Youth to mayor: 'Facebook us!'

Participants in today's Youth Forum at Sault Ste. Marie City Hall were fully engaged.

And that's just what everyone wanted.

"How do we get the amenities where the youth actually put their handprint in this community, so they've got something started and they want to stay because they want to follow through on that opportunity?" asked Mayor John Rowswell. "We're bringing their ownership into where we're going to grow the community in the future."

Rowswell is shown with Terry Massicotte, a local entrepreneur who participated in the forum.

Youth Community Forum Co-Chair Alvin Olar says that youth in Sault Ste. Marie are very active, have accomplished much so far and have many good ideas of where to go next.

"We have been effective," Olar says. "We've taken research, we've identified the recommendations and we've implemented them - we have a Youth Council, we have an alternative youth publication [Fresh Magazine], we have Buskerfest. We've done a lot as a volunteer group."

Olar says it's now time to move forward and identify partners, such as the City, schools, YMCA and United Way that youth can work with to further identify their needs, act on recommendations and make the Sault more attractive to young people.

The mayor proclaimed 2008 'Year of the Youth' at the beginning of the forum and in his proclamation he encouraged all citizens to join with local young people in showing their appreciation and admiration for our future leaders.

During the forum today, youth in attendance echoed that sentiment, wanting to see:

- A more positive portrayal of youth in the media.

- More recognition of youth achievement.

- More diverse opportunities for fulfilling employment.

- More access to art and entertainment they are interested in.

Several suggested using Facebook.com to organize and promote the things they are interested in.

Some also said they wanted to see less talk and more action when it comes to services for youth, such as a youth centre and an administrator to run it.

They liked the idea of a one-stop-shopping centre with information and resources about things that concern youth.

During his closing comments, the Mayor said he believes the City can work toward such a centre but it would be a long-term goal.

"For now, we can go for some of the fruit that is hanging a little closer to the ground," he said. "There were many suggestions today that could be acted on right away."

Rowswell said he was surprised by students' comments about feeling like foreigners when they come to school in the Sault from other communities.

"I was surprised to learn that the youth who are coming here to Sault College and Algoma University College are coming to the university and college but they really don't get an indoctrination about the actual city. So they sort of remain a foreigner for the longest time," he said. "We could do better as a community by doing a student Welcome Wagon with respect to organizations - this what we've got and this is what we're about."

He also said he would like to learn about best practices and things that are working in other communities and see what might work here in the Sault.

Many of the youth present also said they'd like to see more regular youth forums (saying every four years is not enough), more open lines of communication with City Council and the community at large and more inclusiveness in the community.

"I think today will be a step up in creating teams and creating means for the youth and everyone to generate thoughts in a more productive manner for the wellbeing of Sault Ste. Marie," said Terry Massicotte.

Massicotte said he believes action, creation and philanthropy are the best means to engage youth and their community in positive, healthy, successful strategies to improve life for everyone in the community in the process of improving things for the youth.

About 60 people attended today's Youth Community Forum at City Hall from 10 a.m.to noon.

The event was organized and promoted by the mayor's office and presenters included Sault Youth Council, Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation, Sault College, the YMCA and Algoma Youth Action Alliance.

After the presentations, participants broke into four smaller groups and discussed several topics, the results of which were then presented to the group as a whole.

Over the next few weeks, the Sault Youth Council will compile comments, suggestions and issues raised today and create a report that will be presented to City Council and published on the City website.