Calling on young Nunavut leaders to unite

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

I am writing this letter to raise a concern that I’ve had for the last few years.

According to the Statistics Canada 2006 census, youth aged 25 years and under constitute the majority of the population in Nunavut.

Yet we still hear our leaders and decision makers saying “youth are our future.”

Aren’t we already here now? Don’t we already face social issues like adults and elders? If we form the majority of the population then why are we waiting for the future to have our concerns and voices heard?
 
It is clearly evident now that a territorial youth council should be established as soon as possible.  

There are currently three regional youth councils, but not all of them are functioning as they were expected to. The majority of the communities in the territory have youth committees, and yet there is not one single oraganization designed to represent the interest, concerns, thoughts and ideas of our young population.

Nunavut is still an infant in its stages of governance, A territorial youth council would provide a unified voice for the decision-making process in Nunavut. 

The Legislative Assembly has been and will be making bills that will ultamately affect everyone, including young people. Before the bills pass third reading, consultations are held in the communities to make sure the affected parties have a say, and this could be a perfect field for the voice of youth.
 
In 2005, during the Nunavut Tunngavik annual general meeting, delegates unanimously passed a resolution giving direction to the NTI’s Department of Social and Cultural Development to work with regional Inuit associations to create a territorial Inuit youth council, and for the Qaujisaqtiit Society to investigate funding sources for this organization.
 
With the support of delegates five years ago, I think it is safe to assume that the support is still there.
 
Far too often we hear that “youth are our future,” but I would like to invite everyone to prepare for the future and start gaining leadership experience.

I call upon young leaders of Nunavut to start getting in contact with each other and take steps towards the creation of Nunavut Youth Council.

I encourage eveyone to check out and join nunavutyouth.ning.com to support this initiative to create such an organization, which will prove beneficial to the betterment of the territory as a whole.
 
Allen Auksaq
Igloolik


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