YOUTH LEADERSHIPPROGRAM FINALREPORT

CultureLink's CommunityServices DepartmentToronto, December 2019.

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SECTION 1: PROJECT

OVERVIEW

SECTION 2 : OUTCOME

SECTION 3 : ACTIVITIES

SECTION 4: EVALUATION &

RECOMMENDATIONS

SECTION 5: FINANCIAL

REPORT

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The Youth Leadership Program (YLP) is an educational & leadership initiativeheld in collaboration betweenCultureLink and the UN RefugeeAgency (UNHCR).

The project was officially launched onJune 20, 2019- the World Refugee Day-and was directed to educate thecommunity and raise awareness onrefugees’ issues. The projecttargeted 10 young people ages 18 to 24who have not been deeply exposed torefugees’ issues and life experiencessuffered by people fleeing war, violence,and persecution.

During the project, participants had theopportunity to develop leadership skillsand become agents of change in theircommunities.

The project encouraged young peopleto develop and implement engagingactivities in their own communitiespromoting support and harmoniousrelationships between refugees and thehost community.

The project successfully offered supportin the areas of leadership, promotion,speaking engagement, communityengagement and advocacy work. Inaddition, participants had theopportunity to actively participate ineducational activities and interact withrefugees from different countries, whoopenly shared their life stories.

"Through my participation in the YouthLeadership Program with CultureLink, Ihave gained a much deeperunderstanding of the multi-faceted issuesthat refugees face in their journey towardsa better life". Anam, project participant.

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PROJECT OUTCOME

The purpose of this initiative was tocreate an educational opportunity toengage young people ages 18 to 24 inadvocacy and leadership work, raisingawareness about refugees’ issues inthe broader community, in particular, incommunities that are not directlyexposed to life experiences suffered bypeople displaced by violence, conflictand persecution.

The long term outcome is to enhanceyoung people's leadership skills tobecome leaders on refugees’ matters,increasing community awareness andsupports towards the local integration ofrefugees, their capacity to heal, recoverand build a better future in Canada.

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The project successfully met the short-term outcome directed to engage 10young people ages 18 to 24 inadvocacy and leadership work bycreating experiential learningopportunities to raise their awarenessabout refugees' issues, developingbasic advocacy skills, and exposingthem to advocacy work.

"Advocating teaches us tofirst use our voice, and thenwe use our voice to stand upfor what is just and right".Alessandra, projectparticipant.

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ACTIVITIES

PHASE I: OUTREACH STRATEGY Targeted population: 8-10 young peopleages 18 to 24.

During the month of July, the team was ableto successfully outreach the targetedpopulation. At the beginning of the project,we had 16 young people registered,nevertheless, due to project delays with thetraining phase, the total number ofparticipants dropped to ten (10).

Given the fact that 51% of Toronto residentswere born outside Canada, and most ofthem are somehow exposed to refugee andimmigrant matters, there were challenges interms of outreaching participants who metthe criteria of not being exposed to refugeesissues. Nevertheless, we were able toidentify those who were not deeply exposedto refugees' issues, and who also met thecriteria of being at least 18 years old andenrolled in high school or in a collegeprogram, ideally not related to the refugeesand immigration field, and looking forvolunteer and leadership opportunities.

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Project phasesand targeted

activities.

"I have never taken time toreflect on my privileges".Ebony, project participant.

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ACTIVITIESPHASE II: EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

The experiential learning phase was initially plannedto be delivered during the month of August- beforeschool started- nevertheless, due to external factors,this phase started at the end of August, and theschedules for the sessions were adjusted based onparticipants' availability, since 100% of them wereenrolled in school. Participants actively engaged in complex learningopportunities as mentioned below:

Session 1: Fleeing war and conflict.Session 2: Raising awareness of violenceagainst women and girls. Understanding FemaleGenital Mutilation.Session 3: Fleeing from civil war. TheGuatemala case. Session 4: Public Speaking Training.Session 5: Public speaking and public petitions. Session 6: A critical view on human mobility: aworld in crisis.Session 7: Advocacy Work and communityengagement training.

PHASE III: ADVOCACY PREPARATIONDuring this phase, participants prepared andrehearsed their speaking engagements to engage inadvocacy work.

Our facilitators helped the participants with speechpreparation & rehearsals, stage management, andpublic speaking and advocacy skills enhancement.

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Project phasesand targeted

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ACTIVITIESPHASE IV: ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

Participants were prepared to engage inadvocacy and community engagement,raising awareness on refugees’ issues andchanging public attitudes. The followingresults showcase the success of the YouthLeadership Project (YLP):

- 100% of Participants engaged in advocacywork by individually providing education toother youth and their communities.- 80% of participants have initiated theirengagement in advocacy work using socialmedia and CultureLink’s electronic newsletterand website to share their learnings andindividual experiences in increasing their ownawareness around refugees’ issues andrights.

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Project phases andtargeted activities.

- 30% of the participants engaged inindividual public speaking events, and 60%of participants have engaged in communityspeaking events targeting communities thatwe presume are not directly exposed to lifeexperiences suffered by people displacedby violence, conflict and persecution. Sincethe majority of the participants did not feelfully confident of doing the speakingengagement alone, this activity wasaccommodated to their needs and wassuccessfully delivered as a collectivecommunity engagement event at RyersonUniversity.

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EVALUATION&RECOMMENDATIONS During the project implementation, qualitative and quantitativedata collection methods were used to make informed decisions toadjust activities and logistics. A final evaluation survey collectingparticipants' feedback was used to better understand the project'simpact. The following questions were included in the survey:

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1. Did you enjoy your experience with YLP?2. Do you feel you have learned new skills or gained new knowledgeregarding refugees’ issues and advocacy work?3. Were you able to establish new social connections for advocacy work?4. Were you able to practice your public speaking skills?5. Have you gained new knowledge about your community during thisproject?6. Were the content and activities implemented important to you?7. Would you be able to use what you have learned during this project?8. Were staff/facilitator(s) well prepared?

Below, the chart represents the results collected:

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Open questions were also included as follows:

How was your experience with the Youth LeadershipProgram?Participants responded that they had a great experience andthat the project provided an opportunity "to know about the life ofrefugees and be able to understand what they have to sacrifice inorder to come to Canada". They have:- Learned "how to talk confidently in front of people".- Gained "some of the techniques to keep calm, look confident instage".- Learned "about the law and the process refugees have to do inorder to enter Canada". - Learned "about the story of refugees". - Learned "what was happening globally in regards to refugees".- Gained "more insight on what it is like to be a refugee"

What were 3 impacts of your speaking engagements on theaudience?

Respondents commented the following:

- "People began to critically think about the position Canada istaking to assist with the global refugee situation".- "People had a better understanding about what refugees have togo through when they first arrive in Canada".- "They would speak to others about refugees".- "They would be involved with refugee programs".

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"My passion toadvocate forrefugees wasreignited withYLP". Projectparticipant.

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What were 3 impacts of your speaking engagements on theaudience?

- "One audience member made us reflect on our language and askedto stop saying refugee crisis because it made refugees seem like they arethe problem".- "A number of audience members said they were inspired to make adifference and advocate for refugee rights after the speakingengagement".

How would you adapt the program to enhance the advocacy andgoal of raising awareness for refugees?

- "I would incorporate a lesson on how to write advocacy letters to thegovernment and teach how to deal with this issue on a systemic level".- "Essentially, show us how to have our voices heard by the people inpower".

How likely would you recommend this program to other youth?- 100% Very Likely.

Would you like to participate in this experience again?- 100% Yes.

Recommendations: Based on the team experience, we highly recommend being more flexibleregarding the eligibility criteria since there were many youth interestedwho did not meet the criteria established in the project. In addition, werecommend to allocate more time for outreach and training, andsignificantly increase the United Nations' staff involvement in all phases ofthe project implementation.

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- "A number ofaudiencemembers saidthey wereinspired tomake adifference andadvocate forrefugee rightsafter thespeakingengagement".Projectparticipant.

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FINANCIAL REPORT

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CultureLink is a settlement and community organization with more than 30 years’ experience in developing anddelivering services to meet the needs of diverse communities. Passionate about providing innovative services,we adapt to changes and create new programs that best respond to and address our clients’ specific needs.

Our team of more than 70 staff members, speaking more than 30 languages, is dedicated, knowledgeable, andmulticultural. We serve between 10,000 and 12,000 participants on average each year.

WWW.CULTURELINK.CA