Youth Engagement

About Youth Engagement

We all recognize the importance of encouraging young people to stay in our community. To accomplish this, we have to improve the quality and coordination of youth services and supports. Generating these improvements usually requires changes in policies and resource allocations, and that’s more likely to happen when there is strong community demand. Without direct youth input, improvement efforts designed to engage and support young people can miss the mark.

The City of Timmins and other community organizations have made and continue to make efforts to engage youth. Timmins 2020’s Youth Engagement project aims to reach out to local youth and encourage them to become active citizens that take pride in their community. The project will bring together all youth, from high school students to post-secondary students, vulnerable youth to young professionals, in an effort to ensure all voices are heard. The youth will have an opportunity to learn from and support each other, and therefore feel more intrinsically linked to the local community. We want to make Timmins a place where our youth want to live, learn and raise their own families!

Project Progress

As we mentioned, several organizations already have their own youth engagement programs. For example, the City of Timmins has the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) which involves high school aged kids in civic affairs. The Timmins Chamber of Commerce runs the Timmins Young Professionals group which brings together young adults in professional careers to network and run events. These and other youth engagement programs have been successful in engaging their target youth segment, but Timmins 2020’s Youth Engagement project aims to bring these groups together to support one another.

As of March 2013, the leaders of various community youth organizations have gathered to discuss how to proceed with the project. They are exploring funding opportunities, discussing which organization will take the lead on the project, and making preliminary plans to hold a Youth Summit sometime in 2013.

What You Can Do

  • Read the Latest News related to the Youth Engagement project.
  • Share your thoughts about the Youth Engagement project on our Facebook page.
  • Suscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, 2020 Focus, to stay up-to-date on the progress of Timmins 2020.
  • Talk to your friends and family about Timmins 2020 and this project.
  • Contact us to provide input and ask questions about this project.
  • Read the Get Involved page for more ideas on how you can contribute!