Contents
Message From The Founders Rising Youth Global Youth Service Summit Samuel Connected North Youth Leadership Fund & Scotiabank / Moose Factory (on-the-land) Connected North Connected North Related Programs Dental Health Future Pathways Connecting With Our First Family Create To Learn Code To Learn 2
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EQWIP HUBs
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Project 1324
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Samuel Centre For Social Connectedness
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Tig Solutions
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Global Encounters
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Unlocking Culture
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EDC Djibouti
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OCAD SJRK
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Whose Land
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#Decarbonize/Decolonize
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9 11 12 12 13 14 16 18
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H T T P : // W W W. R I S I N G YOU T H .C A
Rising Youth is a program led by TIG to help Canadian youth build our country while developing life skills by giving back to their communities. We help increase youth involvement through community service grants that support their projects and ideas for making their communities a better place. The program was designed for individuals or a group in Canada to involve youth through a service initiative. Since this program was created, over 500 Canadians have received Rising Youth grants to bring their ideas to life that benefit their communities. These initiatives include a garden, a multicultural mural, meals for the homeless, networking events, and many more. 6
976 grant applications approved of 1012 grants applied for in total | $954,500 in grant funds disbursed | We hit our 1000th grant approved milestone in Dec 2018 | 69% of grantees are from under-represented youth categories (the goal was 50%) | Over 20,000 volunteer hours logged by participants | Average turnaround time from applying for a grant to being approved is 18 days
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G LOB A L YOU T H S E RV IC E S U M M I T
On August 28th, 2018, leaders from around the globe came together in Toronto to co-create the future of youth service culture in Canada. Both days of the summit were generously hosted by Cisco Canada in their Toronto headquarters. During this time, participants were given the chance to explore the models of youth service currently being employed by organizations throughout the coalition and from the broader youth-serving sector. In three rounds of presentations, participants heard from youth alumni from various organizations, learning about their models and the approaches, and the impact they have in achieving their objectives. The main emerging themes that were addressed during the summit included:
1 Breaking Silos | 2 Involving Marginalized Groups | 3 Strengthening Communities 8
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H T T P : // W W W.YOU T H L E A DE R S H I PF U N D.ORG
YOU T H L E A DE R S H I P F U N D & S C O T I A B A N K / MO O S E FAC T ORY (ON-T H E-L A N D)
We connected Indigenous youth to resources that helped develop their passions and gifts through The Samuel Connected North Youth Leadership Fund. This collaborative partnership was made possible by the financial support of The Samuel Family Foundation, which helped us create learning and leadership opportunities among Indigenous Youth leadership, acknowledging the critical role that First Nations, Métis, and Inuit young people play in creating positive change and wellness in their communities. There were three grants available for Indigenous youth: • Travel grants for conferences, gatherings and trainings • Scholarships for leadership and learning opportunities • Community project grants for social innovation and leadership initiatives 9
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“I wanted to show the students a world that many of them rarely have the chance to access. Our ability to conduct field trips is limited due to our isolation and our connectivity issues make many of the digital platforms unavailable for effective use. Linking the outside world to the community helps students to engage with the learning units that we are exploring and see how they may be applied to the real world in a concrete way.” — G R A D E 6 T E AC H E R 10
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H T T P : // W W W.C ON N E C T E DNORT H .ORG
Connected North is a leading-edge program that delivers interactive education services to schools in remote northern communities through high-definition two-way video communication and collaboration technology. The goal of Connected North is to provide participating schools with access to content that is engaging and innovative, with the hope of increasing feelings of empowerment in school and life. This includes interactive sessions with virtual guest speakers and Indigenous role models, virtual field trips with engaging places of interest along with cultural exchanges and collaborations between schools across Canada. The selection of session content is guided by the needs of teachers and students in both a classroom context and in after school learning environment. We also strive to support leadership development opportunities for individuals and groups of students and teachers. 11
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Connected North Related Programs
DE N TA L H E A LT H
According to The Canadian Institute for Health Information, Nunavut students have the highest rate of tooth decay surgery. With support from The Green Shield Canada Foundation and Colgate, we launched a new oral health training initiative targeting interested Connected North schools in the territory. Public Health students at Algonquin College developed an interactive session to deliver to middle and high school students in Arviat, Nunavut, who received a full year’s supply of toothbrushes and toothpaste donated by Colgate. Next school year the program will expand to two additional communities, and we hope the initiative will lead to increased oral health awareness and outcomes for these students we reach! 12
F U T U R E PAT H WAYS
This year, with support from the RBC Foundation, we continued to develop the Connected North Future Pathways pilot project and discovery phase. Our goal was to connect with Indigenous Student Leaders to determine the schools and programs that are ready to connect with Connected North schools. Throughout the pilot phase of this program, members of our team at TakingITGlobal had the opportunity to learn from Indigenous students and teachers at the High School level while at the same time connecting with Indigenous students, Faculty, and Staff on campus of ten PostSecondary Institutions. After speaking at various schools, we had a great number of programs, students, and faculties willing to participate in Connected North Future Pathways, as the initiative was well received by the majority of the institutions we spoke with.
665 students participated in Future Pathways sessions across 18 Connected North Schools, surpassing our goal of 420 students |
Approximately
62 partnerships have been formed that compose the Future Pathways program relationships | 25 volunteers have been secured across participating institutions to deliver programming | Approximately 58 hours have been provided by volunteers to date in supporting program design and implementation 13
Connecting With Our First Family
In 2018, TakingITGlobal’s Connected North program partnered with Indigenous Artist and Visual Story Teller Nyle Johnston at Miigizi Creations to develop an Ojibwe Language and Education Resource Kit called Connecting With Our First Family. The purpose of the project is to support students and educators in the process of understanding and appreciating the many diverse Indigenous languages, cultures and communities while strengthening connection to identity and our relationship to the land. In May 2018, the Connecting With Our First Family exhibition, featuring different line drawings of animals, birds and insects created by Miigizi, which exemplified our connection to the land and to one another, made its official debut at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). The collection of images were later transformed into a series of educational resources, games and learning activities for classrooms and youth groups. 14
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The project also serves as a catalyst for developing resources in other Indigenous languages in communities where Connected North partner schools are based. We also hope this will inspire young people to develop their own ideas, creativity and talents as leaders of their communities who have a role in shaping the future. We would like to acknowledge that there are many different dialects and written forms across the diverse Indigenous languages that have been translated as part of this resource and we are grateful to the community members who have shared their teachings, understanding and translations as part of this project. 15
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H T T P : // W W W.C R E AT E T OL E A R N.C A
Create To Learn is a program in which Indigenous youth develop digital media skills and receive new technology equipment and resources. Being a Youth Media Activator is a role that involves creating videos that share their stories and running digital media workshops with their peers in the communities. We successfully held our first training summit in Toronto on March 24 and 25, 2018, where 21 Indigenous youth had the opportunity to develop digital skills across devices: macOS, GoPro, 360 videography, and
DJI
storytelling
Drones. skills
They that
also
will
developed
add
context
ideation,
brainstorming
and
to
digital
and
their
skills
training efforts. The participants networked and shared experiences from their communities through activities: a Hockey Hall of Fame tour, Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game, visit to the House of VR to experience immersive digital content, and film screenings. We hosted the second Create To Learn training summit in Toronto for our next 23 program participants, August 27th - 31st.
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We’ve expanded the duration of the summit from three days to five which will allow participants to have more handson training and produce videos before returning to their home communities. The screening of the videos at the end of the week was a great success and source of inspiration, open to family and friends. Youth have returned to their communities and begun ideation on
developing
digital
storytelling
projects that will engage their peers as training opportunities, inspired by their community and their experiences. They have established a system to share the equipment resources with other youth in their communities. We are hosting weekly sessions with guest speakers that are open to all communities to attend and participate. We have created an online open training forum where the youth can share progress, ideas and questions with each other and the coordinators.
“Create To Learn was one of my greatest memories because we learned about the whole process of making film and how to use the equipment. It was so much fun to learn and now that we are back in Cambridge Bay we are planning a workshop for the youth.” — C R E AT E T O L E A R N S T U D E N T | N U N AV U T 17
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H T T P : // W W W.C ODE T OL E A R N.C A
In 2018, TIG partnered with school boards across Canada and MicroWorlds Jr. and EX software to make the Code to Learn initiative possible. Code to Learn provides their award-winning software free of charge to teachers (previously $99) to help educators across all subjects incorporate computational thinking and coding activities that actively engage students in constructing ideas and projects. Over 100 educator champions have been trained across Canada to deliver professional learning in their districts and schools, and free online courses are available for educators to share ideas and deepen their practice. 18
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H T T P : // W W W. EQW I PH U B S . N E T
EQWIP HUBs is a collaborative platform that brings together 17 youth innovation spaces from across the globe to approach long-term sustainable development. HUBs also provide innovative resources for youth to develop market-relevant skills, build networks, learn from mentors, and access technology. Offering volunteering placement opportunities designed for young Canadian professionals, EQWIP HUBs also allows youth to immerse themselves and apply their skills in a new job, city, and country for up to one year. We partnered with EQWIP HUBs to create an online platform that supports local staff, participants, and Canadian volunteers across HUBs called the eHUB. We report on the development and implementation of the eHUB, monitoring how many youth are accessing and completing modules offered online, developing opportunities and making it as beneficial as possible for all users. Some other responsibilities include support knowledge sharing between volunteers representing all HUBs, digital engagement consultations with country teams and providing technical support. 19
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H T T P : // W W W. PRO J E C T 1 3 2 4 .C OM
Project 1324 supports a global community of creatives ages 13 to 24 who collaborate together to create and use media as a tool for social change. Through a series of global digital art projects co-hosted with some of the world’s most inspiring organizations, Project 1324 provides opportunities for emerging creatives to connect, collaborate on projects, and increase the visibility and impact of their work. Three types of challenges were hosted by Community Advisors with their organizations in their local community. The efforts of the Community Advisors led to over 200 media submissions to the Project 1324 community. Some of the themes and issues explored were: • Handling conflict
• Environmental issues
• Cultural identities
• What drives you?
• Issues that make us feel trapped
• Portraits of inspiration
15 original pieces created by Community Advisors were exhibited at the UN Youth Assembly in 2018. 20
11 new Challenges hosted by Community Advisors | 295 original media pieces | 8 Local Exhibitions | 1600 youths engaged through Local Exhibitions
“As an artist, I always want my work to make a positive impact on the world. Being a Community Advisor for Project 1324 has given me a chance to make a bigger impact than I ever thought I could. This program provided me the opportunity to work with inspiring young artists from around the world, showcase my media pieces in various capacities, and find new inspirations to continue making media for social change.” — M AY M U N A H S T RO U D | AT L A N TA , G E O RG I A , U S 21
56 articles were posted in the months of Jan - June 2018 (before transition period) | 2 Fellowships *24 Fellows combined | Winter 2018: 7 Fellows Summer 2018: 17 Fellows
“Having opportunities for more connection can be a really positive thing…” — RO S A N A C A D E | ( WA L K I N G , H O L D I N G: A P E R F O R M A N C E T H AT M A K E S E V E RYO N E A P O T E N T I A L C O M PA N I O N ARTICLE)
“I believe that work starts with young people, and succeeds only so far as they have the opportunities and platforms to put their compassion to work.” — KIM SAMUEL | (S A F E T Y I N B E L O N G I N G ARTICLE)
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“Isolation is the feeling of sitting alone at the bottom of a well. Connectedness is the feeling of belonging.” — KIM SAMUEL | (J O I N T H E M OV E M E N T SECTION OF THE WEBSITE)
H T T P : // W W W. S O C I A L C ON N E C T E DN E S S .ORG During the beginning months of 2018, as a
tasks, TIG played a role in facilitating both the
core partner of the Movement for Social
Winter Fellowship and the start of the Summer
Connectedness, TakingItGlobal helped to
Fellowship programming through support and
support the curation and incubation of the
guidance of the Fellows’ work. This programming
Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness
provided a platform for recent undergraduates
(SCSC). Amid this time of transition, TIG’s
to flex their skills in research, analysis and
role
a
outreach in subject matters related to social
committed, growing community that focuses on
isolation and the development of connectedness
overcoming social isolation and advancing social
and community.
in
supporting
the
dedication
of
connectedness, took multiple forms.
Lastly, as a still present key partner of the
One of our main roles in 2018 was the
Movement for Social Connectedness, post
continuation of curating and publishing articles
establishment of the SCSC, TIG participated
on the Social Connectedness website that
in the “Supporting the Whole Student
address the concerns of social isolation alongside
Workshop” hosted in Montreal, October 15th
past and ongoing initiatives designed to build
and 16th 2018. This workshop focused on what an
community and connectedness. In addition to the
inclusive classroom looks like, barriers to student
management of the website, we were responsible
engagement and best practices to support
for the continuation of the Movement for Social
students in an academic setting. Moving into 2019,
Connectedness presence on Twitter, curating
TIG will continue to integrate social inclusion
content and providing space for individuals,
into all of our programming, expanding on the
organizations and communities to connect with
importance of fostering connectedness within and
one another. Furthermore, alongside these daily
between communities.
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H T T P : // W W W.T IG S OLU T IONS .C OM
H T T P : // E NC OU N T E R S .T IG W E B .ORG
U N L O C K I N G C U LT U R E
Global Encounters is an international student
Unlocking Culture is a national program
video conference program for youth between
of the The Canadian Cultural Society of
grades 6 and 12, offered through our partnership
the Deaf (CCSD) which aims to improve sign
with the Centre for Global Education (CGE)
language instruction across Canada. Applying
during the standard school year (September-
the Common European Framework of
June). We’ve hosted dozens of events on critical
Reference for Languages (CEFR) along with
global issues, providing engagement on topics,
an innovative digital platform, Unlocking Culture
people, and places students are learning about
engages Sign Language instructors in ASL
inside the classroom such as child soldiers and
and LSQ curriculum development, instruction,
armed conflict, women’s rights, mental health,
and evaluation enrichment for parents of Deaf
conservation, climate change and many more.
children and interpreters. Through the program,
Each conference includes a live event, preceded
TIG is assisting instructors in using the TIGed
by a week-long online program of activities
Virtual Classroom to teach classes across Canada.
through which students learn about the topics at hand, collaborate with one another and receive mentorship from experts.
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E D C D J I B OU T I H T T P : // W W W. E DUC AT ION.O C E A N.ORG
This year we were contracted by the Education Development Center to develop a digital job matching platform for ANEFIP, part of the government of Djibouti. After visiting the country to conduct user interviews and establish
H T T P : //C W F.T IG E D.ORG / W F NC
relationships with the in-country team, we have been working on the technical development of a robust digital system that enables job seekers to locate employment opportunities that align with their skills and interests. Available in mobile and desktop use in English, French and Arabic, this platform will support decent work and sustainable livelihoods outcomes for young
K AT I M AV I K
Djiboutians.
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“We all have a role and contribution to make in this journey towards reconciliation. TakingITGlobal is grateful to collaborate as a partner of this initiative in leveraging the power of creativity, digital technology, dialogue and storytelling as ways for our communities to come together.� — J E N N I F E R C O R R I E RO | C O -F O U N D E R A N D E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R O F TA K I N G I T G L O B A L
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OCAD SJRK
The social justice repair kit is a collaborative project led by OCAD’s Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and funded by the Oak Foundation involving social justice initiatives from Mexico, Rwanda, Colombia and other countries around the world. The goal of this project is to apply co-design and inclusive design principles to help youth movements and initiatives become welcoming environments for youth with learning differences. The project provides a hub and community to share, develop, repurpose and reuse resources. This year, we contributed to this project by developing an updated guide to inclusive action on the sustainable development goals and support for a series of videos which explore the importance of land from Indigenous perspectives. This content has since been developed into the WHOSE LAND initiative.
W HO S E L A N D
WHOSE LAND is a mobile application created by the shared vision of TIG and our partners Canadian Roots Exchange, BOLD Realities, and Ryerson Leadership Lab, to provide an educational tool for people to learn about Indigenous territories across Canada. Since its inception, this project has had involvement with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, and ims to increase the knowledge and awareness of Indigenous territories, communities and Treaties to help create dialogue around Indigenous territory recognition and acknowledgement. 27
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H T T P : // DE C A R B ON I Z E .T IG W E B .ORG
We collaborated with the Centre for Global Education (CGE) to bring #Decarbonize/Decolonize,
a world-wide synthesis of youth
research,
recommended policy, and action on Climate Change, to life. Leading up to COP24, thousands of youths across the planet are mobilizing to explore the intersectionality and continued impact of colonization and climate change. Through digital and real world engagement such as Video conferencing, community projects and creative expression, the program provides a platform for young people to learn and share their experience of a changing climate with other young people around the world. 28
“It is important to listen to the Indigenous peoples of our countries, and we need to advocate for this if any change is wanted. Through being a part of this year’s #Decarbonize: #Decolonize, we are already on the path to change, because as a whole, we have investigated and learnt more about the people of our lands. Each and every one of us can pass on and spread the knowledge we have attained.” — C H O N T E L L E | AU S T R A L I A 29