YMCA Calgary is happy to report the Global Youth Summit (GYS) was a success – again!

On March 19^th, eighty-five high-school students arrived at The Nickle Arts Museum to connect with others interested in increasing their global awareness, discussing international issues relating to youth today and learning how to address youth-related issues at a local level.

The annual event, hosted in partnership with Canadian Red Cross and s.c.r.e.a.m. (Social & Community Responsibility through Education, Arts & Music), was titled ‘Make Change Happen’ and focused on consumerism—how to make and spend money.

“One of my personal highlights was attending the Ad Busting workshop,” says Crystal Okasha, Community YMCA Employment Manager. “It dealt with the damaging messages contained in traditional magazine advertisements. We got to actually ‘bust ads’ by writing directly on the ads what we thought they are actually conveying. The presenter is sending them to the company. It was really interesting.”

GYS offered an assortment of great workshops, small group dialogues and participatory learning to help students share skills and build relationships in order to impact their local community and the world.

Global Youth Summit (GYS) is an annual event that gathers high school students from the Calgary area to take local action on global issues.  GYS is a local initiative created by and for Calgary-area youth, and supported by YMCA Calgary, the Canadian Red Cross, and s.c.r.e.a.m.  Workshops, small-group dialogues and participatory learning help students share skills and build relationships in order to impact their local community and their world.