"The Big Yellow School" Bus Street Scene Paintings of Montreal by Carole Spandeau
Back for another great year, the City of Edmonton Youth Council is once again hosting its annual school visits program with a focus on expanding and diversifying the program. But before we explain how we are going to achieve that, let’s start by explaining the function, importance, and structure of the school visits program.
The school visit project has existed informally for many years, but since last year CEYC has taken a renewed interest in reaching out to youth from elementary to high school. Attending nearly 40 schools last year, CEYC has made it a priority to reach out to youth to empower and educate them about the opportunities that exist within CEYC. Up until now, all our presentations have taken an information stance, educating youth mainly about how CEYC sits in municipal governance and the impact it can have on municipal politics.
School visits have been crucial in increasing the youth who have become involved or who are aware of CEYC. This project is extremely important in engaging youth on the lower age spectrum (13-18), as to encourage their involvement.
This year, we have two main goals with school visits: to diversify our presentations and engagement and to expand the spectrum of youth that we engage with.
Regarding the first goal, this means personalizing presentations to different, diverse audiences and actually getting youth involved during presentations. This includes surveys from all subcommittees to collect valuable information or policy workshops to help youth visualize the city they want to see. With an increased focus on giving youth opportunities to become involved and influence CEYC and municipal decisions, we can firsthand demonstrate the opportunities and power of CEYC as a resource and tool for youth.
Our second goal, in essence, is to increase the number and different groups we engage with. This naturally we will men, increasing the number of students we present to at schools, but with this comes a greater push to expand school visits beyond the classroom. Directly presenting to different communities, and organizations will help CEYC reach
out and form valuable connections for partnerships and collaborations.
We are extremely excited for another year of school visits, and we hope you can support us through it.
If you or someone you know would like to have a presentation at your school, organization, or community league feel free to contact us through any social media platform!