OTTAWA, March 22, 2018 /CNW/ - A group of Canada's National Youth Serving Agencies has
commissioned an Abacus Data poll on public attitudes to youth civic
engagement in Canada. The results
reveal that a majority of Canadians believe that youth have too
little influence on public policy, however, 7 in 10 believe that
young people are not prepared to be civic leaders in their
communities.
Youth are increasingly exploring and finding ways to amplify
their voices on social issues that matter to them. Despite these
efforts, the poll results find that a majority of Canadians, of all
ages, don't believe youth are prepared to be active civic leaders
in their community.
"When given the opportunity, young people want to be involved
in their community," says Owen
Charters, President & CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of
Canada. "We understand that
they don't always feel ready, but this polling data tells us that
there is a lot youth-serving organizations can do to make sure
young leaders have the skills and the support to make a difference
and have their voices heard."
The top concerns of Canada's
young adults (ages 18-29) are cost of living/housing, mental
health, skill development, and post-secondary education
affordability. Canadians from all age groups share these same
concerns for youth and think these should be priorities for
governments.
"The future has never been more uncertain for young people.
They may care deeply about the broader issues facing their society;
but fundamental shifts such as rising costs of living and
education, the changing workplace and impact of digital
technologies are creating more barriers to youth engagement.
Although there are growing calls encouraging youth to be the civic
'leaders of today,' it is clear that we need to do more to better
prepare them for these roles and responsibilities," says
Deborah Morrison, President and CEO,
Experiences Canada.
According to the poll data, Canadians think programs and
organizations that offer youth these types of skills will have a
big impact on preparing them to engage in the public policy of our
country. 62% of Canadians believe it is important for youth to
interact with their peers through a variety of organizations that
help them develop positive social and leadership skills and engage
with diverse groups of people.
"At Girl Guides of Canada,
our mission is to be a catalyst for girls empowering girls,"
says Jill Zelmanovits, CEO of Girl
Guides of Canada. "As a
girl-driven organization, we provide programs that give girls
choice, voice and the scope to take action, all within a
peer-to-peer environment."
Matthew Chater, Interim President
& CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, agrees. "Our job is to build
confidence in youth and encourage them to speak their truth. It is
also our job to create opportunities for dialogue across
generations with near-peer mentoring supports. That is how we build
an even stronger Canada."
"Young people are looking for spaces and places to be
civically engaged. Canadians trust youth serving organizations to
provide these spaces and places where young people's voices are
heard and valued," says Sharif Mahdy, Executive Director
of The Students Commission of Canada.
The research says we should be working towards preparing youth
for civic leadership by increasing their opportunities to develop
job-ready skills and creating experiences where they can interact
with people from different age groups and backgrounds. These
efforts will have important implications for public policy. These
findings also echo the experiences of youth serving organizations
with global reach: "By providing youth with job skills and
opportunities for peer-to-peer leadership—in Canada and internationally—the United Nations
Association in Canada has gained
unique insights on what youth need to be civically engaged,"
says Kate White, President & CEO
of United Nations Association in Canada.
"Young leaders engaged in community-building activities at
YMCAs across the country respond openly and knowledgably when
they're engaged in the conversation," says Peter Dinsdale, President and CEO of YMCA
Canada. "We recently hosted a virtual youth town hall and the
themes that emerged from that gathering were consistent with the
opinions reflected in the poll. These are concepts that will inform
the National Youth Policy that's currently under
development."
Canadians of all ages are recognizing the leadership potential
of young Canadians and the issues that matter to them. As more
youth are supported, engaged, and invited to participate, their
influence on public policy will continue to grow.
Poll methodology
The survey was conducted online with 2,000 Canadians aged 18 and
over from February 16 to 25, 2018. A
random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from
a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These
partners are typically double opt‐in survey panels, blended to
manage out potential skews in the data from a single source.
The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association policy
limits statements about margins of sampling error for most online
surveys. The margin of error for a comparable probability‐based
random sample of the same size is +/‐ 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that
the sample matched Canada's
population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and
region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
The following Canadian national youth serving agencies
commissioned the poll:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada
Experiences Canada
YMCA Canada
Girl Guides of Canada
The Students Commission of Canada
United Nations Association in Canada
SOURCE Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada