Commemorating International Youth Day: Encouraging Diversity in the Discussion

Commemorating International Youth Day: Encouraging Diversity in the Discussion

Empowering Indigenous Youth Leadership: A New Approach to Conservation

In a remarkable stride towards inclusivity and empowerment, a website dedicated to youth programs is making waves by focusing on Indigenous leadership and capacity-building. Approximately 60-70% of participants in these programs hail from underrepresented communities, reflecting the belief that youth-led solutions are not only possible, but essential.

The mission of these programs goes beyond mere inclusion. They aim to reshape systems that have historically excluded Indigenous perspectives, fostering a culture that values and elevates Indigenous voices.

Amy Charles, the Indigenous Knowledge Specialist at the website, plays a pivotal role in bridging Western and Indigenous Knowledge worldviews across youth and education programs. Her work is centered around co-creation, incorporation of Indigenous knowledge, and meaningful participation in decision-making.

The programs offer more than just coaching and funding. They provide a community of peers united by action, fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose.

Empowering Youth Leadership

The key principles of these programs focus on investing in youth capacity-building, expanding physical and digital youth spaces, and enabling locally adapted operations to strengthen Indigenous youth movements.

Co-Creation and Intergenerational Learning

Co-developing curricula that integrate Indigenous knowledge, fostering intergenerational learning spaces, and promoting storytelling are other essential aspects of these programs. They aim to safeguard culture, amplify youth voices, and respect Indigenous culture and wisdom.

Integration of Indigenous Knowledge and Rights

The programs also prioritize centering Indigenous knowledge as a valid and authoritative source in research and decision-making, supporting Indigenous-led strategies for data governance and knowledge stewardship, and encouraging research and advocacy rooted in Indigenous relationships with land, spirit, ancestors, and more-than-human relatives.

Youth-Led Advocacy and Movement Building

These programs mobilize Indigenous youth in forest and territory protection, climate justice efforts, and ensure genuine youth representation in international forums. They also strengthen youth-led finance mechanisms to ensure sustainability.

Supporting Indigenous Youth Rights and Inclusion

The programs empower Indigenous youth to exercise their rights under frameworks like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), promote Indigenous youth participation aligned with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and foster inclusive, just, and sustainable futures through children’s agency in advocacy and leadership.

Amy Charles, a Métis woman from Red Deer, Alberta, emphasizes the importance of creating space for Indigenous youth to lead, co-creating solutions, and recognizing Indigenous knowledge as complete in its own right. She believes that sustainability includes identity, language, belonging, and relationships.

The youth programs on the website ripple outward, impacting public perceptions, influencing national policy, and making community connections. Amy Charles, who recently spoke at the Canadian Water Resources Association's National Conference with the theme "Living Between Waters: Connecting Water & Resilience," emphasizes that living between waters means existing between science and storytelling, community and institution, and expectation and truth.

The wisdom and practices of Indigenous communities are vital to the health and resilience of the ecosystems the website aims to protect. The website redefines conservation by focusing on long-term relationships, deeper partnerships, and listening more effectively. The website's conservation begins with stewardship, and stewardship begins with relationships.

Participants in the youth programs share that the website is transparent, supports youth-led solutions, and shows up, even in difficult times. Diversity thrives and resilience grows in the in-between spaces, as per Amy Charles. The visions of the young leaders are complex and optimistic, showing that strength comes from diverse thoughts and experiences.

In the end, the website is committed to building relationships, learning, and growing alongside youth, and supporting a culture rooted in listening, humility, and care.

1. These youth programs, dedicated to Indigenous leadership, also invest in learning and skills training, nurturing a new generation of leaders in environmental-science, sustainable-living, and career-development.
2. The programs foster personal-growth and outdoor-living, providing opportunities for participation in sports, home-and-garden activities, and lifestyle choices that align with sustainable practices.
3. The programs' focus on education-and-self-development extends to advocacy and movement-building, with efforts in climate-change and forest protection, amplifying Indigenous voices on a national and international level.
4. The programs cultivate environmental-science aside from Western knowledge, integrating Indigenous Knowledge, rights, and relationships with land, spirit, ancestors, and more-than-human relatives.
5. In these programs, co-creation and intergenerational learning foster a culture of understanding and respect, safeguarding Indigenous culture, empowering youth-led solutions, and fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose.
6. The programs prioritize genuine representation and inclusion, supporting Indigenous youth rights under frameworks like the UNDRIP, CRC, and SDGs, and working towards inclusive, just, and sustainable futures, founded on the principles of listening, humility, and care.

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