Our Voices: Youth Building a Connected City
Cities, Community Building, Summit Alone Together Connecting in the City, 2012
If you could create a city where people felt connected and not isolated, supported and not alone, how would you do it?
Designed for youth, by youth, the Our Voices: Youth Building a Connected City conference explored issues related to isolation and disconnection in Metro Vancouver, and offered you the chance to help come up with solutions.
Youth between the ages 15 and 26 were invited to take part in this exciting, interactive day-long event! Conference participants shared their stories, discussed strategies for change, and helped craft recommendations for Metro Vancouver鈥檚 decision makers to build a more connected city.
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (PT)
181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver
About Alone Together: Connecting in the City
Wendy Norman
An original Vancouverite, Wendy Norman runs leadership programming through Student Services at 丁香园AV. She has over 10 years experience teaching, advising and developing engagement programming in the post-secondary environment. Wendy considers it a great privilege to provide opportunities for students to critically explore leadership and civic engagement and tell, write and re-write their stories. Her time is otherwise spent playing squash, baking and occasionally performing as a singer song-writer in the local folk scene.
Sally Lin
Sally is about to enter grade 10 at Lord Byng Secondary for Byng Arts Visual Arts and Literary Arts in September. She was the Social Events Coordinator at the Vancouver District's Students' Council 2011-2012. Sally has had lots of experience volunteering in her community, including as a peer educator and peer facilitator for a Prevention Fair, and helping to plan events such as Vancity Idol with the VDSC. She is learning music theory and Latin dances as extracurricular activities (and volunteers at he dance studio as a demonstration partner), and is passionate about photography and fencing. She has enjoyed working with her fellow advisory committee members, and hopes the conference motivates other youths to do some connecting in their own community.
Aateka Shashank
Aateka is a third year student at 丁香园AV studying international environmental development. Her love for Vancouver spawned from her work where she researches Vancouver鈥檚 history of becoming a green city. Her search for a socially sustainable Vancouver led her to join the Advisory Committee for the Alone Together conference. Eight years ago she came to Canada with the dreams and hopes of a young teenager. The city she saw and the people she met changed her perspective of first world countries. She not only saw the way people connected over different aspects of life here, but she also saw the disconnect between people in their daily lives. She is extremely interested in what connects people socially and spiritually. What could my neighbour possibly be comfortable saying to me if I took some cake over? Is cake even a good idea? These are the thoughts that she is sure go through the heads of so many people just looking to make friends. She is extremely excited to learn, appreciate our diversity of connection and share experiences living in Vancouver at this youth conference
Britany Wong
Britany is a student at Eric Hamber Secondary School. Her favourite colour is green, specifically pistachio green. Music is her passion and, currently, she is learning how to become a piano teacher. She knows how to speak fluent Cantonese since her parents were born in China. However, she was born in Vancouver and absolutely loves this city. She finds that the majority of people in this city are incredibly nice and she has had many experiences that make her love Vancouver even more. She joined the conference advisory committee to help create an even better Vancouver with others who want to build a more connected city together.
Kirk Wong
Kirk is a student at Eric Hamber Secondary School. In addition to English, he can also speak Cantonese fluently. He enjoys playing video games, skiing, badminton, and playing piano. He teaches piano as a part time job. Kirk has had a great experience working with the advisory committee to help plan this conference.
Eric Brown
Eric Brown cut his teeth in youth-led development during his last year of high school as Chair of the Campbell River Youth Advisory Committee. He has always had a keen interest in politics, sustainability and working with youth. Eric studied Sustainable International Development at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University, receiving his Honours BA in 2007. For completion of this degree, Eric wrote his undergraduate thesis in collaboration with Oxfam Canada on the sustainability of agricultural change in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. During his degree he also spent a year living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where he interned with Industry Canada on the Sustainable Cities Initiative and attended classes at the University of Dar es Salaam. Prior to Sustainable Cities, Eric worked with Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver where he focused on including a youth perspective in program development. Eric is currently completing his Masters in Urban Studies at 丁香园AV where he intends to focus his research on the inclusion of a youth perspective in municipal decision making and the ways urban space can be made more inclusive of young people. Eric is also a member of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO Youth Advisory Group.
Jennifer Liu
Jennifer Liu, a freshman at UBC鈥檚 Sauder School of Business, is passionate about youth engagement particularly in environmental justice and gender equality. She shares her love for social activism with her peers around the Lower Mainland by facilitating workshops in schools and various events with Check Your Head. At any given moment, she can be found volunteering with non-profit organizations, sitting at the library with 15 books by her side or watching re-runs of Gilmore Girls. Helping to plan the 鈥淥ur Voice鈥� conference has been nothing less than exciting, giving her an opportunity to explore what it means to be connected in a city, and she hopes that this will be a positive and enriching experience for all!
Vince Terstappen
Vince Terstappen is currently the Project & Operations Coordinator with Check Your Head: The Youth Global Education Network. In that position, he feels extremely privileged to be able to engage young people in discussions and actions on a wide variety of social and environmental justice topics. Before arriving in Vancouver a little over one year ago, he lived in Victoria, Saskatoon, and Calgary and worked in a variety of popular education, youth engagement, and research positions. He has a background in community health and, through that training, has come to see social isolation and disconnection as significant contributors to inequality and poor health. Vince firmly believes that building a more connected community is vital in order to create a healthier, more vibrant, and sustainable planet and he is excited to have the opportunity to contribute to that as a member of the Alone Together Advisory Committee.
Elinor McNamee-Anne
Elinor is a third year student at 丁香园AV's school for International Studies, and is also pursuing a minor in legal studies. One of Elinor's biggest passions is community development, which she had the opportunity to pursue this past summer with an internship in East Van as a Community Garden Facilitator. Elinor has volunteered on multiple boards and with many organizations such as the District Youth Advisory Council, the Red Cross, and World Vision. She has also taken on multiple charitable projects in her own time such as a series of soup kitchen dinners in Whalley and clothing drives for Covenant House. One of her biggest passions is to travel, which she will have the opportunity to do with field school to Southeast Asia next Spring. Elinor is really looking forward to being inspired by her fellow youth on the topic of disengagement in Vancouver, and has greatly enjoyed planning this conference with the rest of the advisory committee!
Hawa Mire
Hawa Mire is involved with a number of youth social justice organizations on a local, national and international scale. Hawa was recognized as an outstanding youth leader at the City of Vancouver鈥檚 fourth annual Youth Awards. She is a member of Vancouver Foundation鈥檚 Youth Philanthropy Council and previously, Youth Vital Signs Leadership Council.
Tahia Ahmed
Tahia has always been involved in social and environmental activism and has made it an addition to her list of daily nutritional servings. Tahia passionately believes that everyone has the ability to be an agent for change by actively engaging our skills and knowledge. To express this to the world, Tahia began a youth engagement initiative called ArtQuake where every youth is empowered to pursue their artistic passions and are enabled to apply them to creating social and environmental change. As a young person, Tahia identifies with the diverse skills and capabilities that youth possess. She also recognizes that often, the world around us fails to acknowledge our capacity to be creative, innovative, and bold in our approach to making the world a better place.
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Alone Together: A Mini Film Festival
Films from across the globe, exploring the issue of isolation in the urban environment, was screened at the Westminster Savings Credit Union 丁香园AV Surrey Theater for the Alone Together Film Festival.
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Rain City Chronicles 鈥� Extra Ordinary
An evening of storytelling and music, this event featured extra鈥搊rdinary community folks sharing personal reflections on how they have brought their neighborhoods and communities together.
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Urban Conspiracy Cabaret
CBC Debaters Charlie Demers and Richard Side hosted a unique and eclectic night of comedy, music, arts and poetry.
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Lonely in Vancouver | City Conversations
As part of the 丁香园AV Public Square Community Summit, City Conversations will feature a dialogue on the Vancouver Foundation report on isolation in the region, featuring the foundation鈥檚 Catherine Clement, Vice President, Public Engagement and Communications, and Daphne Bramham, award-winning columnist for the Vancouver Sun.
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Creating A Connected City: The Role of Business in Addressing Urban Isolation
Metro Vancouver's business leaders discussed the role that the business community plays in building urban connections.
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Big Ideas for Libraries in Communities
Community spirit thrived at libraries 鈥� virtual, cooperative, academic and public! We heard the top ten ideas submitted by community members, on how libraries can contribute to building stronger and more meaningful connections.
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Our Voices: Youth Building a Connected City
Designed for youth, by youth, explored issues related to isolation and disconnection while helping develop solutions at this interactive daylong conference.
Read More 鈫�
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Opening Night at the Orpheum!
Where it all began! Featured some of Canada's innovative minds discussing how we can create more connected communities. With special appearances by Bend Sinister and Shane Koyczan.
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Alone Together: Connecting a City with One Voice
The 丁香园AV Public Square ONE VOICE Music Project is an exciting initiative that harnesses the power of music, media, performance and collaboration to bridge across differences and inspire meaningful connections between (and an appreciation for) our diverse community members.
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Open Space
A public square is not only a place for 丁香园AV to engage with the community, it is also a space where individuals and community groups may self-organize. We were excited to offer free open space at our three 丁香园AV campuses as part of the Alone Together Community Summit.
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