We believe that too often, decisions about children and youth are made without their involvement, but no one understands those experiences better than the people experiencing them! The Youth Impact Survey is a chance for children and youth (ages 9-18) to share with adults and decisions makers what life is actually like for young people in Waterloo Region, and how we can work together to use the data to improve well-being.
We took the data we heard from youth and asked them: “What do you think needs to happen next?” Through over 20 sense making sessions, youth identified key areas for change in our communities. From here the Youth Impact Survey: Data in Action website was born. Below you’ll find the final list of actions for each focus area, how we got there, and what is happening in our community to move this forward.
Review each focus area below!
Belonging means feeling loved and supported and having mutually caring and respectful relationships.
Health includes both mental and emotional health as well as physical health.
Learning begins from birth, in families, in communities, and in cultures.
Participation includes being actively engaged, according to their capacity, in family affairs, in community organizations, at school, in social movements and in civic and political life.
Being free to play refers to rest, leisure, recreational activities and play appropriate to the age of the young person.
A young person’s environment includes both the natural and built spaces surrounding them
They need to be safe and protected in their homes, at school, at work and in communities, online and offline.
Young people are secure when they can have their basic needs met, as well as the things that enable them to feel included in society and among their peers.
Being happy and respected is determined by looking at all areas of well-being.
Territorial Acknowledgement: We acknowledge that the land on which the work of the Children and Youth Planning Table is performed is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral People. We acknowledge the enduring presence of the Indigenous people with whom we share this land today, their achievements, and their contributions to our community. We offer this acknowledgment as an act of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Canada.
© 2022 Children and youth planning table of waterloo region
