Hello and bonjour,
Happy summer to all youth leaders, adult allies, and supporters!
Thank you for being a part of the Re:Action4Inclusion movement. Your participation and contributions continue to inspire and strengthen youth leadership!
Help us build a stronger community network by following and sharing our newsletter with fellow community builders.
You can find our movement updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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What Happened in September?
YAC Members Inspire Audiences at the CLO Conference!
This month, CLO hosted their Annual General Meeting and Conference (September 27-29) entitled “Inspiring Possibilities”. Seven Youth Advisory Committee members facilitated workshops for this Conference on Thursday, September 28th. The first workshop, “Best Practices for Working with Youth — as Written by Youth!”, was presented by Megan Den Dekker, Grace Albano, Jack Hicks, & Nicole Canzoneri. The second workshop, “Beyond Accommodation: Advancing Accessibility and Inclusion for Individuals with Disabilities in the Digital Age: A Universal Design Approach”, was led by Aakriti Mahajan, Aayush Khazanchi, & Maahil Arshad. We want to thank our presenters for their amazing workshops! Many attendees were inspired by your insight and experiences.
What happened in October?
Sharing the “Truths of Institutionalization” at Niagara College
On October 2nd and 6th, Community Living Ontario’s Council Members, Nicole Flynn and Niko Pupella, facilitated in-person DISRUPT! workshop on the topic “Truths of Institutionalization” at Niagara College Welland campus. They presented to 84 Recreation Therapy students in the Diverse Abilities in Therapeutic Recreation class. The presenters used various interactive activities and discussion questions to teach the students history of institutions and challenge them to consider their experiences exclusion, labelling, and privilege. Several students expressed their gratitude for the presentation having learned how to be more inclusive of all people in their program and future careers.
Collaborating with Community Living York South
On October 17th, Community Living Ontario partnered with Community Living York South (CLYS) to deliver an interactive in-person workshop entitled “Inclusive Education and Approaches to Employment”. The workshop was led by two YAC members, Maahil Arshad and Sahir Dhalla. They engaged the 43-person audience with several interactive activities, small group discussions, and personal stories. Two youth members from CLYS – Alex and Gajahnany – also shared their lived experiences and shared resources to help other youth succeed in their educational and employment journeys. We can’t wait to collaborate with CLYS in the near future!
What happened in November?
Youth Leaders take the stage at the ODEN Conference
On November 13th, two YAC members – Yashvit and Aakriti – joined by Community Living staff – Payal (CLO), Terry Cloutier (Community Living Windsor), and Shelby Pillon (Community Living Essex-County) – took the stage at the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN): Rethinking Disability Conference 2023. They shared about the purpose and success of the DISRUPT! social justice series. They presented to 55 people during their session.
Educating the Teachers of Tomorrow about the “Truths of Institutionalization”
On November 9th and 14th, Nicole Canzoneri, a member of CLO’s Board of Directors and the YAC, facilitated two virtual DISRUPT! Workshops on the topic: Truths of Institutionalization. She presented to 46 first-year students enrolled in teachers’ college at the University of Ottawa. Nicole provided the students with an overview of the six modules from the Truths of Institutionalization online curriculum. She also emphasized the students’ roles as future educators in creating authentically inclusive learning environments for students of all abilities.
How to Stay Connected
We will continue to host DISRUPT! Social justice events for youth in the coming months. Be the first to know about these events by following us on social media. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
We appreciate your support. You make it possible for change to happen!
