Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
At its regular meeting March 11, Northern Sunrise Council made amendments to the Youth Council Advisory Committee Bylaw to allow youth from outside the county to participate.
Reeve Corinna Williams says the decision was made, in part, to ensure that when too few youth from inside the county applied for the positions, youth from adjacent communities could submit their names to participate.
“There was interest from youth from the village of Nampa, so the administration recommended including the community in the bylaw and council made the decision at that time to also include youth from Peace River,” explains Williams.
“Council wanted to hear from the youth of initiatives they would like to see and how can we keep rural youth to stay rural and what careers they may want to explore.”
The committee was created to engage youth in municipal governance and to provide input on youth-related initiatives, also to encourage civic leadership among youth.
“Council also thought that this was an opportunity to engage the youth in community events, volunteerism, and playing a role in community wellness,” says Williams.
“Council hopes to engage the youth through this process and to give them a voice in the future of the county and region,” she adds.
Williams says council feels it is very important to give some say to the youth as they are our future leaders and need to learn how to express their needs effectively.
“The youth are our future elected officials, professionals, trades people, entrepreneurs, business owners, and it is important to know what matters to them and how we can help to shape that future for them,” she notes.
“We want to retain our youth in the region. To do that, we need to understand what is important to them.”
The committee will meet four times each year, with the committee officially commencing last year.
“At the council’s organizational meeting in October, we did not have enough applicants from the county to form the committee,” Williams explains.
“With the amended bylaw, youth from Nampa and Peace River are eligible to apply.”
Youth will have the opportunity to learn how municipal government works, learn professional development, have exposure to economic factors and learn team building skills.
“The purpose of the Youth Council Advisory Committee is to provide youth with an opportunity to actively participate as drivers for positive change within their communities,” says Williams.
“The (committee) aims to empower young people to engage in municipal government, enabling them to influence decisions impacting their personal and professional lives, as well as shaping the future trajectory of Northern Sunrise County and the surrounding region.”