December 1/05 marked the end of the 3 year CLN BC Youth Network Initiative. The members of the Kaien Island Youth Council remain committed to Positive Youth Development Initiatives. Click the logo above to link to a page highlighting some of their activities. Below is a description of the Project.

Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest was fortunate to have been involved in the BC Rural Youth Dialogues that the Canadian Rural Partnership held in 2000. The dialogues indicated that Youth did not feel engaged in their communities and those involved saw this as an opportunity for community development. Six of the organizations involved in the Dialogues have moved forward to work on creating platforms for youth engagement in their respective communities. These six communities worked together with Brandon Hughes of the Canadian Rural Partnership's BC Rural Team and Peter MacDonald of the Community Futures Development Association of BC to create a business plan for what is now known as the BC Youth Network Initiative and has been funded through HRDC’s Office of Learning Technology’s Community Learning Network.

Treena Decker, CFDC-PNW's Community Economic Development Coordinator is one of the 6 regional co-ordinators for the project. The project has the objective of creating youth organizations in those six regions without one and enhancing the organizations that currently exist. These councils will then be creating web pages and linking via a web portal being created specifically for this project. The idea is that the councils can utilize technology to share and learn from each other.

There are several mentors and organizations already involved in the project. CFDC-PNW looks forward to continuing to work with The Edge Youth Society, The City of Prince Rupert, The Prince Rupert Detachment of the RCMP, Hecate Strait Employment Development Society and DARE, School District #52 and Nights Alive, as well as The North Coast Community Health Council.

The Kaien Island Youth Council (KIYC) meets every Wednesday at North West Community College in room 190 at 5:30 p.m. For more information about KIYC contact Treena Decker at the CFDC office 622-2332 Extension 29. Upcoming KIYC events can be found on the What's New page.