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| Above: From left, front row, ACT for Youth Project research interns Stephanie Lucas, Stephanie Henry, Aziz Mohammed, Muzna Rehman, Enoruwa Osagie, with youth co-chair Alex Lovell, a York grad, in the back |
The Assets Coming Together (ACT) for Youth Project celebrated its youth researchers with an awards ceremony at the conclusion of a day-long partnership group meeting at Black Creek Pioneer Village.
Dozens of students from area high schools joined the participants on April 14 to celebrate the Youth research interns and youth-led committee leaders, who worked on the project in 2010.
The ACT for Youth Project, which began in 2009 and is funded through 2014, brings together an alliance of stakeholders and interdisciplinary researchers from York University in a program of applied research, capacity building, knowledge transfer and evaluation that is focused on youth in urban communities.
The project hopes to develop a comprehensive youth strategy that articulates how places like the Jane-Finch community can energize local assets that support positive youth development.
One of the goals of the project is to build the research capacity of youth in the Jane/Finch area so they can participate in asking and answering questions about issues of importance to their community. The project created its Youth Research Internship to facilitate this goal. ACT also has a youth-led committee to ensure that youth have a space to contribute to their research.
Youth-led committee co-chairs Antonius Clarke, executive director of the youth-led community agency Friends in Trouble, and York grad Alex Lovell [BA Spec. Hons. ’02, MA ’06], now a doctoral student at Queen’s University, introduced each award recipient and outlined their research contributions, volunteer activities and future study plans.
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| Above: From left, front row, youth-led committee leaders Abubakar Sultan, Edwin Chacon; middle row, Alexander Toolsie, Erica Holness, Taneese Jones, Olivia Agyemang, Tara Sherif, Suhentha Suthaharan; back row, co-chairs Lovell and Antonias Clarke |
The youth-led committee leaders recognized at the event were:
- Olivia Agyemang, Westview Centennial Secondary School
- Edwin Francis White Chacon, Emery Collegiate Institute
- Ann Duong, Earl Haig Secondary School
- Nicola Holness, University of Windsor
- Taneese Jones, Westview Centennial Secondary School
- Suhentha Suthaharan, C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute
- Alexander Toolsie, York co-op student
- Tara Sherif, Westview Centennial Secondary School
- Abubakar Sultan, Emery Collegiate Institute
The youth research interns recognized at the event were:
- Ryan Edwards, York University
- Stephanie Henry, Seneca College
- Femi Lawson, Ryerson University
- Funmilola Lawson, York University
- Stephanie Lucas, Westview Centennial Secondary School
- Aziz Mohammed, Northview High School
- Enoruwa Osagie, William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute
- Muzna Rehman, Westview Centennial Secondary School
- Judy Truong, Weston Collegiate Institute
Uzo Anucha, professor in York’s School of Social Work, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, co-chairs the ACT for Youth Project with Sue Wilkinson, executive director of the Jane-Finch Community Family Centre.
ACT is funded through a $1M grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. For more information on the Act for Youth Project, visit their website.