The Rotary Club of Waterdown is seeking youth aged 15 to 17 to take part in a program focused on truth and reconciliation. - Rotary Club of Waterdown photo
The Rotary Club of Waterdown is seeking youth aged 15 to 17 to take part in a program focused on truth and reconciliation. - Rotary Club of Waterdown photo
The Rotary Club of Waterdown is seeking 15- to 17-year-olds to take part in a unique program that fosters connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth by immersing them in Indigenous culture.
The Youth-to-Youth Truth and Reconciliation Experience will see 25 Indigenous and 25 non-Indigenous students from across Canada travel to Mission, B.C., in March 2024 — including two teens from Flamborough and area.
Program participants will “engage in meaningful cultural exchanges, learn about Indigenous traditions, and deepen their understanding of Indigenous history and heritage.”
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Waterdown Rotarian Garry Flood said the experience is all-expenses-paid, including travel and accommodations, adding there will also be mentors supervising participants. He added it is open to any youth in the area and will take place from March 24 to 30.
“It’s an eye-opening experience for them, it really is,” he said. “They’ll be immersed in elder teachings, elder talks, Indigenous ways and traditions.”
Flood said the program is important to create better understanding around Indigenous issues — particularly through the lens of truth and reconciliation.
“(The students) are going to get out there and understand the Indigenous ways, Indigenous teachings, what they believe with nature,” he said. “What their beliefs are — and they’re going to have a better understanding of Indigenous issues.”
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The experience is hosted by Honouring Indigenous Peoples (HIP) — an organization started almost 10 years ago by Rotarians nationwide that brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians with an emphasis on relationship building, to support the next generation of leaders and changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.
Flood said this is the second year for the program; last year, participants went to a location just outside Winnipeg at the end of March.
“My job in our district is to find one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous student to send,” he said, noting he will interview the students, who will then be interviewed by representatives of HIP.
The program — known as Y2Y — includes activities, workshops and interactive sessions, and youth are encouraged to embrace diversity, build relationships, and develop a greater appreciation for Indigenous perspectives and contributions.
Eligible students should be interested in being an agent for change and currently enrolled in Grades 9 to 11. Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 17 as of March 1, 2024, meaning they are born on or between March 2, 2007, and March 1, 2009.
Applications are available by emailing flood.garry@gmail.com and are due by Friday, Nov. 24. Interviews will be conducted the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 28, and participants will be selected and notified prior to Jan. 31, 2024.
is the Flamborough Review's news editor. He is an award-winning journalist, who writes about anything and everything within Flamborough. Reach him at mchristie@flamboroughreview.com.
