Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting some articles that were written over the past year about the events and accomplishments of the EYC in 2009. I hope to post them in chronological order just to show all the awesome things youth have done down here at the centre.
The following was originally printed in the Essex Voice and Essex Free Press back in April:
TYPS Confrence Results
By Marc Rocheleau
Returning from a confrence in Ottawa, the Essex Youth Centre (EYC) has plenty to brag about.
Staff and members from the centre travelled to the 11th annual Town Youth Participation Strategies (TYPS) confrence last month. Taking place from March 26-29, those attending were treated to several events and the opportunity to meet others from across Canada.
"Being at the conference was like a whole other world with only people who had ambition and goals," said 17-year-old EYC member, Jasmine Wood. "I made tons of connections. I thought it was great to meet people from all over the country from BC to Newfoundland."
One of the main events at the confrence was bragging booth displays and presentations. EYC showcased their events, Wood's Dare To Dream project – a book called Connecting Stars – and the EYC Super-Team comics. Before making their presentation, EYC sold seven issues of the Super-Team books and 20 copies of Connecting Stars. Because of this, the centre's booth gained attention early-on and won third place.
"The best part of the conference for me was the bragging booths," said Wood. "Seeing what everyone else did at their youth centres and how they were changing the world, not only for youth but for everyone. It was awesome to win third place."
Other events at the four-day confrence included a trip to Parliament Hill, workshops, TYPS Olympics and a costume dance the first night there. Many used this event to break the ice and show-off their creativity.
"The dance was awesome," said EYC event coordinator, Sylvia Caetano. "... There was one group dressed up as the aliens from Sesame Street. One group was dressed up in togas and stuff like that and then there was this one guy who was dressed up as Spider-Man but nobody knew it until he started stripping so that was pretty cool."
The TYPS confrence was a success for EYC and over 40 centres/clubs from across Canada that attended. EYC's Executive-Director Sandy Larivee introduced Wood to several people and their group got to meet someone from the Dare To Dream committee – a project that is set to expand to the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Several connections were also made between youth centres and that was the main purpose of the event.
"There were so many people, I can't mention all their names," said Caetano about the connections she made. "I have all their names in my journal, it was just fun – they were the greatest."
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