May 15, 22 & 29, 1:00-2:15 ET on each day.
Cost: $50 for the series (Free registration for a limited number of BIPOC ENGO participants. If you are able to pay the registration fee we encourage you to do so. This leaves the complimentary BIPOC registrations for organizations in greater need.)
*All participants will receive a confirmation email from TicketTailor with a link to join the meetings on Zoom. All registrants will receive access to a recording of the workshops, following each session, 60 days access.
Looking to reach and bring more young people into your organization and opportunities? Apathy is Boring is excited to deliver this series of three workshops to help you do just that!
As of 2021, there are over 7 million young people in Canada between the ages of 15 and 29, and they are the country's most diverse and educated demographic group. As youth experts and youth, Apathy is Boring knows the power and value of activating youth. Across all sectors, we depend heavily on the next generation's innovation, creativity, and ingenuity to enliven our work and shape and define the world of tomorrow.
Whether you’re hoping to reach youth as staff, clients, volunteers, supporters, donors, board members, or maybe even your next Executive Director or CEO, you will need a comprehensive and targeted strategy to reach, engage and retain young people. After working with youth for 20 years, Apathy is Boring has developed the Youth Friendly Program to help organizations invest their time, energy and resources to uplift and activate young people in their spaces.
They’ll dig into how to reach youth through outreach and social media, and how to create projects and programs that make space for them as leaders and decision makers. By the end, you’ll gain a better understanding of how best to reach & retain youth in your organizations.
Workshop 1: Intentional Interactions & You(th): Reaching Youth Where They’re At
May 15, 100-2:15 ET
This workshop is the first step in youth engagement, specifically regarding outreach, using design-thinking activities and tools. We’ll first explore organizations’ struggles with recruitment and what they hope to do for youth engagement in their spaces. We will then examine, using Apathy is Boring examples, different strategies to reach and recruit youth in various settings. At the end of the session, attendees will make a concrete outreach plan to execute within 6 months to a year. There will be 10-15 minutes for questions and answers at the end.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Increase organizational knowledge on best practices to recruit youth, using youth-led democratic innovation
- Increase organizational capacity to recruit youth as program participants, volunteers, employees, board of directors, and leadership
- Develop an action plan for organizations to follow to increase youth engagement in their spaces
Workshop 2: Harnessing the Power of Social Media to Recruit Youth
May 22, 100-2:15 ET
This workshop will build on what was learned from the previous week around recruitment and outreach, but specifically focus on social media. Social media is an excellent tool and resource to connect with and invite diverse youth into your virtual or physical spaces.
This session will allow organizations participating to share challenges in reaching youth through social media, engaging them towards activities, and getting to a co-creation space. Using research around youth segmentation, we’ll explore the top social media channels young people use: Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Discord, along with strategies for organizations to use to recruit and reach youth online. Again, there will be 10-15 minutes for questions and answers at the end.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Increase knowledge on how to effectively utilize social media and online resources to connect with diverse youth
- Increase organizational capacity to recruit youth as program participants, volunteers, employees, board of directors, and leadership
- Increase organizational knowledge on best practices to recruit youth, using youth-led democratic innovation
- Develop an action plan for organizations to follow to increase youth engagement on their social media
Workshop 3: Youth as Decision-Makers: Creating Meaningful Opportunities
May 29, 100-2:15 ET
After exploring recruitment strategies, how one engages youth is a matter of the programs, projects, and roles offered. They will dive into creating meaningful opportunities for youth: how organizations can ensure young people are excited to participate and how organizations can avoid tokenizing their youth.
They will explore the Youth-Led Democratic Innovation model and how it can be strategically used to connect with youth and allow you to innovate in your organizations. We will also use this final session to address some of your questions and concerns about creating meaningful engagement opportunities for youth in your organization.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Increase organizational knowledge on best practices to engage and retain youth in organizational projects, initiatives and programs through youth-led democratic innovation
- ENGOs are aware of practices and policies to facilitate the elimination of barriers to youth participation and leaving knowing how they can implement these
- ENGOs are engaged and invested in improving youth engagement, whether in sustainability or democracy areas
- ENGOs develop an action plan for one of their projects or initiatives to increase youth-as-decision-makers opportunities
Youth Friendly, a consulting program under Apathy is Boring, collaborates with partners to drive social innovation by strategically and intentionally integrating diverse youth perspectives in their work and practices. Through a thorough framework and carefully curated services, our mission is to educate and train our partners on creating spaces where youth can have a tangible impact on their conditions, especially within our democratic institutions. Vision2030 is supporting the Youth Friendly ENGOs program through at least 2026.
Apathy is Boring was founded in 2004 when a choreographer, a filmmaker, and a fashion photographer met at a party. Troubled by how few of their friends actively participated in Canada’s democracy, they started a campaign to mobilize youth to vote during the 2004 federal election. The organization has since grown into a national charitable organization that supports and educates youth (18-30) to be active and contributing citizens in Canada’s democracy.
This workshop series is public and everyone is welcome to participate. In the months following the series Apathy is Boring will undertake up to three free organizational mini youth audits from among the ENGO graduates of the workshop series. For your ENGO to qualify for an mini-audit one or more staff need to complete the workshop series.
Jennifer Block
Jen (she/her) is the RISE Program Manager (west) at Apathy is Boring. She graduated with a degree in political science and Indigenous studies from the University of Winnipeg and has since worked and volunteered for various non-profits. Jen’s role at AisB is to support the staff and volunteers involved with RISE to ensure that we are meeting our mission: that every young person is an active and engaged citizen in their community and Canada’s democracy.
Erika De Torres
Erika (she/they) is the Director of Impact and Development at Apathy is Boring, where she has managed the RAD department for the past three years. She has a Master’s from McGill University and a Bachelor’s from Simon Fraser University in political science. Her interest in youth engagement and civic participation began when she was young when she saw (and experienced) the importance of youth in these spaces for increased innovation and resiliency.
Dena Anwar
Dena (she/her) is the Social & Content Manager at Apathy Is Boring. She studied international management, marketing, and anthropology during her time at McGill university. Her role is to ensure that Apathy Is Boring’s message and mission are spread in an engaging and informative manner across all social media platforms to help young Canadians stay active in the democratic space.
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