You-th Speak Up Invites youth to share ideas about Prince Albert’s future

Prince Albert youth will have a chance to speak directly with city officials and community organizers this week about what they want to see in their city.

The City of Prince Albert and the Students’ Commission of Canada are hosting You-th Speak Up on Thursday, May 7, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Gateway Mall, across from Claire’s. The come-and-go event is open to youth and young adults ages 12 to 25, and will include live music, snacks, prizes and free transit to help young people attend.

Anna Dinsdale, the City’s community safety and well-being manager, said the event was co-designed with youth who already meet regularly with city administration.

She said the goal is to reach more young people across Prince Albert and hear their ideas, concerns and possible solutions.

“Youth voices often get lost amongst other voices across the community,” Dinsdale said. “We really just want to create the opportunity to encourage youth to speak up, to provide that feedback and to get involved in the conversation.”

Dinsdale said the questions at the event were developed by youth themselves. They include what the city needs to do to encourage young people to stay, work and build a future in Prince Albert, along with questions about transportation, mobility, accessibility, safety, opportunities, and community strengths.

The feedback will not be limited to one city department, she said. Dinsdale expects comments may touch on community safety, planning, public works, transit, communications, and other areas of city operations.

She said youth involved in the planning are also preparing to speak to city council, with hopes of seeing youth better included in city decision-making. That could include formal committees, a youth council or other ways for young people to provide regular input.

“This is a really good opportunity for us to bridge that gap between young people and elected officials in the community,” Dinsdale said.

Tara Switenky, a community lead with the Students’ Commission of Canada, said the national non-profit works to amplify youth voices in places where decisions are made about young people, including schools, governments, and community organizations.

Switenky said Prince Albert youth involved with the Students’ Commission have already taken part in local and national projects, including presentations related to public safety, teen dating violence and positive mental health.

She said youth often have more than concerns to share.

“They have really good insights, not just to the problems, but to the solutions,” Switenky said.

She said some youth have already been meeting with City Hall every six weeks and are calling for a youth council, or some kind of youth arm connected to City Hall.

Geneva Johnson-Harder, a Prince Albert participant with the Student’s Commission, said she plans to attend because she wants other young people to know their voices matter.

“I’ve never been asked what I think about my city as a youth,” Johnson-Harder said. “I’m asked about my school or I’m asked about my work, but I’m never asked about the place that I live. They need to go out and they need to ask more people what they think, because they just don’t.”

Johnson-Harder said Prince Albert needs more places where youth can spend time without having to spend money. She pointed to cleaner parks and the Rotary Trail as examples of spaces that could help.

Dinsdale said success will mean strong engagement from a range of young people, not just a specific turnout number.

“This is just the start,” she said.

Dinsdale said the feedback from You-th Speak Up will be shared across city departments, since it could touch on everything from community safety and transit to planning, public works, and communications. She said the City also expects more youth engagement to follow, with a balance between formal ways for young people to be included in decision-making and informal opportunities where they can continue to speak freely.

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