In early June 2017, the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care had their conference in Toronto. Over the course of the summer we will be uploading several different presentations and talks from this conference.

We are starting with presentations from Educators Day, which happened the day before the regular conference. Rather than having teachers speaking to teachers, this year we had students and system-involved young people present to educators. We called the day, Learning from the Educated. This presentation is from Shyanne Nichols. Shyanne spoke about being a student who started her degree in Child and Youth Care while in the child welfare system, and her experiences transitioning out of care while in the program.

Sandra Davis is a foster parent whose been loving, caring for, and supporting young women for over 15 years. In this conversation, Sandra discusses the joys and challenges of foster care, where she sees it going in the future, and provides some thoughts for those considering becoming a foster parent.

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In this conversation, Patty talks about her son Francis. It is a heartfelt and loving reflection on some of the celebrations, joys, challenges, and learnings she has gone through in her journey with Francis, who was assigned female at birth. There is much to learn from Patty’s wisdom for other parents, service providers, friends, and all those who may come into contact with gender diverse children and youth (which really is all of us).

For Sikh Heritage Month, SAFAR: The Sikh Feminist Research Institute held a workshop at the Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives in Brampton, Ontario where women from various faith backgrounds came together to have a discussion about the threats to religious accommodations of our students, especially our Muslim students. For example, in March, 2017 there was a backlash against Muslim students doing Friday prayers in public schools in Ontario, Canada, specifically in the Peel District School Board in the Greater Toronto Area. While religious rights are undeniably accommodated under the Ontario Human Rights Code the past month was a wakeup call for educators that racism exists in our own backyard. Listen to a recording of this important conversation as different women share what their faith means to them, what teaching tools have worked for them, and how they care for themselves as educators. Many of these points and ideas are directly applicable to any of us who work with young people.

Amanda Riley, a recent Bachelor of Child and Youth Care graduate from MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta discusses her research looking at the impact of school bus riding for young students in New Zealand/ Aotearoa. Academic achievement, driver/student relationships, bus safety, the impact of two hour commutes, and the possible role of CYCs are discussed.

On this episode of Your Right to Speak, we end our Immigration and Refugees series with Pierre-Andre, a law student from York University. Pierre-Andre explains what the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program is and the importance of it. There is then a conversation of what the difference is between private sponsored and government-assisted refugees, as well as some of the challenges with the private sponsorship program. Let’s raise awareness together!

If you are a child or youth that would like to be on the show or  have a topic that you think we should discuss, please email Salvatore and Jenn at yourrighttospeak@gmail.com   

This conversation with Dr. Leon Fulcher, is a follow up to episode 91 with Dr. Tuhinul Islam. Dr. Fulcher continues the discussion about their co-edited book Residential Child and Youth Care in a Developing World- Global Perspectives. Dr. Fulcher is an author, educator, and CYC practitioner who has spent his career working in many countries around the world. Dr. Fulcher now resides in New Zealand.

This episode is a conversation with Dr. Tuhinul Islam about the new book he co-edited called Residential Child and Youth Care in a Developing World- Global Perspectives. This important book is the first of a four volume set, looking at residential care around the world. Dr. Islam is a Social Work, child rights activist, researcher and academic from Bangladesh. Currently he is a research Fellow at the Northern University Bangladesh. Dr. Islam has been on the podcast before speaking about his research on residential care in Bangladesh. You can find that conversation at http://www.cycpodcast.org/e/residential-childcare-in-bangladesh-a-conversation-with-tuhinul-islam-1430240440/

Next week, we will post a conversation with the co-editor, Dr. Leon Fulcher.