SYMPOSIUM 2022
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.
Opening, Highlights from the 2021/2022 YDI and Youth Reflections
To kick off our symposium, YDI principal investigator Dr. Hasina Samji shares key findings from 2021/2022 YDI implementation cycle and discusses the significance of this year’s theme, Centering Student Voice. This session also features three youth co-presenters—Adya, Manuel, and Brandon—who will share their personal reflections and connections to three key areas of the YDI: mental well-being, social well-being, and youth’s future and goals.
Co-Constructing School with Student Voice, Abbotsford School District
Gino Bondi, Nathan Ngieng, and David De Wit from the Abbotsford School District discuss how Student Voice has played an integral role in their education planning and programming. They also discuss how YDI data has helped foster actionable ways to promote mental well-being for youth in their district.
Youth Engagement Theory and Practice, BC Children's Hospital
Health Promotion Specialists from BC Children’s Hospital, Alex Gist and Sabrina Khan, along with youth representative Rehanna share their insights and lessons learned while engaging youth on projects focused on mental well-being.
Symposium 2021
On October 6th, 2021 we held our first ever Youth Development Instrument Symposium. The goal of the symposium was to share findings from Phase 2 of the pilot and to bring together intersectoral stakeholders to share insights and innovative techniques to using health data to support and promote youth health and well-being.
A copy of the symposium agenda can be downloaded here. See a recording of the main session on the right.
Key Takeaways of the Concurrent Sessions
This video provides a summary of key takeaways from the concurrent sessions of the symposium, which focused on creating spaces for youth, school district stakeholders, and health and community partners.