SR Vol 27 No 3, July 2009 - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

Youth Work that works
Including young people in the
conversation – it works!
If I were asked to describe the recent Youth Work That Works
(YWTW) conference in one word, I would have to use the word
extraordinary. Extraordinary can be defined as either very unusual
call it Youth Work That Works, because it works.
We manage to work together in a fun and interactive way. We
learn more and more about each other as the days go on and most
importantly, we learn more and more about ourselves and we begin
to look at what we have to offer.
Young people have so much to
offer, but their opinions and voices
are often seen as inferior to the
voices and opinions of adults.
Being a youth host this year was incredible. It was amazing to observe
the evolution of the conference from the beginning to end. It is always
encouraging to meet adults who want to know how they can work
better with youth and are not afraid to ask for help.
I left the conference feeling overwhelmed with joy, and hopeful that
those who attended would go back and apply what they learned to
their own work with youth.
Young people have so much to offer, but their opinions and voices
are often seen as inferior to the voices and opinions of adults. My
lifelong goal is to break down the barriers that prevent people from
communicating effectively together because I believe we all need each
other. Now more than ever.
LaMeia Reddick
YWTW Youth Host
or remarkable. YWTW is both. It is unusual because it is
not like most conferences, where people come expecting it
to be the regular sit-down, listen-to-the-presenter, look-atthis-Powerpoint,
take-notes type of conference. It’s fun to
watch the participants’ reactions when we whip around the
talking piece and encourage them to let their guard down.
Youth Works That Works is remarkable because there is
something so powerful that comes out of getting people
with a common interest together to talk about things that
are important to them. Getting youth and adults together
produces amazing results in an atmosphere where everyone
feels that what they have to say is valuable. This is why we
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