Indigenous Youth

Indigenous youth between 15 and 30 have immense potential to contribute to their communities. They're finding opportunities to be involved and make a difference – by joining a youth council, attending conferences, pursuing new educational opportunities, or taking time to learn from Elders.

The provincial government creates relationships with youth from several First Nation communities to:

• Help youth find ways to create their own opportunities
• Initiate projects related to leadership development
• Work with outside partners to focus on youth-identified priorities and traditional arts and culture

Unified Aboriginal Youth Collective

The Unified Aboriginal Youth Collective (UAYC) works to:

• Build positive relationships among B.C. Indigenous groups
• Support and create opportunities to develop and enhance Indigenous youth leadership
• Advocate for youth representation and participation within B.C.
• Represent indigenous youth in a working relationship with governing bodies in areas of legislation, policy, initiatives, programs and services
• Increase and support capacity for the continued growth of Indigenous youth initiatives, leadership and institutions of governance

The ultimate goal of the collective is to unify the diverse groups of indigenous youth in B.C. – to establish a common voice.

• Memorandum of Understanding between B.C. and the Unified Aboriginal Youth Collective (PDF,1.5MB)