2020 SSYC Final Report

“Coming together as youth of the same community”

Background Objectives

Through the theme of rise, the objectives of the SSYC conference (Saskatoon, SK, July 19-21, 2019) were three-fold. Firstly, the conference aimed to gather SSY across the country and support them to celebrate their heritage. As well as, enable SSY to strengthen past relationships and develop new connections. Secondly, the conference aimed to continue the conversation, started in

2018, to identify challenges facing SSY and collaborate to brainstorm sustainable solutions. Finally, the conference offered a platform for SSY to discuss each city’s community development initiatives over the course of the previous year (refer to 2018-2019 community development document) and plan for the upcoming year. Through the three-day conference, the SSYC conference was successful in achieving these aims. Table 2 summarizes the most notable challenges present within the community and possible community development initiatives.

Challenges Potential Community Development Initiatives

 Community (youth and elders) discussion about the health of the Southern Sudanese community

• Apathy in community

• Criminal Justice

• Intergenerational gap/Family Dynamics

• Gender Equality

• Health and Wellness

• Identity

• Lack of support for youth

• Self-Improvement

• Tribalism

• Volunteerism

 Gun violence workshop

 HIV awareness/Sexual health workshop

 CRP/first aid training

 Financial literacy

 Post-secondary student workshop

 Substance abuse seminar

 Mental health first aid training

 Breaking down beauty standards in the South Sudanese community

 Information sharing and media literacy

Brief overview of organizational structure

The general structure of SSYC is outlined in Figure 1. Briefly, the four major groups (community development, conference planning, communications/marketing, and sponsors) work together to counteract the effects of non-holistic integration by confronting the challenges identified during the SSYC 2018 conference. The primary objective of the sponsors subgroup is to generate funds for the organization. The communications and marketing subgroup promote excellence within the community and amongst the youth, as well as manage the groups various media platforms (Instagram: ssyofcanada, Facebook: SSYC, Snapchat: ssycofcanada).

Table 1: Challenges identified by the South Sudanese Youth of Canada (SSYC) 2019 conference and potential future community development initiatives.

The conference planning subgroup focuses on developing the annual conference, an event where all youth in participating cities will gather to revaluate community challenges, discuss progress, maintain and foster new connection and networks. With the collaboration of youth leaders across the country, the community development subgroup aims to develop two-to-three city specific eventsduringtheyearaimedtodevelopingandmaintainnetworks (socialevents),providelearning opportunities (workshops) and inspire community involvement (volunteerism).

Community Development

Community development ultimately aims to change the culture within the South-Sudanese community, across the country, by developing relationships (social events), providing learning opportunities (workshops) and inspiring community involvement (volunteerism).

Social Events

Social events serve the purpose of facilitating a sense of community and identity within the SouthSudanese community, through the development of youth specific and intergenerational events incorporating elders. Some examples of these events include game nights, fashion shows, and cultural showcase.

Workshops

Workshops are intended to provide learning opportunities for both youth and elders in the SouthSudanese community in areas encompassing, but not restricted to identity, health and wellness, gender equality, self-improvement, and the criminal justice system. Workshops are intended to be interactive and provide a platform for open discussion.

Figure 1: South Sudanese youth Of Canada (SSYC) organizational structure.

Volunteerism

The volunteerism initiative allows SSYC to promote civic involvement within not only the SouthSudanese community but Canadian society at large. This will be achieved by supporting and celebrating those who are already involved within the community, connecting individuals to activities they are passionate about, providing mentorship opportunities for youth, and developing initiatives to impact the lives of those living in dissolute conditions overseas.

Community Development 2019-2020

COVID19 – SSYC Conference 2020

As a result of the novel corona virus (COVID19) plaguing the international community, the SSYC team was forced to make a difficult decision and terminate what was anticipated to be the greatest event yet, the SSYC 2020 Conference in Calgary AB (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The figure details the notice released on SSYC media informing of the cancelation of the SSYC 2020 Conference due to the novel COVID19 virus.

SSYEG – First Aid and CPR Training 2019

In collaboration with the United Way Foundation, SSYEG organized a two-day First Aid and CPR training workshop to support youth in gaining certification in this area. The aim of this event was to empower youth in gaining skills that could enhance their employment potential. Recognizing that First Aid training is among the most sought-after certifications from employers, this event removed cost and access barriers to ensure youth in our community could receive this asset. Further, it provided an opportunity for self-improvement, a key objective to our workshop development, as youth attained valuable skills that could serve them beyond the workplace. The workshop was funded entirely by the United Way Foundation - an organization that strives to reduce the prevalence of poverty in the Edmonton area by engaging networks such as government and community organizations to alleviate the issue.

Figure 3. Poster used on social media platforms to advertise the First Aid and CPR Training event.

COVID19 – JYC “Let’s Talk”

The Junubin youth collaboration (JYC) is a unified group comprised of all of Calgary’s SSYoriented organizations (e.g., the Republic of South Sudan as One – ROSSA1, the Sudanese Youth and Family Services – SYFS, and the South Sudanese Youth of Calgary – SSYYC) aimed to provide a unified voice on issues pertaining to the youth within the city of Calgary. Their inaugural event “Let’s talk” (Figure 4) which aimed to bring together elders and youth to discuss the state of the South Sudanese community, with the hopes of this dialogue beginning the process of healing and understanding, was unfortunately terminated at the eve of its launch due to the first wave of provincial restrictions for COVID19.

Figure 4: The itinerary for the JYC event cancelled on the eve of its launch due to provincial COVID19 restrictions.

Presenters

Athiang Makuoi

For South Sudanese, the challenges to unity do not only lie in tribalism and political opposition. Having an intergenerational disconnect and lack of support between youth and their parents/elders/community leaders is one of the biggest challenges working against the progression of our community. So, let’s talk about how this intergenerational disconnect poses as a challenge when not supported or discussed, in contrast to how successful our community can be when it’s nurtured. We can all rejoice in the success of having finally accomplished unity, peace, and harmony, when it’s something celebrated by all generations and all people of South Sudan.

McNiel-Inyani Keri

`Let’s talk’ about the health of our community. The United Nations defines health as not merely the absence of disease but incorporates physical, mental, and social well-being; healthy people can cope with actives of daily living and adapt to their surroundings. Similarity, healthy communities need not only respond to their environment but must be able to adapt to thrive. The social determinants of individual health are influenced by many factors, highlighting only three social environments, social support and culture shows us our individual health is deeply intertwined to the health of our community. Currently, the Southern Sudanese community around the world has been robbed of these necessities. It is critical that we take the first steps in resolving the issues within our community which segregate us beyond regions, tribes and clans down to the level of individual sub-clans. Let’s do this, if not for the sake of the community, then, for our individual well-being.

Nyabuoy Gatbel

The future of the South Sudanese Nation and community internationally relies on us the youth. But sometimes that is too much pressure. How can we uphold a community or nation that has not provided us the right support systems? How can we possibly do this on our own?

Figure 5: The anticipated presenters for the JYC Let’s talk event.

Panelists

The anticipated panelists for the JYC let’s talk event are displayed in Figure 6.

Entertainers

Sykologist

Sykologist was born in Khartoum, Sudan. At the age of 17 he immigrated to Canada with his 5 siblings due to civil war. He began his writing as a teen to express adversities he experienced at his adolescence in Egypt, where his family temporarily resided prior to being granted asylum to Canada. Syk joined a rap group in 2008, which encouraged him to write and perform his own lyrics. Two years later Sykologist became a solo artist and began working on his debut album. In songslike‘LikeGypsies’and‘AllThedreamers’Sykfoundhimselfoftenwritingaboutchallenges the youth face in his community, him included, which lead to his reputation of being a youth

Figure 6: The anticipated panelists for the JYC Let’s talk event.

advocate. Leading to the release of his debut album, more doors opened to Syk as he made local Television appearances, overseas performances, opening stage for industry artists across Alberta and performing at large festivals as well as organizations such as United way Calgary. Sykologist then held shows in Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. Now in Lethbridge, AB for Bachelor of music, Syk had more opportunities to perform in the city and the university campus, including the ’26th International Dinner’ held in the University theatre.

Ronnie Ronyo

Ronnie Ronyo is a calm collective soul who is building a name for himself in the music industry, with South Sudanese roots he has the beat in his step as he has developed skills to become a Hiphop artist, composer, Sound Engineer and Creative working towards establishing himself in the audio industry whether it is writing music, performing on stage, producing a beat or mixing in the studio he's there to put in work and make it happen.

Akuecleng Emmanuel Maker Degal

Yo!My nameis AkueclengEmmanuel MakerDegal. Iwas bornin Vancouver,but Imovedaround a lot as a kid, ending up in Calgary. What hasn’t changed since I was a kid though, was my drive create, move, and inspire in any way I could; through acting in plays, participating in sports, or even drawing my favorite cartoon characters. Today I’m honing that drive through poetry. I won’t be physically at this event, I’m happy some of my work will get the opportunity to still be shown and have an effect on people.

Richard Catcher-Freeman Tata

Visionary Artist from Calgary, Alberta. Born in Uganda. From South Sudan, Africa. CEO of Killmaticsketches.com and proud owner of OnlyGodx clothing brand. Wanting to inspire and motivate more colored youth and cultures in my surrounding community towards achieving more creative freedom in their art, by being an example.

Thuc Thuc

Yooo my name is Thuc Thuc. I was born in Pochalla South Sudan and came to Calgary, Alberta in 2002. I started with art pieces and animations then eventually transitioned into written skits. when I’m not at work or at school I’m at my house in my room creating content. I enjoy being challenged and the freedom of making whatever comes to mind! it’s nice to experiment with different mediums and explore and expand my talents. But what is most important to me is the fact people watch and are entertained by my videos above else. My art has taught me to channel my energy into something enjoyable, positive and impactful. I hope one day I can contribute too my community and leave a positive mark on it.

Nyanuer Nyoch

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m Nuer! Having my tribe as a part of my name is a constant reminder that many people did many extraordinary things to get me where I am today. Therefore, when I do Art, it’s very important to broadcast who I am in my work. I started doing art when I was 5 when my father gifted me with a red binder with a bunch of paper. Then my dream was to become a designer. So, all I drew were big gowns on thin models. Now, I’ve fallen in love with drawing people and things. In many forms and shapes. Although my aspirations have evolved, my love for the craft hasn’t. Getting good at art is definitely a process. Finding your style is definitely one too. When someone looks at your art, they see a piece of you. So, one thing I knew from the genesis of

my passion was that I loved to make art of my people, for my people. Come on, we literally are Art.

Akel

My background is South Sudanese, but I was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. I’ve been drawing since almost forever but became dedicated and motivated almost three years ago. If Ihave any advice for anyone/ everyone that have aspiring dreams in life, it’s that it’s never too late to start anything & always raise the bar no matter what. I wanna show the world that there is more to the South Sudanese culture & that we are made of many creative talents within our community.

Community Development Event Details

Despite this very difficult decision and quite dreary circumstances, the team was able to refocus and continue to service both the South Sudanese and Canadian community by strengthen its online presence. Online, SSYC was able to launch five successful events including SSYC Skill Share, #SSYCGoesLive, Junubin Healing Circle and Dobijoki’s mental health workshop – four singular events and one longitudinal series (Table 2 and Figure 8).

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Figure 7: The anticipated entertainers for the JYC Let’s talk event.

#SSYCSkillShare

Come And Bake With Us – the first SSYC Skill share event, hosted by Nyarout Jock (Calgary, AB) with support of the SSYC team, aimed to empower SSY to showcase their skill sets for the benefit of the broader community. Watch the full event here: https://tinyurl.com/4zasj4wv

Table 2: The table summaries the SSYC online community development initiatives SSYC Skill Share, #SSYCGoesLive, Junubin Healing Circle and Dobijoki’s mental health workshop.

Figure 8: Graphical summary of the SSYC community development initiatives online views.

#SSYCGoesLive

#SSYCGoes Live series aimed to promote SSY excelling in sports, academics and community leadership. To this the SSYC team attracted five young people from across Canada to share their experiences and success in the aforementioned arenas. This inludes Anok Tior (Calgary, AB) Aguer Bol (Toronto, ON), Richie Sindani (Calgary, AB), Nyadholi Thokbuom (Calgary, AB), Keul Thomas (Waterloo, ON).

Anok Tiordit

Watch Anok Tiordit talk about her experiences balancing her Nursing degree while playing varsity level track and field here: https://tinyurl.com/9k83cbdu

Aguer Bol

Watch Aguer Bol discuss his experiences being a World University Service of Canada (WUSC) student, his journey moving to Canada in pursuit of his post-secondary career, his academic aspirations of higher education, and learn about his community involvement with the South Sudanese development club at the University of Toronto here: https://tinyurl.com/hy7bk8nu

Richie Sindani

Watch the CFL Calgary stampeder Wide Receiver, Richie Sindani discuss his journey from being an amateur player in Regina, Saskatchewan to a professional athlete and the experiences which helped shape him along the way here: https://tinyurl.com/59tf9dze

Nyadholi Thokbuom

Watch Nyadholi Thokbuom discussing her experience balancing academics and athletics as a varsity level and team Canada athlete with dreams of a pro league volleyball career here: https://tinyurl.com/creb5wbt

Figure 9: Promotional content and recipe for the SSYC skill share event.

Keul Thomas

Watch Keul Thomas talk about his experience balancing academics and athletics as a varsity basketball athlete, his journey to becoming a basketball professional and his comedic career here: https://tinyurl.com/m8rh28yt

Figure 10: #SSYCGoesLive promotional content.

Junubin Healing Circle

In response to the infamous passing of 20-year-old Samwel Uko (and many other SSY struggling with mental health issues) SSYC has launched the Junubin Healing Circle (JHC) with the aims of normalizing conversations regarding mental health with the hopes of preventing further loss of life. The JHC hopes to achieve this goal through (1) the creation of a virtual space for, continual, dialogue pertaining to various aspects of mental health with aims of destigmatize mental health within the community. And (2), by making accessible a Canada wide resource list of affordable mental health resources to the South Sudanese Community. Watch the first of these discussions herehostedbybothEmmanuelaDroko& DobijokiEmanuelaBringi: https://tinyurl.com/cju7xscw

Figure 11: Junubin Healing Circle (JHC) promotional content.

Figure 12: Emmanuela Droko & Dobijoki Emanuela Bringi, the facilitators of the first JHC discussion.

Dobijoki Personal Development (DPD)

To objective of DPD was to create a safe space where black youth and adults could feel safe to express their feelings in regard to their mental health and going through a pandemic. This session was conducted through the zoom web conference software and lead by Dobijoki Emanuela Bringi Ed.D Student and community educator, learn more about DPD here: https://linktr.ee/dobijoki

Figure 13: Dobijoki Emanuela Bringi, the facilitators of the first DPD zoom session.

Budget

The detailed actual expenditure of the SSYC 2019-2020 Community development initiatives is detailed in Table 3.

Note:Anyremainingfundswillbeutilizedforfuturecommunitydevelopmentprojects,documents are available upon request.

Table 3: The detailed budget for the South Sudanese Youth of Canada 2019-2020 Community development initiatives.

Sponsorship

The SSYC would like to thank all the sponsors and supporters of the 2019-2020 year. The events would not have been possible without your support. Through these initiatives, you have empowered not only the members of the SSYC, but SSY and the South Sudanese community across the country and beyond. Words are unable to express our gratitude. Thank you!

Marketing, Media and Promotion

Marketing and media were managed by the SSYC communications and marketing working group, through the use of SSYC’s various media platforms:

Facebook: @SouthSudaneseYouthOfCanada, https://tinyurl.com/2rpnrns6

Instagram: @ssyofcanada, https://tinyurl.com/j2kda7sw Snapchat: ssycofcanada

Table 4: List of sponsors for the South Sudanese Youth of Canada 2019-2020 Community development initiatives.

Source Amount ($ CND)

Figure 14: The logos of the various sponsors and in-kind supporters of the South Sudanese Youth of Canada.

City Contacts

The community development leaders in each city are outlined in table 5.

Table

Calgary (JYC)

Akuch Akol

Ariet Agwa

Ban Tut

Duol Tuong

JP Simon

McNielInyani Keri

Mer Yang

Nyakier

Buong

Nyakong

Yang

Nyarout

Jock

Nyayany

Tut Jock

Rose Lokiru

Sunday Dak

James

Winjoy

Tiop

Edmonton Lethbridge Saskatoon Regina (SSYEG) (ssyoflethbridge) (ssysaskatoon) (SSYQR)

Aamanilom

Deng

Achol Khor

Athiang

Makoui

Andrew Jimaga

Dedi Nyjong

Dulu Modi

Faraday

JKosmas

Khemis Robert

Kija Lado

Magdoline

Wani

Martin Lubajo

Olga Loggale

Sarah Reech

Yar Anyieth

Yawa Idi

Abuk Deng Gut Auk

Helen Barnaba

Patricaia Kujang

Jennifer Wani

Judy Wani

Vibya

Natana

Winnipeg (COSSCOM Youth)

Apajok David

Chol Deng

5: Members leading the community development initiative in their respective cities