Workshop Session #5
Saturday, August 1st at 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Dance for Peace: Unity with Others to Create Global Harmony
Presenter: Kristina Djokic
For a highly personal and reflective workshop, Dance for Peace will suit those who wish to find their own peace not by suppressing their difficult emotions but by celebrating them and seeing their own humanity. This one-hour workshop will begin with non-choreographed dance movements and proceed to guide you through meditation in movement to reveal your authentic self and your connection with others.
Kristina Djokic BIOGRAPHY
Kristina has been dancing since the age of 3. Having formal dance training in ethnic styles such as Balkan, African and tribal, bellydance, as well as ballroom dancing, Kristina values the rich experience of expression and believes that it is written in everyone's DNA how to move. Expressive styles are her forté. The key to expressive dance is to access yourself and forego the notion of fear. Kristina is a certified CanFit Pro fitness instructor and instructs many forms of traditional fitness exercises such as step aerobics and strength training. Kristina is also passionate about sustainability and global health issues and plans to supplement her Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering with a Masters degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on sustainability and urban ecosystems in 2010. She aims to educate and inspire humanity about living within our means, in balance with all ecosystems, as well as in harmony with each other.
Katima...what? How Katimavik Changes Lives and Communities
Presenter: Dylan Letendre
Dylan Letendre's presentation will address the importance of personal growth in order to increase the quality of one’s own life as well as the lives of those around him. Dylan will draw on his personal stories, many of which are highly entertaining and informative, to demonstrate how one has the power to enrich the quality of growth within a local community.
Dylan Letendre BIOGRAPHY
Dylan Letendre is 23 and is from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Dylan grew up Métis with a close attachment to his cultural heritage. When he was 17, Dylan had the opportunity to participate in the Katimavik Youth Service Program. This nine-month experience changed his life in several different ways. He emerged from the program with enriched confidence, a greater understanding of the multicultural nation that is Canada, and his role in the world.
Desiring to continue his education through experience, Dylan travelled to India where he immersed himself in the social, spiritual, and environmental aspects of another multicultural nation. One of the more vexing yet memorable experiences for Dylan came while staying in the New Tibetan Refugee Camp in New Delhi during the protests in 2007. Dylan has since vowed to be a part of the solution rather than the cause of the world’s issues. In his current role as a Katimavik Project Leader, Dylan works to engage youth in community building while exposing them to the realities of the ongoing issues the world faces today.
From the Bottom Up: Promoting Youth Engagement in Civil Society and Community Development
Presenter: Maximo Costumado
This workshop will provide an overview of basic skills and strategies for youth to advocate, network, and voice their opinions about good governance and community empowerment. The workshop is based on the idea that youth are an integral part of civil society and thus must participate in the political process in order to guarantee that their concerns and aspirations are heard. Participants will work in small groups as part of a civic participation demonstrative game. Through this workshop you will learn how to mobilize to advocate on behalf of you community...wherever it is!
Maximo Costumado BIOGRAPHY
Maximino Costumado began volunteering at an early age in his home country Mozambique. After earning his degree in Geology with a specialization in Population, Environment, and Development, Maximino participated in an exchange with Canada World Youth. He became involved with Friends of the Forest Coalition in Mozambique while volunteering for the Centre for Public Integrity in 2007. Friends of the Forest works to raise awareness about illegal logging in Mozambique. As part of his duties at Friends of the Forest, Maximino created a youth-focused theatre group called Kulaya aimed at using popular education and theatre for environmental activism and civic participation.
A Grassroots Organizing Toolbox: Taking Action on Gender
Presenter: Joanne Cave
This session's objective is two-fold: 1) Offer a space for GYA delegates to discuss and learn about issues of gender, empowerment, and sustainability; and 2) Give delegates the opportunity to learn about various ways to affect social change at the grassroots level (e.g. through a zine, letter writing campaign, blog, photovoice project or community dialogue). Important areas of discussion include how to access resources and funding, how to recruit volunteers, and how to work with, rather than against, policy-makers. Using Ophelia's Voice as a case study, Joanne will present her own personal story - the obstacles, the successes. She may only be 17, but she's sure learned A LOT! Participants can expect to learn a lot too and to leave with practical tools to bring their work, as well as plenty of resources and solutions to their personal organizing challenges, explored in a peer-learning way.
Joanne Cave BIOGRAPHY
Joanne Cave is a 17-year-old student from Sherwood Park. At the age of 12, Joanne founded Ophelia’s Voice, a non-profit that empowers girls and young women to use there leadership potential to affect social change. Joanne was the recipient of the Top 20 under 20 award in 2006, a Youth Human Rights Award in 2008, and Global Edmonton’s Woman of Vision Award in 2009.
Web 2.0 for Social Change
Presenter: Katherine Walraven
For all those looking to use social media, look no further! This workshop presented by Katherine Walraven from TakingITGlobal will show you how current Web 2.0 tools and technologies can work to enhance one's knowledge of global issues, intercultural understanding, and overall sense of empowerment. Explore how these tools can be effectively used to bring about local and global social change and community development by showcasing real-life examples.
Katherine Walraven BIOGRAPHY
Katherine is the Education Program Manager for TakingITGlobal with a strong passion for global issues and global education. In 2006, Katherine went to Johannesburg, South Africa to work for the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) where she managed and contributed to the development of the Information Technology for Environmental Sustainability initiative. She also contributed to APC News, a monthly e-bulletin focusing on the strategic use of information communication technology. Katherine has her M.A. in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University.
Mental Illness and Youth
Presenter: Austin Mardon
Mental illness is often overlooked at youth gatherings, and yet this is an issue that affects everyone in the community in different ways and to varying degrees. This workshop focuses on challenging the stigma around mental illness through lively discussion during which all participants are invited to share their stories and views.
Marketing for Good, not Evil
Presenter: Rikia Saddy
Who are the masters of our consumer-driven universe? Advertising agencies. To change the world, learn how to apply the same logic and techniques their people use to get us to buy things to instead inspire action: recycling, voting, tolerance and social change. In this workshop we will walk through the questions and strategies used by ad shops to develop a creative brief, the one-page bible—er, core positioning document—that art directors and copywriters use as the launch pad for brilliant campaigns.
Rikia Saddy BIOGRAPHY
Following her posting as Public Relations Officer in Alberta House, London, Rikia embarked on a career in advertising in 1991 with Backer Spielvogel Bates New York, then the 7th largest agency network in the world. Ranking first in Bates’ management training program, she moved into account management on two global and highly competitive brands, TWA and Miller Brewing Company. In search of a more balanced life, and the ability to vote, Rikia returned to Canada in 1994 where she honed her marketing skills for companies including Walt Disney and her advertising skills for BC TEL (TELUS). Rikia became interested in corporate social responsibility and working for responsible companies while directing the launch of Citizen’s Bank in Vancouver. Rikia also contributes to her community by working pro bono for the Vancouver Opera, YWCA, Mortal Coil Performance Society, and others. She is passionate about change and has been working as a strategist for several years on various political campaigns. Rikia holds an MBA in International Marketing from Thunderbird, a BA in sociology and economics from the University of Alberta, and has studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York and the Sorbonne in Paris. She grew up in Edmonton and rural Alberta.
You don't have to change your life to change theirs
Presenter: Roslyn Hendersen
Being a mentor is a unique way for youth to not only become a leader in their community but to also make a difference for a young person in need of a positive role model. This workshop, facilitated by staff from Big Brothers Big Sisters, will focus on what it means to be a mentor, the various mentoring opportunities and programs available, how to become involved in one of the BBBS programs, and the impact that mentorship can have on yourself as a volunteer and the community.
BIOGRAPHY
The vision of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to make Edmonton and area a place where every young person will have a positive ongoing relationship with a caring adult. Think BIG! If we each help one child, we can change the world! Visit www.bbbsedmonton.org for more.