Youth program inspires leaders
Youth from across Turtle Island participated in the Next Generation program from FNEE this week - pictured is their meeting with senator Michele Audette. Courtesy FNEE
From rubbing shoulders with senators and ministers to participating in roundtable discussions and workshops, youth from communities across Turtle Island were ready to learn this week, as part of the three-day Next Generation program led by First Nations Executive Education (FNEE).
“Youth are our future leaders, and we don’t want to leave them behind,” said Tiohenta Lahache-McComber, who is from Kahnawake and is the participant recruitment advisor at FNEE. “To watch them learn, and connect, and get together like this is just so powerful.”
The course launched earlier this year, with more than 20 youth between the ages of 18 and 35 convening in Gatineau to learn about leadership from major political figures and trainers.
The program worked under the theme “Trail Forward,” aiming to empower the next generation of Indigenous leaders to blaze a path for their communities in their respective fields.
Over three days, the group worked to enhance their leadership skills under three pillars - Explore, Strengthen, and Achieve - focusing on public speaking, careful consideration about their roles as leaders, and managing their time effectively.
“The course is so great, and you can really see their progression, you watch everybody come into the room as strangers and by the very next day they’re already joking with each other, laughing, just building these connections,” Lahache-McComber said.
The program came about thanks to the contributions of five partners, who worked with FNEE to help them realize their goal of providing specialized training for youth. The First Nations Quebec-Labrador Youth Network, Mikana, the New Pathways Foundation, Puamun Meshkenu, and Wapikoni all worked with FNEE to program workshops, training sessions, and meetings with elected officials - an experience that was entirely free for those chosen to participate, thanks also to support from CN Rail.
“It’s about a creation of a space for our youth,” said Lahache-McComber.
The cohort got to meet with senator Michele Audette and minister of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Mandy Gull-Masty, learning about their experiences as Indigenous women in elected office.
They also spoke with former Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) leader Ghislain Picard, who is now the chair of the FNEE Advisory Committee and adjunct professor at HEC Montreal, a business school, as well as FNEE director Nathalie Huntley.
The group also participated in a workshop with Marie-Claude Mongrain, who is the director of publishing and production responsible for the journalism talent development program at La Presse.
Madeleine Vollant Ollivier, who is Innu, works for a consulting firm in the world of urban design and hopes to grow her skills as an urban planner in the future.
She works for a non-Indigenous organization and said she benefitted from meeting other Indigenous youth who are also the only Indigenous people in their workplace, and hearing from speakers how they navigated that dynamic in their careers.
“Sometimes it’s hard to have that weight on your shoulders, so what they shared with us really helped me gain some confidence,” she said. “In the discussions with the trainers and the participants and the guest speakers, I think I learned that I have the right to be here, I am legitimate, and I really want to take my place and help our communities to shine in my field of work.”
Lahache-McComber said that the course is going to continue to grow in future years, and she’d like to see participants from Kahnawake be a part of the next group - so far, no Kahnawa’kehró:non have participated in the program.
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“Take a chance on yourself and join, you never know who you’re going to meet, and you never know where an opportunity can take you,” she said. “You are our future leaders.”
