WIBF youth committee gearing up for conference
- EFN Staff | August 17, 2016
Youth will be front and center at the World Indigenous Business Forum in Saskatoon in late August. The PotashCorp Presents World Indigenous Business Forum Youth programs include an Innovators Panel, a Youth Marketplace and a networking event built around a fashion show MC’d by Mariah Watchman from “America’s Next Top Model”.
The idea of a youth forum was raised in February and the task of pulling it together fell on Dalyn Bear. “No one knew what the youth programming would look like or what we would pull together, it was more of a pilot project to see what we could come up with,” said Bear who co-chairs the committee. “At the first meeting there were two other youth who were invited; Alicia Worme from the City of Saskatoon and Josh Scott from the U of S Atoske Program. We brainstormed some ideas and came up with enough event content to spark the WIBF Steering Committees interest for us to develop our own committee and team to pursue the event ideas.”
The committee has a wide spectrum of people and with Bear it includes Co-Chair Warren Isbister, Treasurer Rheana Worme, Secretary Alicia Worme, Tanya Larose, Devon Fiddler, Helen Oro, Hailey Lavallee and Milton Greyeyes.
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The program has come through the oversight of a group of educated and motivated young people. “Our team was able to jive together very nicely and everything was very organized, proficient and strategized. We also needed funding for the events so we decided to reach out to PotashCorp for potential sponsorship,” said Bear. “PotashCorp came through and I can’t say enough about the work of Lisa Mooney from PotashCorp who is a real champion of this event.”
Gilles Dorval, Director of Aboriginal Relations for the City of Saskatoon is on the host Committee and is impressed with the work of the youth. “Our local youth really pulled it together. They were very organized and had regular meetings and had their own ideas,” said Dorval. “This is the first time the WIBF has had a youth program and the young people did it on their own terms. We just empowered them and away they went.”
The youth stream is for people aged nineteen to thirty-five and complements the programming of the main forum. “The Innovators panel will be really interesting. We have entrepreneurs and change agents to profile. The panel is hosted by Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme, a well respected young Chief in Saskatchewan,” said Dalyn Bear. “And the networking and marketplace will allow these young entrepreneurs to showcase their success. Who knows, maybe they will meet an investor or get another opportunity.”
The work of the youth committee isn’t lost on Rosa Walker, the President of the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute, and the creators of the WIBF. “This is our first time with a youth program and the committee really came through with great opportunities for young people. The PotashCorp support made it possible for the young innovators to be at the table during all the decisions of the planning committee and because of this, the Forum will be better for everyone,” said Walker.
The work continues for the committee right until the entire event but Bear and the committee are up for the challenge. “The best part of this has been working as a team with the rest of the committee,” said Bear. “We are coming together as First Nation and Métis youth and collaborating. It has been a great experience working together. I love the teamwork.”