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REsolve, a Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee (SLARC) initiative, is pleased to announce that YOUCAN, a youth oriented peace building and conflict resolving organization, will provide 40 area youth with the skills necessary to address and mediate conflict. The YOUCAN workshop, which runs from February 13th – 17th, will draw on students from Queen Elizabeth High School and schools reporting to the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council including, Pelican Falls, Dennis Franklin Cromarty (Thunder Bay) and Northern Eagle (Ear Falls).

“It was very important for REsolve to reach out to the youth in this town so that they could also benefit from our conflict resolving program”, said Don DeGenova, REsolve Project Manager. “When I heard about YOUCAN’s youth empowerment program to equip students with the skills necessary to build a conflict resolving community, I knew I had to find away to bring them to Sioux Lookout.” DeGenova goes to note that, “we couldn’t have done it without the help of Steve Poling and Rachael Paquette-Flanagan.”

YOUCAN’s mission is to equip youth so that they can engage and inspire others to peacefully resolve conflicts and develop healthy relationships in their communities.

“YOUCAN is extremely excited to partner with REsolve and CICR to make a difference with the youth community in Sioux Lookout”, noted Dave Farthing, Executive Director, YOUCAN. “An incredible partnership has now emerged with REsolve, the Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee, Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution, Keewatin Patricia District School Board and NNEC. YOUCAN is honoured to be part of a collaborative venture that will contribute to establishing a sustainable program that has the potential to equip youth with the skills to help their communities resolve conflict in more peaceful and lasting ways”.

Rachael Paquette-Flanagan, Special Projects Coordinator at NNEC states, “I see this is an exciting opportunity to expand on the ground-breaking work of the Sioux Lookout Anti Racism Committee’s REsolve project. YOUCAN will offer area youth leadership, conflict resolution and mediation skills, all of which are essential in navigating difficult teen years and are essential in building a healthy, confident, responsible person.” Paquette emphasizes “NNEC is proud to partner with QEDHS and SLARC in bringing YOUCAN to Sioux Lookout; we are always looking for initiatives that foster healthy lifestyle choices that are transferable. This project has the potential to reach and affect a lot of lives in Sioux Lookout and the Northern communities.”

Steve Poling, Vice-Principal, Queen Elizabeth High School, remarks, “QE’s character education committee welcomes the YOUCAN conflict resolution program to our school. It is a welcome addition to our other youth assistance initiatives including: Natural Helpers peer support program, native awareness activities, NNEC support team, transition, and At Risk programs which are already working to help young people be successful in their learning and in their interactions with others.” He goes on to note, “The YOUCAN program will be a positive and proactive addition to our Anti-bullying initiative.”

REsolve is grateful for the on-going support received from the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution. Their assistance has taken the REsolve project to new heights. The YOUCAN initiative is also thankful for the generous financial assistance provided by the Best Western Sioux Lookout Inn and Johnny’s Food Market.

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For further information please contact:

Don DeGenova, REsolve Project Manager
degedon@sympatico.ca
(807) 737-1501, (877) 737-5272

Steve Poling, Vice Principal
Keewatin Patricia District School Board
Queen Elizabeth District High School
Steve.poling@kpdsb.on.ca
737-3500 ext 224

Rachael Paquette-Flanagan, Special Projects Coordinator
Northern Nishnawbe Education Council
rpaquette@nnec.on.ca 
(807) 737-2002 ext. 234

Background Information:

YOUCAN

YOUCAN’s mission is to equip youth to engage and inspire others to peacefully resolve conflicts and develop healthy relationships in their communities. We are a national non-profit charitable organization dedicated to building a culture of peace among the youth of today. We are Canada’s leading organization run for-youth-by-youth. Our vision is to foster “a nation where all youth work in partnership with their communities to promote peaceful resolution of conflicts.”

YOUCAN became a federally incorporated youth-governed charity in 1997. Over the past 9 years YOUCAN has trained over 18,000 in conflict resolution coast to coast.

Queen Elizabeth District High School

Queen Elizabeth is a multicultural school in Sioux Lookout Ontario serving the students of Sioux Lookout and the Sioux Lookout District. There are 470 students at QE, 70 are from Northern communities and 45 are from the communities of Frenchman’s Head, Whitefish Bay, and Kejick Bay of the Lac Seul reserve. QEDHS if one of the schools under the direction of the Keewatin Patricia District School Board. 

Northern Nishnawbe Education Council

Northern Nishnawbe Education Council is non-profit organization that provides education programs and services to 24 First Nations in the Sioux Lookout District.

NNEC operates two First Nation highs schools, Pelican Falls First Nations High School and the Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. To accommodate the needs of First Nation secondary students, who must leave their home communities and families to pursuer their education, NNEC also operates the Pelican Falls Centre on the traditional Territory of the Lac Seul First Nation, a Secondary Student Services Program in Thunder Bay and Sioux Lookout and the Northern Eagle Student Centre in Ear Falls.

Approximately 600 secondary students draw on NNEC secondary services and another 1200 use either the post secondary program or Wahsa Distance Education program.

Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution (CICR)

CICR was created in 1988 as a non-profit charitable organization based in Ottawa and operating out of St. Paul’s University. They are known for their efforts in dealing with deep rooted conflict and building conflict resolving communities both domestically and in countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda and Taiwan. Their mission is to foster, develop and communicate conflict resolution processes for individuals, organizations and communities and to embody the positive attributes of common sense, compassion and spirituality.

CICR’s community-based methodology is underpinned by the principle that everyone must have access to, and an understanding of the methods and principles used in conflict resolution. CICR helps communities identify and respond to conflict situations by providing citizens with the training, skills and tools necessary to become third-party neutrals and to identify and deal with deep rooted conflict in their efforts to build conflict resolving communities. To meet the definition of community, CICR delivers processes that are inclusive, barrier free and positively-centred. The Community-Based Conflict Resolution (CBCR) methodology is designed to build trust and establish new patterns of interaction within and between communities. This initiative will seek to build and promote a movement of Canadians toward mutual respect and understanding by establishing positive relationships, rooted in trust and in an atmosphere of collaboration which will contribute to a culture of peace and a community of good neighbours.

Brian Strom, Executive Director, (613) 235-5800 edcicr@ustpaul.ca

REsolve

The Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee, a non-profit, grassroots organization, was established in 1989 as a means of promoting cooperation and understanding between the Native and non-Native population of Sioux Lookout. Board Members include: Jay Curtis, Adrienne Fox-Kessic, Barb Carpenter, Bertha Jacques, Geraldine Guilfoyle, Mark Gaudet, Rachel Garrick, Rachel Paquette Flanagan, Susan Barclay, Terry Lynne Jewell and Jim Morris.

Sioux Lookout is a municipality in Northwestern Ontario that is home to approximately 5,000 people. The community has experienced many changes over the past twenty years. Once a predominately Euro-Canadian railroad town, it is now a cross-cultural community with over 50% of its population being of Aboriginal heritage. These changes have presented the community with many challenges in its struggle to respond to cultural differences.

The REsolve Project looks to build a sustainable model that will address and respond to conflict at the community level. In Phase 1, community based conflict resolution models across Canada and internationally were reviewed, and although there are many programs dealing with restorative justice issues, there are very few programs focusing on community based conflict resolution. Sioux Lookout is likely to be the first community in Canada to adopt such a program at the town level. In Phase 2, a series of community consultations were conducted, the results of which are captured in a 136 page Public Consultation Report, along with a seven page Summary Report. Phase 3 witnessed the first round of Community Based Conflict Resolution training with 20 citizens and in partnership with CICR.

The REsolve initiative is sure to be precedent setting in that it will set the standard on how such a program should be developed, tested, implemented and integrated within a community.