If you have any inquiries, please contact jeremy@sustainabilitynetwork.ca.
*All recordings are available for 60 days.
Date: February 11, 1-2 PM ET
Cost: Free (Zoom Webinar)
In this 1-hour webinar, led by Sydney Penner and Erika De Torres, “Ask Us, Not About Us: Centering Youth Voices in ENGOs through AisB’s Youth Friendly Recommendations,” we’ll explore how environmental non-governmental organizations can move beyond tokenism to engage young people meaningfully. Drawing on Apathy is Boring’s Youth Friendly resources and experiences, we’ll introduce practical strategies to share power, co-create initiatives, and design programs and governance structures that are responsive to youth needs, experiences, and leadership. Participants will leave with an idea of how the 3 workshop sessions will go, along with a deeper look into “Leaf it to Us” organizational reviews. They will also be introduced to concrete tools, examples, and reflection questions to help assess how youth-friendly their organization truly is and identify next steps to embed youth voice at every level of their work.
Outcomes:
Increased understanding of meaningful and youth engagement: Participants can clearly distinguish between tokenistic practices and genuine youth-centred approaches, and can articulate at least two ways they will shift their current engagement.
Greater readiness to share power with youth: Participants leave with greater confidence and a stronger commitment to integrating youth into decision-making, program design, and/or governance structures within their ENGO.
Clearer vision for organizational next steps: Participants identify concrete next steps for applying AisB’s Youth Friendly Recommendations and “Leaf it to Us” findings within their own organizations.
Outputs:
1-hour live webinar session delivered by AisB (Sydney and Erika), including presentation, examples, and Q&A.
A short, practical resource package (e.g., slide deck or handout) summarizing AisB’s Youth Friendly Recommendations, key concepts, and links to tools (including “Leaf it to Us” organizational review information).
Participant action/reflection worksheet completed during or after the session, prompting attendees to assess how youth-friendly their current work is and to note 2–3 concrete next steps for embedding youth voice in their organization.
Erika De Torres is the Director of Impact at Apathy is Boring, where she leads the Research and Development Team and the Youth Friendly Initiative. She finished a Master’s in Political Science from McGill University, where she was interested in examining the impact of context on political preferences. She sat on the Advisory Council for Canada’s first Youth Climate Citizens’ Assembly in 2025, and currently serves as vice-chair of Simon Fraser University’s Alumni Council.
Sydney Penner is the Research and Evaluations Lead at Apathy is Boring. Following her degree in Psychology from Simon Fraser University, she has worked in both clinical mental health and addictions and non-profit social sciences research. She is passionate about Participatory Action Research (PAR) and interdisciplinary methods, and community-based knowledge translation and mobilization.
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