Youth and Community

Our University of the Streets Café public conversations are much like any you’d have with friends or family around a dinner table, except with more people, more points of view, and slightly more structure. Conversations are hosted by a volunteer moderator who is there to welcome everyone and keep things on track. To get things started, there’s a guest, or sometimes two, who get the ball rolling by sharing their ideas, experiences and questions. After that, it's all up to the participants.

Youth are routinely targeted by broadcasters and marketers alike, yet their voices are rarely sought out on community issues, despite the fact that they are the instigators of political and cultural movements. How can youth find their place in communities that frequently fear them or distrust them?  What does it mean for youth to be active citizens? This conversation will consider a community’s relationship to its youth. What can a community do to support the growth of its youth and their gradual integration into social spaces? What are youth expected to do for their experiences and views to be valued?

Guests:
Denburk Reid is the driving force behind the Montreal Community Cares Foundation, the Red Rush/Lady Rush Basketball Leadership program and the Montreal Community Cares Awards. His vision is to inspire and empower all Montrealers, in particular youth, to make a difference by getting involved and giving back to their communities. Denburk graduated from McGill in Marketing and holds the distinction of being the all-time leading scorer for the McGill Redmen basketball team. He was a 2016 inductee to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame. For the past 5 years he has headed up the Montreal Alouettes’ Community Relations department while raising his own growing family and mentoring youth from diverse backgrounds.

Moderator:
Genevieve Brown is currently a student studying sociology at Concordia University. Previously she has worked as an English as a Second Language instructor in Montreal’s public and private sector. As well she is also a photographer who focuses on capturing and exposing the truthful and frank moments of our lives. Her interests include accessibility to education, and helping individuals make meaningful change within their community.

Accessibility info: Loyola High School can be accessed via a ramp outside of the building. Breslin Library can be reached by elevator and is located on the third floor. The library is spacious and there are wheelchair accessible washrooms nearby equipped with grab-bars