Youth Programs Funding Committee

Steering Committee Members Wanted for

Youth Participatory Budgeting

Date: Tuesday, December 18

For Immediate Release

VICTORIA, BC – The City of Victoria and the City of Victoria Youth Council are seeking 12 volunteers to serve on the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee for 2019. After a successful pilot last year, the City has committed to Participatory Budgeting funding for three more years. The focus for 2019 will be youth, followed by newcomers in 2020 and neighbourhood spaces in 2021.

The City of Victoria Youth Council will oversee the program this year. The focus will be on empowering the Victoria community to allocate up to $60,000 in funding for projects or events that benefit youth in the City of Victoria.

Participatory budgeting is an innovative, democratic process that gives the entire community the opportunity to participate and decide how to invest a portion of the City budget. Once the Steering Committee is appointed, they will work with residents to develop ideas and proposals. Community voting will determine the top projects for funding.

“It was great to see the success of the Participatory Budgeting pilot project last year,” said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps. “I’m thrilled that this year we’re turning our attention, energy and resources to youth. We look forward to learning from the process they develop and the projects the community chooses to fund.”

“After the Steering Committee is formed, we’ll be out asking the community for amazing project and program ideas for youth in Victoria,” said Tara Skobel, Youth Programs Coordinator at the Quadra Village Community Centre, host of the City of Victoria Youth Council. “Once the ideas are collected, we encourage everyone to vote for the program or project they feel will have the greatest impact on our community. This is an incredible opportunity to invest in our youth and to increase participation in an exciting form of democracy.”

Last year 28 proposals were submitted, eight ideas went out for community voting, over 4,300 residents cast their vote and three projects were funded. The Next Steps Employment Program run through Our Place, the Urban Alive Pop-Up Native Bee Apiary in the Yates Street Community Garden and the Learning Garden at the Greater Victoria Public Library’s downtown branch are now all up and running.

Steering Committee applications are available at www.cyvc.ca/pb and can be submitted until Friday, January 11 at 4 p.m. A “Meet and Greet Information Session” for all interested applicants will be hosted at Quadra Village Community Centre (901 Kings Road) on Wednesday, December 9 from 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Participant diversity is a central concept in Participatory Budgeting. All Victoria residents, including youth, are invited to apply for a one-year term on the Steering Committee. Interested residents can email Tara Skobel at tara@quadravillagecc.com with any questions.

Application Form: PBSCA 2019

For More Information:

Tara Skobel
Youth Programs Coordinator

Quadra Village Community Centre
250.388.7696 ext 224

Bill Eisenhauer
Head of Engagement
City of Victoria

250.858.1061

Become a Social Inclusion Guide

Are you a storyteller? Interested in how the past shapes the present? Do you have a passion for social justice? If any of this sounds like you, join the Social Inclusion Guides hosted by the City of Victoria Youth Council.

Work in a collaborative group to research the untold stories of Victoria. Stories of oppression, colonization, resistance, and resilience. The Social Inclusion Guides will conduct research, create a walking-tour, and act as tour guides for local participants

You will receive training in the following areas:

Anti-oppression and Identity Politics
How to do research (online, library, government archives)
Writing scripts and storytelling
Public speaking and guiding tours

Perks of participation:

Gain skills that look great on job applications
Connect with your peers
A reference letter upon completion
An honourarium upon completion
Bus tickets and refreshments at training workshops
Learn about your city and community

Eligibility for participation:

Ages 14-24
Must live, work, study, or hang out in City of Victoria
Attend all of the training workshops
Be committed to completing the project

If you are interested in becoming a Social Inclusion Guide, please complete and submit a registration form by 5pm on April 30th, 2018.

Workshop dates:
Introduction and Anti-Oppression > Monday, May 7^th – 5pm to 8pm
Introduction to research skills > Monday, May 14^th – 5pm to 8pm
Collecting stories > Saturday, May 26^th– 1pm to 5pm
Storytelling and public speaking > Sunday, May 27^th – 1pm to 5pm
Final Touches and practice > Monday, May 28^th – 5pm to 8pm
CVYC Pilot > Tuesday, June 5^th – 6pm to 8pm

Join City of Victoria Youth Council 2017-2018

The City of Victoria Youth Council (CVYC) is now accepting applications for the 2017-2018 programming year.

CVYC is a youth-driven, grassroots program that offers opportunities for civic engagement to youth who live, work, hang out or go to school in the City of Victoria. We believe that youth are key stakeholders and should be included in decisions that affect them and their communities as a whole. The CVYC is funded and hosted by the City of Victoria and is composed of youth ages 14-24 who volunteer their time to build their capacity as leaders and activists to bring about the change they want to see in their city. Please see the attached digital brochure outlining this year’s program priorities and topics.

Being a member requires:

Interest and passion for issues relating to youth in the City of Victoria.
Ability to work well as part of a team.
A one-year commitment
Being between the ages of 14 to 24.
Living, working, hanging out or going to school in the City of Victoria.
Attending weekly gatherings every Tuesday 6pm-8pm
Staying in regular communication (email, Facebook or phone) with the CVYC Coordinator and other members.

The application process is not competitive. We accept new members until we fill up all the spots available. The City of Victoria Youth Council is committed to forming a group that represents the diversity of youth in Victoria. We strongly encourage youth of colour, youth with disabilities, young mothers, Indigenous youth, LGBTQ2+ youth and youth from all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds to apply.

If you have any questions please contact us at info@cvyc.ca

A Year in Review

Call It Out! A Dialogue on Migrant Justice

June 7, 6pm-8pm
Cafe Fantastico Specialty Coffees, 965 Kings Rd.
RSVP Here.

Are you an immigrant, refugee, migrant or just curious? Come engage in discussion on migrant justice issues. Hear from guest speakers on issues including racism and anti-migrant sentiment, education and skills transfer for newcomers, and why citizenship is a loaded word.

Join CVYC in sharing experiences, challenging the status-quo, and changing perceptions.

—-
All activities of the City of Victoria Youth Council take place on the unceded Coast Salish lands and waters of the Lekwungen nations. We are privileged to be doing this work and acknowledge our responsibility as settlers to extend our solidarities to Indigenous communities and their movements. We cannot talk about migrant issues without centering the urgency for decolonization and the right of Indigenous people to sovereignty and self-governance.

Accessibility
– This is an intergenerational dialogue event all are welcome
– Bus tickets are available for youth
– Gender neutral washrooms
– ASL interpretation is available upon request
– Wheelchair and Powerchair accessible

If you have any questions about this event or the City of Victoria Youth Council, please send them to info@cvyc.ca

Wednesday, May 24th
6pm-8pm
722 Cormorant St. Suite 300

City of Victoria Youth Council members Shae-Linn Davies, Sara Maya Bhandar, Sammy Ross, and Paige Collins are raising awareness about housing affordability in the city and its impacts on youth. The group is campaigning online and on the streets using guerilla art and #youthhousingyyj.

In May 2017, the group conducted an online survey of youth to better understand current housing issues. The results of this survey are being transformed into public art in downtown Victoria. To get involved in the planning and transformation of this data into street art, attend the public workshop being hosted on May 24th.

Access
Scent-reduced space, elevator on-site, accessible for wheelchairs and powerchairs, bus tickets and vegetarian dinner provided, by youth for youth ages 14-24.

CVYC Mural Project

Start your summer with the CVYC Mural Project. We invite youth ages 14-24 to collaboratively produce a community mural at the Yates St. Community Garden. Participants will be supported by Indigenous Artist in Residence at the City of Victoria, Lindsay Delaronde to develop a vision and execute the mural. The CVYC Mural Project runs every Saturday from May 27th to June 24th.

Participants who complete the mural and attend all five sessions will receive a $100 honorarium upon completion.

Youth with all levels of artistic skill and experience are invited to register by emailing info@cvyc.ca. Space is limited.

Lindsay Delaronde is an Iroquois Mohawk woman born and raised on the Kahnawake reservation outside of Montreal, is also a multi‐disciplinary Visual Arts MFA alumna (2010) and has been a professional practicing artist for the past five years. Her work was in the spotlight with her 2016-17 exhibit In Defiance at UVic’s Legacy Gallery. “I hope to create artworks that reflect the values of this land, which are cultivated and nurtured by the Indigenous peoples of this territory,” said artist Lindsay Delaronde. “I see my role as a way to bring awareness to and acknowledge that reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples is a process, one in which I can facilitate a collaborative approach to creating strong relationships to produce co-created art projects in Victoria.”