Environmental assessment - Caldwell-Carver Conservation Area - April 24 to 25 and 29 to 30
Councillor King successfully brought forward a motion at Council to recognize National Youth Week.
National Youth Week, celebrated annually during the first week of May, is dedicated to the celebration of youth and their active participation in their community. The City of Ottawa will be joining other Canadian municipalities in recognizing the contributions and potential of youth in our communities.
National Youth Week is an initiative by the Provincial Consortium on Youth in Recreation that encourages communities across Canada to celebrate youth involvement in sport, recreation, art, fitness, civic engagement and community involvement.
It provides an opportunity for neighbourhoods to celebrate youth through hosting events and supporting the principles of intentional youth development, which supports the role of recreation and services in the positive development of youth. Councillor King was grateful to receive unanimous support for the following motion and is excited by the prospect of new youth programming which will be announced during National Youth Week to improve youth outcomes in Ward 13, Rideau-Rockcliffe.
WHEREAS recreation benefits individuals, families, neighbourhoods and communities and the City of Ottawa provides high quality programs and leisure opportunities for residents to lead healthy, active lives through recreation and to make our community a great place to live, work and play; and
WHEREAS there is an increasing interest in intentional youth development through recreation in Canada that is founded on a substantial and growing body of research to support the role of recreation in the positive development of youth; and
WHEREAS Canadian youth are often unrecognized for the valuable contributions they make to communities and Canada’s social, economic and civic landscape; and
WHEREAS it is vital to uplift youth voices, particularly during times of crisis, as they are the generation most deeply impacted by the civic, social, and environmental outcomes of our decisions; and
WHEREAS meaningful youth engagement through recreation emphasizes access, equity and social justice and leads to positive youth development; and
WHEREAS National Youth Week reminds us all of the valuable contributions that recreation and parks can make to youth development and that youth can make to community development; and
WHEREAS National Youth Week is endorsed by the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association and the network of agencies and individuals committed to the positive development of youth; and
WHEREAS National Youth Week has existed for over a decade and continues to grow, with many cities across Canada currently recognizing May 1-7 as a Youth Week, including but not limited to Calgary, Toronto, Peterborough, Kingston, Edmonton, Regina and Halifax; and
WHEREAS organizations including Youth Ottawa, Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, YNRA, BGC, and Uniting for Children and Youth support recognition of National Youth Week in the City of Ottawa; and
WHEREAS youth throughout Ottawa have been working over the past two years to help designate the City of Ottawa as a UNICEF Child Friendly City in Canada;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that in recognition of its benefits and values and to provide a focal point within the year for increasing awareness concerning youth development, the City of Ottawa hereby proclaims May 1 – 7, 2022 as National Youth Week.
