Commission de la Jeunesse d’Ottawa Youth Commission

2010 Report for Ottawa City Council: Your City. Your Voice

Table of Contents

Purpose of Report

Next Steps for Ottawa Youth Commission

About CJOYC

CJOYC at Work 2010

Measuring CJOYC Success

CJOYC 2010 Conference Results

Conclusion

-2011 Working Model

PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the progress of the Commission de la Jeunesse d’Ottawa Youth Commission (CJOYC) 2011 workplan. This report is intended to be used as:

1. As an annual report to Community Protective Services Committee regarding outcomes associated with Ottawa Youth Commission

2. To highlight important youth issues and seek CPSC support for recommendations

3. As a continued connection to young people in order to support the youth voice at a municipal level.

NEXT STEPS FOR THE OTTAWA YOUTH COMMISSION

The Ottawa Youth Commission will:

1. Maintain continued representation of youth voice into city and community priorities and represent the youth voice on various agendas regarding CJOYC’s key issue priorities;

2. Circulate and present our tools (Workshops and Civic Participation Kit) to encourage civic engagement among youth by engaging them in the process of evaluating Ottawa’s youth friendliness;

3. Continue to engage target communities (francophone, marginalized and new immigrant) through our outreach strategies;

4. and work with the City’s Transit initiatives and committees to ensure youth engagement on transportation related issues.

ABOUT CJOYC

CJOYC serves as a connector between young people of the capital, and decisions made at Ottawa City Council. Acting as a link, CJOYC makes sure that the opinions, concerns and suggestions of youth are heard on a variety of issues that affect their daily lives.

The Commission solicits the opinions and suggestions of young people with regards to making Ottawa a better place for youth through surveys, focus groups, workshops, a conference and online tools. We engage youth to better understand their role in the community and to ensure they are aware that they have a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

The Commission is a group of young people from different schools, communities and neighborhoods trying to make a difference in the lives of young people across the city.

Our Supporters: Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa

Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa (CAYFO) is an Ottawa based charity dedicated to the promotion and advancement of children and youth in our community. CAYFO promotes the voice of youth and their visibility in the community, encourages their engagement and celebrates their achievements.

CAYFO believes youth can make a difference and support of young people’s participation will help build a positive community. CAYFO supports CJOYC and helps to encourage youth to speak up and voice their opinions on how to make Ottawa a better place for youth.

Adult Mentors

The Ottawa Youth Commission is also supported by a group of adult mentors who guide CJOYC in making connections, developing partnerships and raising awareness. Mentors are committed to advancing the cause of youth and building the capacity of young people

The City of Ottawa

With funds from the City of Ottawa, the Ottawa Youth Commission has been in existence since June 2006. This money enables us to be the means for youth to exercise leadership and meaningfully contribute to the community by participation in activities that help them become active citizens and increase their awareness about how their participation can help build a positive community.

City councilors regularly make decisions and take action on issues that directly affect young people; issues like public transportation, parks and recreation, public health, and housing. Engaging youth will help the city make decisions that are more appropriate to youth needs and interests. We thank the Community Protective Services Committee for their important contribution to Ottawa’s young people.

CJOYC AT WORK: 2009-2010

Last year further engagement resulted in the identification recommendation for three priority issues that were presented to CPCS on December 3, 2009 and extremely well received and endorsed:

i. Transportation

ii. Recreation

iii. The Environment

In the summer of 2010, it was decided after an extensive strategic planning session that a shift was required to allow the program to succeed further. In order to make the program more youth friendly we are now focusing on one topic annually to allow youth to have a quick understanding of the program, how they can get involved and have the proper supports to make it happen. This is a model used by the Calgary version of the Ottawa Youth Commission which was proven to be very successful.

For 2010-2011 we decided to focus on Transportation, as it encompasses each of the three priority issues that were decided on in 2009. Four working groups were created to ensure that youth have a clear understanding of their role within the Commission and are able to contribute in ways that highlight their skills. The four working groups are:

The City Relations, Transportation and Civic Participation groups all receive support from the Social Networking group so that the work of the CJOYC is communicated and disseminated in a cohesive manner. This transition has allowed us to create a more efficient task force because all members are clear of their role and are able to work between monthly meetings to ensure actions are completed.

Achievements

Our 2010 Executive Board has a broader representation from all areas of the city than it has ever had before. With successes from our Youth Engagement and Outreach Strategy we have successfully established relationships with community houses, francophone communities and at risk youth. Our members are from both the Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board as well as the Ottawa Carleton District School Board. Our steady membership of 18 youth, represents various geographic regions of Ottawa, including some of the CDF prioritized neighbourhoods, and is from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

With the achievements of our Executive Board we have been able to have regular and successful meetings once a month which are attended by at least 15 members. With the size of our Executive Board and the outcome of several strategic planning meetings we decided to create four Working Groups to ensure that youth members have a specific role and an understanding of how to best use their skills and help them develop new skills. These four working groups have provided us with more opportunities to have meetings outside of our monthly meetings. They have promoted internal communication between the members as well, as each group has created a Facebook Group to delegate tasks, update on actions, and make meetings. This has allowed for increased youth participation as all members, from any geographic location, can communicate with other members, and has allowed for efficiency while planning things like the OC Transpo working plan, meet and greet with City Councillors and other events.

Our 2010 conference, “Your City. Your Voice,” was attended by more youth, city staff and community organizations than in previous years. At our conference this year we focused on Youth Engagement and giving youth the tools they need to have a voice within City decisions. From this conference our Civic Participation Kit and Workshop was created. With over 100 copies handed out, and several workshops completed and more lined up we have been reaching out to youth all over the city and giving them the tools they need to engage with their community.

On Februrary 25^th, 2010 we held our Meet and Greet with City staff members. It was well received and attended by the Mayor’s office, Councillors, and many other City departments. CJOYC members helped in all aspects of this even, including presenting, and networking with the City staff, which allowed the youth to develop public speaking and planning skills. The success of this event and the promotion of our agenda to those that attended garnered us support from other city organizations such as OC Transpo. For the 2010-2011 year we will be focusing on Transportation as our topic and with help from City staff. The goal is to raise awareness and promote mutual respect between youth, the general public and OC Transpo staff.  We will be moving towards completion of joint communications and marketing strategies, which may include a Youth Riders Guide, jointly written articles, and other strategies.

The implementation of a strong social media awareness campaign has helped us to promote our image and message cohesively. With youth run media campaigns with Twitter, a CJOYC blog, and Facebook we have built up an online community and database of interested youth in the community. With Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa’s initiative to promote their programs and events in a more unified manner we have gained exposure from promotion at all CAYFO events, such as the FYBY Summit, and the Spirit of the Capital Youth Awards and the Mayor’s Golf Tournament.

Limitations to Success

As Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa went through a transitional period after an office fire in 2010 which virtually destroyed the building and all its contents, both CAYFO and CJOYC faced challenges. After facing those challenges, CAYFO has emerged on the other side stronger than ever, which has laid the foundation for CJOYC to have a very successful year.

CJOYC also went through a shift in management in 2010 as CAYFO’s project lead for CJOYC left. Although this was a smooth transition, this did of course slow down the momentum of CJOYC’s work due to the changing of a staff member.

As is the nature of working with students, the membership faced a decline in the summer months, limiting the amount of projects that can be created during this time. As students are away, and access to students through the school boards is difficult at these times our activities often face a stand-still during these months. In 2011 we hope to continue to work with our dedicated Executive membership, as well as new recruits to ensure that our work is continued through the summer.

Measuring CJOYC Success: Meeting 2010 Goals

CJOYC focused its efforts on the following outcomes:

· Increased youth civic engagement in the affairs of the City of Ottawa,

· Increased youth capacity,

· Increased partnership and networking.

The following chart illustrates CJOYC’s outcomes and indicators of success for 2010.

OUTCOME	INDICATORS OF SUCCESS & IMPACT
A. Increased youth civic engagement in the affairs of the City of Ottawa Participation on City of Ottawa initiatives Encouraging and providing youth with the tools and opportunities to engage with public policy dialogue and City decision making Annual ‘for youth, by youth’ conference to showcase CJOYC’s work, recruit members, and engage youth in discourse on issues that are important to them	1. Youth voice represented on targeted community and/or City of Ottawa committees, and other advisory groups -CJOYC representatives presented recommendations with specific emphasis on Transportation and received endorsement from the Transit Advisory Committee (January 21, 2010) -CJOYC representatives presented recommendations with specific emphasis on Transportation on Transit Committee (February 17, 2010). -CJOYC representative has applied for membership on the new Transit Commission. Although membership was not accepted , we are suggesting the Transit Commission have a youth liason (April 2011) -CJOYC representative on Equity & Inclusion Lens, and member of EI Lens Evaluation Group 2. Active engagement of youth in public policy dialogue and decision making by facilitating consultations, empowering youth and providing opportunities for youth input through surveys/focus groups/workshops - promotion of a survey to youth, educators and community partners at For Youth, By Youth- Summit, A Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa program which encourages youth to use technology as a way to express their thoughts and ideas (March 1, 2011)(Survey can be filled out online on the CJOYC Facebook page) -CJOYC Civic Participation workshop given to over 90 students at the FYBY Summit -CJOYC Civic Participation Kit is complete. Over 100 copies handed out at the CJOYC workshop at the FYBY Summit (March 1, 2011) - Regular meetings between CJOYC representatives and OC Transpo; focus groups with OC Transpo to be created for April 2011 3.Annual Youth Forum at City Hall: -Higher attendance than ever before, over 100 youth between the ages of 13 and 21 attended the conference to discuss the issues and engage with City Staff including Mayoral candidates. Increased database of youth interested in CJOYC - Exposure of the election issues to youth, and in return found what youth thought about the election issues in 3 workshops. -Thanks to Apt 613, we presented video footage of their youth focused mayoral debate between candidates O’Brien, Doucette, Watson and Haydon. After footage was played attendees participated in discussion of debate through comments and questions. -Held mock election; youth submitted ballots after hearing the debate and elected who they thought should be Mayor -Maintained relationship and support from Mayor’s office. -Youth were asked to share their ideas about what changes they would like to see in Ottawa in the next five years. This increased youth participation in the future of Ottawa and encouraged them to get involved in the development of our city through joining CJOYC and other community initiatives. -Enhanced promotion and increased connection to the community regarding CJOYC activities through post forum newsletter distributed through CJOYC’s e-letter network that went out to 300 subscribers including members of Council, youth and partner agencies
B. Increased Youth Capacity Integration of CDF neighbourhoods, and youth markets that have previously been left out Enhancement of Tools to encourage youth participation Improved CJOYC Executive meetings and membership	1. Targeted Youth Commission engagement to francophone, marginalized and new immigrant communities -Developed a bilingual survey and is available online to continue to engage youth opinion on the youth priorities and issues. -French Youth Engagement professional brought on as Adult Mentor to help us reach the French market through organizations like CJOYC in French communities -Partnership with OCCSB’s Safe Schools program being created (April 2011). CJOYC representatives to present Civic Participation Workshop to Safe School students with help of Joe Veryard, principal of Safe Schools program -survey circulated to Community House Youth Worker to administer to their youth councils (June 2010) 2.Enhancement and promotion of tools to facilitate youth participation -CJOYC Social Media: Twitter, follow/are followed by City Councillors and regularly communicate with them via Twitter. CJOYC Blog with weekly updates and features on youth issues in Ottawa which is promoted on Twitter, Facebook and newsletter. Facebook page “liked” by over 100 people, regularly updated with posts about youth issues. All social media tools are linked to provide a cohesive CJOYC message -Used survey content to conduct three focus groups (1) Lisgar Collegiate Institute on Friday March 26, 2010 (2)Glebe Collegiate Institute on Wednesday April 14, 2010 (3) Youth Net at Cheo in June 2010 3. Structured monthly CJOYC Executive meetings and opportunities for youth to participate -maintained CJOYC Executive membership of 18, from all 4 Community Development Framework priority neighbourhoods -4 issue & task based Working Groups have been established to help carry out CJOYC’s activities -Working Groups meet outside of monthly meetings to work CJOYC tasks/initiatives -New CJOYC volunteer practice which aims to highlight youth volunteer’s skills and provide them with opportunities to help them develop and learn new skills -Monthly Executive Meetings, 2^nd Tuesday of every month -Each working group has created Facebook Groups to promote internal communication between members. This is a great way for us to achieve tasks while in between meetings.
C.INCREASED PARTNERSHIP AND NETWORKING Meet and Greet event with Mayor, City Councillors, and City staff members CJOYC youth membership’s participation on community initiatives	-Meet and Greet held on Februray 25, 2010: As a means to strengthen existing and build new relationships, with a specific emphasis on the key areas of transportation, recreation and the environment -attended by members of Council and City Staff. Mayor, Larry O’Brien, Councillors Marianne Wilkinson, Alex Cullen and City Manager Steve Kanellakos, Director Organizational Development and Performance Donna Gray, Kelly Roberston from Parks and Recreation and other city staff were present. All present met with youth and began to discuss how we can work together to make Ottawa a better place for everyone -Coalition of Community Houses Youth Councils – links re-established to create partnership for April 2011 -Attended the Choosing Our Future Youth Engagement Reference Group (May 14, 2010) -CJOYC attended Ottawa Carleton District School Board “Lead the Way” Event to promote CJOYC in the public school board (May 27, 2010) -CJOYC youth representative on the Youth Panel at the Sustainable Cities Biennial conference (September 15, 2010) -CJOYC youth representatives attended the Governor General’s Youth Dialogue where they discussed ways to make Ottawa more youth friendly (August 10, 2010) -CJOYC facilitated a focus group on Civic Participation and the role of the CJOYC at the Carleton University Enrichment Program for High School students (May 5, 2010) -CJOYC facilitated a focus group on Civic Participation and facilitated a discussion on the importance of youth civic engagement at the “Day of Information for a Lifetime of Action” Conference at the University of Ottawa to high school students from Ottawa Carleton Catholic School Board and Ottawa Carleton District School Board (May 3, 2010) -CJOYC attended the Youth Services Bureau Conference “Youth and Community Forum: Building Bridges to a Promising Future” May 27, 2010 -CJOYC to continue to partner with Ottawa Youth Friendly Community Initiative to continue to engage young people in the assessment and evaluation of Ottawa’s youth friendliness -CJOYC supported the planning and implementation of the Ottawa Youth Friendly Community Launch Event (May 7, 2010) – since then the project involvement has shifted due to priorities. -Established partnership with ApathyisBoring a Montreal based youth led organization dedicated to using art to educate youth on democracy and increase youth voter turn out,on a potential Youth Engagement national event for March 2012

CJOYC 2010 Conference Results:

After the success of the 2009 Conference which focused on developing and understanding the issues the youth population face today, our 2010 Conference went the next step and gave the conference attendees the tools they need to effectively voice their opinion on those issues. The “Your City, Your Voice” Conference was attended by over 100 youth between the ages of 13 and 21, as well as City Councillors and staff. The conference melded creative work with practical development skills in creative workshops on video making, public speaking, slam poetry, editorial cartoons, and project planning.

-A summary of feedback from the conference organizers:

Higher Activity Levels

· This year there was not as much sitting and talking as in previous years. There was more facilitated discussions and group work on projects within the workshops

Diversity of Workshop Activities- something for everyone!

· The best attended workshop was the media-focused “FYBY Video Workshops” which allowed participants to create videos on focus issues.

· The Creativision workshop was best received by adult participants was an open discussion on brainstorming and planning.

Mayoral Debate

· Great participation, participants were throwing out ideas and questions and respectfully arguing with each other about the issues.

· Intergenerational debate, both youth and adults participated and asked questions of each other

· It also helped with the overall comprehension of the goal of the conference by having the debate

End of Day Presentations

· Participants saw results from all the workshops, it was very inspiring and exciting to see what everyone had achieved during the day

CONCLUSION

This has been a year of action and change for the Ottawa Youth Commission. We worked very hard to establish ourselves within the public and city consciousness through promotion of our programs and recruitment of new members. At the same time, the Ottawa Youth Commission experienced some change in 2010 that has lead to a clearer focus for our work moving forward.

From our work with youth and the City, we have decided that our 2011 focus issue will be Transportation. With this focus in mind we have developed a logic model for how we will work in 2011 to successfully achieve a youth friendly transportation system in Ottawa, and increasing our civic and city participation.

2011 Working Model