Youth Exchange 2008

Thank you for your interest in the 2008 Youth Exchange. Please note that the selection committee is presently selecting the group volunteers to accompany the selected youth participants.

The Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability (ALA) will bring 50 young people from across Canada to Ottawa for the experience of a lifetime. This program is a partnership between ALA and the YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada program which is funded, in part by the Department of Canadian Heritage. The eighth annual ALA Youth Exchange will be held in Ottawa at Carleton University from June 27th to July 3rd, 2008.

The Youth Exchange is a celebration of the diversity of disability and Canadian culture. It exposes participants to a wide variety of active living opportunities, provides a cultural experience through interaction with people from across Canada, and inspires and enhances personal leadership qualities. Participants of the Exchange will have the opportunity to learn about community involvement and the advocacy process.

Delegates will interact with their peers from coast to coast, learn communication and advocacy skills and participate in events with an "active living" flavour. Activities of previous Exchanges included rock climbing, table tennis, sledge hockey sailing, visits to Parliament Hill, sight seeing and tubing on the Rideau River.

Since 2000 the Exchange has been a huge success and garnered rave reviews from participants. Kristen Barnes, a delegate from the 2004 Exchange writes of the experience "For myself, I have a visual impairment and still do things that I sometimes never expected I'd ever be able to do or accomplish, but seeing the other 49 delegates this week showed me just how much of a future could be out there for anyone with or without a disability."

That confidence is enhanced by educational sessions focusing on communication, goal setting and advocacy. Using a newly developed "Ambassador Advocacy and Speaker's Kit", delegates will learn how to seek opportunities in their home communities and to encourage inclusive, active communities.

This event would not be possible without committed volunteers. The application deadline for Group Volunteers is now past, but we will soon be searching for volunteers in the Ottawa area. For more information, please visit: link to volunteer page.

For more information on the 2008 Youth Exchange or the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability, contact Nadia Smith at 1-800-771-0663 xt.23 or TTY 1-866-771-0663, email at nadia@ala.ca, or log on at http://www.youthambassadors.ca/ye08/index.html.

The ALACD is a national, non-profit organization formed in 1989. It has 20 national partners and works in every province and territory to promote healthy and active living for Canadians with disabilities.

Would you like to support the Youth Exchange?
To make an online donation to the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability, click on the "Donate Now" icon or visit the following link: Make a donation.