Buzz!

Thanks to those of you who have been contacting us!  We really enjoy hearing from you and sharing your information.  Please feel free to email us at beyond2020@rogers.com with what you have been hearing or what you would like us to know about children and youth in Canada.

Youth Opportunities Unlimited

Since 1982 Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) has done an amazing job of leading youth in London and Middlesex County toward career success.  We particularly like their new food services program funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation that provides formal and extensive hands-on training for up to 40 youth per year to work in a functioning cafe.  This social enterprise project (Cornerstone) is been launched in a historical building in the heart of London.  Visit the site.

How Does an Organization Know When it is Engaging Youth?

There is no fixed approach to youth programming that engages youth.  Youth engagement is a spectrum of approaches that are reciprocal, dynamic and interactive.  They range from programs that target young people to programs for youth, run by youth.  Check out this interesting item from the Trillium Foundation.

Counting To Twenty

John John is a mini Bill Cosby... Check out #s 14 and up.  Defines cuteness.

UN Releases 'Children's Rights and Business Principles'

The 'Children's Rights and Business Principles' represents the first set of principles to guide companies on the full range of actions they can take to respect and support children's rights.  Look here for more.

Prescriptions of ADHD Meds Also on the Rise in Canada

The upward trend in the prevalence of diagnoses of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and of the prescribing of medications to treat ADHD seen in the United States and other developed countries is also occurring in Canada, except in pre-school-aged children, according to a new study published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.  (Free membership may be required - it's a good site and a source of information)

How Supportive Parenting Impacts Your Child's Brain

A recent study by experts at Washington University illustrates why good parenting skills and parent wellbeing is so important that it can even affect the size of an important part of the brain - the hippocampus.


Teacher Abuse is on the Increase

The days of teachers getting an apple have been replaced with verbal abuse, racial and sexist slurs, repeated intimidation, threats of physical violence, vandalism of personal belongings and persistent classroom disruption.
38% of all teachers are reporting being a victim of a student's disrespectful behaviour.
27% of teachers have been physically assaulted
16% are verbally abused.
11% have been subjected to repeated racial, sexual and religious slurs.  

University First to Offer Tuition Waivers for Youth in Care in Manitoba

The University of Winnipeg launched the Youth in Care Tuition Waiver Program to ensure that youth who have grown up in care can dream about and plan for their academic future at UWinnipeg regardless of socio-economic background.  This is the first program of its kind in Manitoba and believed to be unique for a University in Canada.