#YPP2022 Module 1, that’s a wrap! Over the course of four days, our 16 participants got grounded in the Level Youth Policy Program and reflected on the importance of youth voices in designing and influencing public policy.
DAY 1
We began our first module in a good way through a traditional land welcome from Elder Sempulyan and guidance from Elder Deb. Faculty member Aslam Bulbulia and Elder Sempulyan then led participants through Decolonial Introductions. Decolonial Introductions allowed our participants to share the meaning or a story behind their name, share who their community or ancestors are, and share which lands they are connected to.
Afterwards, Nikki Sanchez shared her knowledge on the colonial impact throughout history and the sympathetic nervous system. Nikki’s presentation spoke about our important relationship to the land that sustains our life and how this is deeply rooted in humanity.
DAY 2
Day 2 was lead by Ginger Gosnell-Myers, who laid the groundwork for the Who, What, Where, Why and How of Public Policy Work. Ginger shared about her own experiences navigating policy and how it helps to understand the “behind the scenes” of how policy decisions are made.
DAY 3
Day 3, the participants learned at the hands of Karen Snowshoe and Camille Dumond, who shared about Trauma-Informed Advocacy. Karen and Camille shared techniques on grounding oneself and received suggestions from participants. Karen and Camille left participants with methods on how to maintain their healing and wellness, and how they can take trauma-informed practices into their policy work.
Day 4, the participants began asset mapping led by Nathalie Lozano-Neira, who shared about her journey with policy work and how to overcome imposter syndrome. Nathalie led asset mapping with participants, where everyone identified their strengths as a group and areas of policy they would like to see change in. Participants were guided by values that ring importance to them and dismantled assumptions of those communities, which can limit the community capacity.
The faculty at LEVEL Youth Policy Program are so proud of the participants for their willingness to be vulnerable with one another, and an eagerness to learn.
Stay in touch with the LEVEL YPP for more updates: https://levelvf.ca/#stay-in-touch
Learn more about the faculty and participants here: https://levelvf.ca/youth-policy-program/faculty-and-participants-2022/
