Thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday for our Annual Conference, “Child and Youth Belonging: From Data to Action.”
Each year, we host an Annual Conference in November close to World Children’s Day. The focus of the event is to come together and take coordinated action to improve child and youth well-being. Yesterday, over 200 adults and youth gathered to learn and work together, focusing on community well-being and belonging.
We started off the morning with smudging and intention setting Clarence Cachagee, the Founder of Crow Shield Lodge. He then spoke about Indigenous Ways of Knowing, asking us to reflect upon who we were and what we needed as a child — and how we can bring that reflection into today and everyday.
Then, we moved into breakout rooms focusing on topics like “Mobilizing the Data of our Youngest Citizens,” “Interrupting the Human Trafficking of Young People,” and “Community-led Practice Model for Black and Indigenous Youth Mental Health.”
In the afternoon, youth joined us to kick off the intergenerational portion of the day. First, we heard from Cheryl Perera, O. Ont, LL.D (honoris causa), Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder of OneChild, about her journey and how young people can make meaningful change. Then, youth groups who received funding through the 2024 Youth Impact Project shared their stories from pitching their ideas to implementing positive change in the community. Finally, we launched the 2025 Data in Action Report, a list of actions that young people want to see to make Waterloo Regiona place where everyone belongs and thrives.
Shout out to all of the speakers, breakout session facilitators, and performers who joined us, including:
- Clarence Cachagee (Crow Shield Lodge)
- Spirit Nation Singers
- ADTET Drumming Group
- Cheryl Perera (OneChild)
- Groups of youth who received funding from the Youth Impact Project
Thank you to Tapestry Hall in Cambridge for hosting us! And finally, we’re especially grateful to the over 50 youth who joined us on their PD day.