The second annual YDI symposium, Centering Student Voice, was held on November 2nd, 2022. In light of this year’s theme, we not only wanted to share the 2021/2022 findings from the YDI but we also wanted to showcase the importance of including and engaging youth in decision-making. This year’s symposium featured an abundance of different voices who aim to promote youth health and well-being in BC, including our partners from the Abbotsford School District (Nathan Ngieng, Gino Bondi, and David De Wit) and BC Children’s Hospital (Sabrina Khan, Alex Gist, and youth speaker, Rehanna), as well as Corey Hirsch, past goalie for the Vancouver Canucks and mental health advocate, and youth themselves!
We were extremely grateful to Elder Syexwaliya from Squamish Nation who provided a powerful land acknowledgment in the form of a song, as well as a closing prayer at the end of the event. Additional thanks to members of our YDI Youth Advisory Council who acted as key consultants while planning this event and who led a creative task where they submitted diverse media representing what student voice means to them.
Click to download a copy of the 2022 symposium package or presentation slides. Recordings of each session can be found below.