Registration / Breakfast / Networking

NAIT Foyer

GYA Welcome & Kick Off!
John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights and Friends

NAIT Gym

First Nations Welcome

NAIT Gym

Global Community & Citizenship: Building Responsibility
Dr. Lloyd Axworthy

Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, Canada’s former Foreign Minister, and all around amazing human rights champion, will blow you away. Dr. Axworthy will share his experience on the world stage and will talk about important themes such as global citizenship, global governance, the United Nations, and our responsibility to protect each other. In a past career, he played a key role in the campaigns to ban anti-personnel landmines and to establish the International Criminal Court. In his position as President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg, Dr. Axworthy is working to make post-secondary education more accessible to the inner-city, Aboriginals, and new Canadians. How did he take the lessons learned at the global level and apply them to his work at the local level? Find out! Be prepared to be inspired and to think globally!

NAIT Gym

University of Winnipeg

Lunch Break / Networking / Building Community Fair

NAIT North & South Lobbies

Break / Networking / Building Community Fair

NAIT

Me to We
Craig Keilburger

Young people are often celebrated as the “leaders of tomorrow”. It’s time to recognize that they can be leaders today in building a better world for all! This session with Craig will be a truly unforgettable experience. Adopting a high-energy approach that has captivated audiences worldwide, this young visionary will discuss his personal path from Me to We, and the way this journey has shaped his life. Craig will share practical strategies for successful social involvement, including his famous Seven Steps to Social Involvement. Participants will be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to become creative, compassionate, and committed young leaders. They will be able to identify the issues they’re passionate about, and be ready to use their unique gifts to make a difference in the world.

NAIT Gym

Canadian Commission to UNESCO

Free Time / Building Community Fair

 NAIT North Lobby

GYA Global Film Festival and Discussion

Films can make a difference! The GYA presents two incredible films that are informative, inspiring, and changing perceptions about two major issues - residential school systems in North America and the genocide in Darfur. Join Georgina Lighting, director of the movie Older than America, in a post-film discussion about the treatment of aboriginals in North America and how to build bridges between aboriginal and non-aboriginals. Darfur Now, an acclaimed documentary that vividly portrays the stories of six individuals as they work to redefine the world in which we live, will be followed by a panel sure to blow you away.

Post Film Discussion: Older than America
Georgina Lightening

NAIT Classrooms, Gym, Theatre

Global Visions Festival

Breakfast / Networking / Building Community Fair

NAIT North & South Lobbies

Opening Remarks

NAIT Gym

Take it Back!
Gary Martin

Building community at the local level is all about empowerment. Gary Martin works with communities facing gang-related violence and criminal activity to TAKE IT BACK…the community, that is.  This smooth-talking blues musician and former US Army Military Police Officer uses music, dialogue, humor, and martial arts to bring everyone in the community together. When communities become apathetic, frightened, or disunited, gangs can thrive. Part of rebuilding and bettering a community is reaching out to youth to TAKE IT BACK too.  When youth have the opportunity to take back their lives, the possibilities for themselves and the entire community are endless. Gary has some awesome stories to tell about how he turned his hatred into hope and has made a difference in cities from Chicago to Calgary.  He really is oh so cool!

NAIT Gym

Social Work through Hip Hop
Buddha

Time to get up and move! Buddha and his BluePrintForLife crew will talk, rap, and dance about the work that they do in remote Arctic communities, inner city communities, and even Kenya. Buddha is a Hip Hop and social work vet. He and his crew work every day to build community at the local level by engaging youth and their families in a variety of healthy living activities that are empowering and fun. This session explores the positive elements of Hip Hop as a tool for youth to celebrate traditional culture and local leadership. Buddha and his crew are full of surprises, uh, like their partnership with the Cirque du Soleil. This is a no rules kind of presentation.

NAIT Gym

Lunch Break / Networking / Building Community Fair

NAIT North & South Lobbies

Break / Networking / Building Community Fair

NAIT South Lobby

Action is Hot, Apathy is Not: Politics & Building Community
Moderator: Ilona Dougherty, Apathy is Boring
Panelists: Councilor Don Iveson, City of Edmonton
Nazanin Afshin-Jam
Lewis Cardinal
Fambai Ngirande
Others TBD!

Politics shouldn’t be a dirty word. This panel discussion consists of young politicians and others who have been or are engaged in the political process in some way. Have you ever thought about running for office? Ever wonder who does and why? How about what political involvement is and why it’s such a big deal? This is your chance to ask these questions to a few really incredible young leaders in the political world. Civic engagement, voting, running for student body, keeping informed about current events around the word, valuing the democratic process…yes, this too builds community.

NAIT Gym

City of Edmonton;
Apathy is Boring

Free Time / Building Community Fair

NAIT South Lobby

Governor General Youth Dialogue and Concert

The Governor General, in collaboration with Apathy is Boring and the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, will host a Hip Hop Youth Dialogue on peace building and solidarity followed by a concert in Edmonton on July 31st, 2009.

NAIT Gym

91.7 The Bounce;
Apathy is Boring;
The People’s Poets

Breakfast / Networking / Building Community Fair

NAIT North & South Lobbies

Real Places, Real People, Real Change: This is 4REAL!
Sol Guy and Josh Thome (4REAL)
Liz Evans (Portland Hotel Society)
Alyssa Dawamana Macy (NVision)

4REAL is a hit TV series that brings celebrity guests to meet young leaders who are affecting change in communities around the world. In season one, stars included Cameron Diaz, Mos Def, Joaquin Pheonix, MIA, Eva Mendes, and others. Joining the GYA in ’09 are Sol Guy and Josh Thome from 4REAL and  some of the incredible young leaders who inspired these stars and millions of viewers with their dedication and commitment to building community. Presenters will talk about what it takes to be a leader, how to make a difference, and what it is like to be part of the 4REAL experience.

NAIT Gym

4REAL

Lunch Break / Networking / Building Community Fair

NAIT North & South Lobbies

DreamNow
Dev Aujla

This dynamic session answers those questions that will undoubtedly be burning at this point. Questions like: “This was fun. But now what?”, “Can one person really make a difference?”, and “What happens after the GYA?” No worries. Dev is on it. He’ll take you through a plan of action that will leave you feeling prepared to build community at any time and anywhere.

Break / Networking / Building Community Fair

NAIT South Lobby

When Hope Takes a Stand
Ocean Robbins

In spite of, or perhaps in response to, the many pressing challenges of our times, a movement is afoot. It is alive in the hearts, spirits and actions of millions of people, of every religious, economic and cultural background, who are rising up to make a difference with their lives. Ocean Robbins has spent more than half his life collaborating with some of the outstanding young leaders of our times, and working at the forefront of worldwide movements towards a thriving, just and sustainable future. His presentation will be rich with stories of inspiration from his learning journey; reflections on the pivotal moment we face as a species; and an invitation to take a stand with our lives.

Free Time / Building Community Fair

NAIT South Lobby

Shop 4 Change Show

Do you know where your jeans were made, or where your coffee comes from? Do you know how much energy it takes to produce that plastic bottle, or how long it takes to biodegrade?  We all impact the environment, our health, and the lives of people around the world through one of our most popular daily habits – SHOPPING. We’ve all heard about “green” or “fair trade” or “local” or “no sweat” products and services. But where do you find them? Can they be fashionable AND easy on your pocket book? Can your choices really save lives?

The Shop 4 Change Show will feature the Panties for Peace Campaign, a campaign to stop violence against women in Burma, and an inspiring keynote address by Mariatu Kamara.

Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend? Or are They?
Mariatu Kamara

Mariatu Kamara, a young woman from Sierra Leone, will speak about her harrowing journey as a child affected by a conflict fuelled by "blood diamonds".  Mariatu is currently a student at the University of Toronto. She co-authored The Bite of the Mango, her own story for young adults, with Susan McClelland, winner of the 2005 and 2008 Amnesty International Media Award for excellence in human rights reporting.

NAIT Gym

Space for Delegate Action Planning

Grant MacEwan College

Youth Educators Forum

Grant MacEwan College

Interfaith Tour of Edmonton

Interfaith Edmonton

Heritage Days

Hawrelak Park