Casey Murray, Saskatoon
Saskatchewan
My first contact with the Students
Commission (SC) was in February of '99. I was involved
with a group at my school called Youth Facilitator
Training (YFT). We did things like hold discussions in
classrooms, school showcasing of assets with students and
teachers, participate in events with the other high
schools involved with the project and we also did some
events including all of the high schools in Saskatoon.
The co-ordinator of YFT heard about this national
conference called Sharing Resources 2000. The theme of
the conference was child poverty, which wasn't a topic
that I'd specifically explored very much, but I mean-- it
was a trip to Banff.....who could resist.
By the end of the first day, I was
totally hooked, I was blown away. I had never before seen
so many people with such passion about about an issue. To
see 150 young people with this gleam in their eye;
imagine the look a child has when you tell them that
they're going to Disneyland. It was that kind of energy,
that kind of fervor. The community atmosphere that was
created was like nothing that I'd ever experienced. That
conference changed my life, it changed the whole
direction that I was headed.
To me that 's what The Students
Commission is: a catalyst for change that can work in
nearly any environment. Whether it's an international
conference on war-affected children or a locally based
campaign on child poverty, SC engages/involves/gives
voice to (whatever buzz word you want to use) young
people and gives them a positive outlet to channel their
energy into. The side effect of this kind of involvement
is that these young people start to feel connected with
the community around them, they start to have a vested
interest in that community.
I think the next step for SC needs
to be more directly affecting the adult world. Many
organizations in the private, government and
non-government sectors are open to and, in many cases,
looking for youth involvement but they just don't know
how to do it effectively or meaningfully. It is a very
fine line between empowerment and
manipulation/tokenism/decoration. The difference is
rarely derived from intentions; rather, it comes from
lack of knowledge and experience. SC can play a key role
in helping adult organizations with both.
Myron
Wolfchild, Cardston Alberta
I first became involved with the
Students Commission when I attended one of their Sharing
Resources 2000 Child Poverty Conference held in
Newfoundland. I had just helped to organizea project
related to "Child Poverty" my Blood Nation Reserve and
the supervisor of the Kainai Children's Services told us
about the conference, we were interested and than a
person by the name of Pytor Hodgson came to do some
introductions on the Students Commission to the Youth
Group that I was the Chairperson of.
The Students Commission means a lot
of things to me. It means hope and vision for the future
of Canada. It means a lot to my people, here on the Blood
Reserve, because we were directly influenced by the
support that The Students Commission always provides. The
Students Commission, is something that has always been
there to help me when I needed help and was always there
to guide me into right directions regarding my work and
the organizations that I worked for. To me it means we,
as youth, have a voice, across Canada that has been
developed by The Students Commission and the young people
that get involved with the organization. It means,
something true, something that is not a flash in the pan,
but a long-lasting light that guides young people in
Canada into the right directions whether it be their
personal, community, or family life. It has helped me
become and feel like a leader and has given me the
courage to take on obstacles and welcoming the
opportunities. It has given me self-confidence,
self-esteem, and self-respect all of which, at once in my
life, I did not have. The Students Commission means a lot
to me, my friends, my reserve and my people.
I think that the role of The
Students Commission at this present time should b, to
become a more local organization so that more young
people can access the wonderful things that The Students
Commission does. In Canada, there is so much that can be
done, and SC is one of those organizations that walks the
talk. It has helped so many young people come out of
their personal or community problems and done so much for
Canada that it must be given the opportunity to access
more resources to continue its more needed and wonderful
work with the young people in Canada. Native Communities
in Canada would truly benefit from The Students
Commission, through it's positive environment and working
skills and outgoing support and dedication to the
communities across Canada. The Students Commission should
focus a little bit more on Aboriginal in Canada, perhaps
in the areas, of Aboriginal Rights and Aboriginal
Empowerment and participation in the national level and
international level. It deserves to be a more local
community based organization, located in much more
communities so that other Canadians could benefit from
the great things that it does.