EduTOX Video Challenge winner Asha Mior, 14
EduTOX winner Asha Mior shares her adventures at the 2016 World’s Largest Sandbox
The day that I found out that I won the EduTOX Video Challenge, I screamed. A $1400 scholarship and a trip to Ottawa? What an opportunity!
In early June, my family and I travelled to Ottawa to attend the World’s Largest Sandbox Event! The event, which takes place on Sparks Street in downtown Ottawa, allows parliamentarians, non-profit organizations, and local kids to come together to raise awareness of the health of Canadian children.
Towards Health and Reconciliation: Reflections from the Indigenous Health Conference
Madeleine Bondy of the YCRH at the Indigenous Health Conference
On May 26th and 27th I was fortunate enough to attend the Indigenous Health Conference at the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale Hotel on behalf of the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health and The Sandbox Project
The conference provided a fantastic opportunity to learn about current initiatives to promote the health of indigenous communities from across Canada.
Youth Lens on The Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing
The Lancet, a prestigious medical journal, recently published a Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. The Commission is a thorough look at the current global state of health and wellbeing among young people, and as a young person myself, I found it did great justice, uncovering truths and combining both research and the voiced needs of young people.
The Commission focuses, in part, on how law affects adolescents and their access to resources and services. Access is something that the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health (YCRH) and the Young Health Program (YHP) have been investigating through the Health Rights and Responsibilities project that we are collaborating on.
A post-conference YCRH perspective
YCRH member Jacob Hill on his involvement with the YCRH and the 2016 Sandbox Project Conference
I’m still not even sure how I got involved with the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health (YCRH). Like many other Canadians I spent a quiet evening harmlessly scanning through my Facebook feed trying to sort out what to do with my life, ignoring “Candy Crush” requests when I came I across this organization. I had begun a journey into the world of massage therapy so anything with an aspect of health felt like a good investment for my career and resume.
I clicked on the link to discover The Sandbox Project. Its mission to make Canada the safest and healthiest place for our youth to grow up was a statement I was eager to stand behind. I submitted my application and within a few weeks I was granted the honour of becoming a part of this group of talented individuals.
One Young World: Reflections from a jet lagged, but inspired, attendee
YCRH member Alicia Raimundo on the One Young World Summit 2015
From November 18-21, 2015, 1300 diverse young people from around the globe, bonded by a desire to improve the world, gathered together in Bangkok Thailand. We addressed significant topics such as health, disability, refugees, climate change, and prevention of hate and terrorism. As the days progressed, it became clear to me that each of these topics influences the others.
If we don’t have a safe place to live, how can we maintain good health? If the environment around us is getting progressively worse, how will we continue to have access to good food and healthcare (especially in island states around the world that are sinking)? These are the new perspectives, projects and ideas that I am excited to bring back to the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health. They will influence our work going forward.
Report from the International Association of Youth Mental Health Conference
From October 8 to 10th, I had the extremely humbling and exciting opportunity to represent the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health (YCRH) at the International Association of Youth Mental Health conference in Montreal, Quebec. This opportunity would not have been possible without the generous support of the Graham Boeckh and two other Foundations.
I started off my conference journey by attending the pre-conference workshop around using social media to engage youth and the opening reception. I spent hours getting to know the folks in the workshop, learning about best practices and the process of rapid prototyping as problem solving. My greatest take away from the session however, was around language and words from various countries and the way they resonate with different people. The day concluded with the opening reception where I had the chance to meet with many people from various countries such as Australia, Scotland, and the USA and I met the Norfolk and Suffolk youth advisory council for the first time, who in the end became my adopted family.
The YCRH at the National NGO Forum for a Canadian Commissioner for Children and Young People
On July 10 and 11, different representatives from a number of non-government organizations came together in Moncton, New Brunswick to talk about the need for a Canadian Commissioner for Children and Young People. My co-chair, Alicia Raimundo and I, represented the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health at the event. Over the course of six hours, we discussed: What should or could the role of the commissioner be? Who else should be sitting at the table? What is the plan of action we all need to contribute to in order to make this work? What would it change?
Clearing the Air Summit: We can make tomorrow a brighter day
the YCRH’s Stephanie Bertolo shares her 2015 Summit experience
On May 5th, World Asthma Day, I attended the second annual Clearing the Air Summit hosted by the Asthma Society of Canada. The full day event, attended by leaders of government, industry, academic and non-profit organizations was most certainly an enlightening experience, providing a unique perspective on the impacts of climate change. Commonly, when people give presentations on global warming, there is a strong fixation on the effects on the natural environments: increased natural disasters, decreased biodiversity, rising temperatures, and the likes. Though at the Clearing the Air Summit, they focused instead on exposing the harsh realities of global warming’s impact on human health.
Young worker safety is everyone’s responsibility
This spring, members of the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health were given the opportunity to attend training sessions offered by Aecon Group to be educated about workplace health and safety. From the beginning it was very clear that we were learning from people who are experienced in the field of injury prevention and passionate about building a safety culture in the workplace. I was particularly impressed with the amount of resources dedicated to workers’ safety through initiatives such as the Young Workers Program and routine Safety Moments.
Two outstanding mental health initiatives for youth launched in June
The YCRH’s Andy Hall on the Family Navigation Project and the new national awareness campaign led by Companies Committed to Kids
23 June 2014
On behalf of The Sandbox Project, I attended June receptions celebrating two outstanding mental health and wellness initiatives for children and youth. Sunnybrook has launched a unique navigational service to guide and support families who have youth struggling with mental health and addictions concerns. Companies Committed to Kids launched a series of awareness raising public service announcements that reveal some fundamental truths about kids’ mental health.
