SHARING KNOWLEDGE AT JANE-FINCH RESEARCH FORUM On September 24th, partner organizations York University – TD Community Engagement Centre, Black Creek Community Health Centre, Seneca College, and The Spot held the JaneFinch Research Forum to highlight the various community-based research projects happening in the Jane/Finch community. This forum was presented by the York University – TD Community Engagement Centre, directed by Sue Levesque, Co-Chair of ACT for Youth’s Knowledge Mobilization & Communications Committee. Two presentations at the Forum were given by ACT for Youth and included youth presenters. The first was presented by youth research interns Talisha Ramsaroop, Asim Aziz (both graduates of the Community-Based Research Summer Institute), and Henry Appiah, and was titled “Youth Speak: Our Voices, Our Stories”. This presentation highlighted preliminary research findings on youth perspectives on wellbeing and violence, understanding barriers and facilitators to youth employment, and reframing public discourse on the Jane/Finch community. The second presentation was given by Aziz and fellow youth intern (and Community-Based Research Summer Institute graduate) Grace Francis Good, and shared an evaluation of the Youth Research Internship and CommunityBased Research Summer Institute, as well as
the experiences of youth on the project. These presentations were supported by mentors (and graduate students) Jen Ryan and Rebecca Houwer, and by ACT for Youth Project Manager Tka Pinnock. ACT for Youth is committed to hiring and training youth as co-researchers – youth research interns, youth survey assistants, and youth research assistants. The first internship cycle ran from March 2010 to March 2011, and the second cycle is now underway. The interns play an invaluable role in the research process, contributing their skills and expertise in the outreach and recruitment of potential research participants, in data collection, and in assisting with data analysis.
CT for Youth is committed A to hiring and training youth as co-researchers – youth research interns, youth survey assistants, and youth research assistants.
ACT FOR YOUTH FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER
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