More than 50 Indigenous youth from across Quebec will come to Concordia to learn the tools for succeeding as entrepreneurs in their communities at the second edition of StartUP Nations.
The event, to be held at the university from May 23 to 25, aims to teach Indigenous teens and young adults about social and collective entrepreneurship and support them in becoming economic engines in their own contexts.
“We want to work with youth to develop some different projects that can help their communities,” says Karine Awashish, the social economy advisor at the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Economic Development Commission (FNQLEDC) and the event’s founder.
“When I started developing StartUP Nations, it was to promote the social economy and to help youth learn the path to develop a project and the tools they need.”
Teams of three to five students and their coaches will come from the Quebec, Manawan, Ekuanitshit, Pessamit, Mashteuiatsh, Mistissini, Uashat-Maliotenam and Listuguj communities to participate in the event. All the teams will be ready with ideas for projects they would like to pursue.
Indigenous role models
During the event, participants will learn about financing their ideas, communication and marketing, management skills and developing a business plan.
Discussion circles will be held with Viviane Chilton, an Atikamekw collective entrepreneur from Wemotaci; Mickel Robertson, the executive director of the FNQLEDC; Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui, an anthropologist and Wendat collective entrepreneur from Wendake; and Brooke Rice, an entrepreneur and community organiser from Kahnawake whose work focusses on food sovereignty and cultural preservation.
Rice is also vice-president of the Concordia University First Peoples Studies Members Association.
Concordia faculty were involved in helping to develop the StartUP Nations curriculum. Awashish says it was crucial that the program’s teachers be Indigenous.
“It’s important to have specialists from First Nations communities because the context and realities are different,” she says. “And we wanted to give the youth different role models.”
The participants will also get to show off the skills they learned on the final day, during the Rocket Pitch.
“We want to see if they have the skills and the ability to communicate their project,” Awashish adds.