Victoria, BC – Well over 80 middle and high school students will join 17 teachers and 9 police officers at this year’s Youth for Change and Inclusion (YCI). The camp, which takes place at Camp Pringle on the shores of Shawnigan Lake from May 3rd through May 6th will introduce youth from Victoria, Saanich, Vancouver, Ladysmith and Nanaimo to local, national and global issues. This year marks the 14th year that YCI has taken place with well over 1000 youth having attended the camp over the past 13 years.
Over the years, camps have been run with the financial support of the Victoria Police Department, Coast Capital Savings and Victoria School District 61. Many of the schools have paid for partial teacher release costs and the police departments have supported YCI by allowing their employees to attend on work time. Many volunteers attend on their own time.
This year’s speakers include residential schools survivor Anne Tenning, Plastic Bank CEO David Katz, Chief Learning Officer of Internet and Social Media Safety Darren Laur (Personal Protection Systems Inc), VicPD’s Acting Chief Del Manak, Dave Dickson speaking about homelessness, Moussa Magassa speaking about social transformation and peacebuilding along with various other presenters.
“YCI is about youth getting together for positive change in our communities,” VicPD Sgt. and YCI co-founder Paul Brookes said. “This camp helps youth come together with experts from around the world who can speak with them about the issues that face us all.”
VicPD spokesperson Cst. Matt Rutherford will be attending YCI this year and sharing his experiences live through Twitter using the #YCI2017 hashtag. Media are also invited to attend portions of the camp.
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