At the local level of the Communities Building Youth Futures (CBYF) initiative, our CBYF communities are beginning to build their Common Agenda and identifying collective impact strategies for supporting their youth to ensure successful transition from high school.
Knowing that some of the barriers in the transition from high school in all our communities will need to be addressed at a systems level, we are also turning our attention to identifying opportunities for policy and systems changes that will be of benefit to our communities and youth. Included below are some of the strategies that we are starting to put in place to help create policy and systems changes across the country:
Building a network of organizations (some youth-led and some not) that provide supports and/or services to youth in Canada. We are using this network to share resources, ideas, events, and updates. In addition, we are developing and strengthening conversations with people who are thinking about youth futures and are working towards finding alignment and opportunities for working together.
Establishing a National Collaborative committee that will build a common agenda for cross-country collaborations, gather evidence-informed practices, leverage resources and capacity, and identify opportunities for shifting policies and systems – all of which will help support improved outcomes for youth as they navigate transitions from high school to post-secondary education, training and careers.
Hiring youth from the 13 CBYF communities as part of the Tamarack team to conduct a scan of youth-serving and youth-led organizations and compile a list of innovative and promising youth-focused projects that will help inform the work of the National Collaborative committee.
Including youth input, decision-making and leadership opportunities in all aspects of our national work.
Amplifying youth and community voices by bringing forward what we are hearing as part of the design and conversation of the National Collaborative committee.
If you would like to be added to our network, you can send me an email at nathalie@tamarackcommunity.ca. Sign up to receive our October newsletter, where we will share more details on the National Collaborative committee.