issue of funding and the sustainability of initiatives as challenges in rural communities.

For change to happen, there was recognition that policy-makers should be educated on issues raised by rural youth. There was also recognition that youth should ask for help. It was acknowledged that there is much to gain by using networks to achieve success. Networking was viewed as a means to increase commitment by developing relationships at multiple levels. These relationships can help to accelerate the achievement of the initiative's deliverables.

Participants will be able to take these lessons learned and to reflect on what actions could be taken at the rural community level. These lessons learned could also facilitate, where possible, the implementation of strategies to address the rural youth issues that were raised.