Three hundred young people are gathering at Royal Bay Secondary today and Sunday to look at ways they can thrive in a changing world.
Summit at the Bay, backed by the Sooke school district, the University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business and the Royal B.C. Museum, is offering “future-proofing sessions.”
The premise is that youth heading for adulthood need to go beyond the basics of their high-school courses.
“The global community needs people who are resilient, who can make clear decisions, who practise acceptance and who listen deeply,” said a statement from organizers.
“People who can innovate and find the right people to help them drive the changes they want to see. People who take responsibility for their actions and decisions.”
Spokeswoman Rebecca Kirstein said the intent of the summit is also for youth to find what interests them.
“Our tagline is ‘Explore What Matters,’ ” she said.
Sooke school district superintendent Jim Cambridge supports events such as the weekend summit.
“I think these are the way of the future,” he said.
“Kids leading kids, it’s very empowering.”
Kirstein said that summit participants can tackle issues in the company of like-minded peers — giving homelessness as an example.
“You can find other people that care about that problem, and then you have adults and mentors and community members and community organizations that are actually supporting you in that endeavour.”
All of that knowledge can help young people take action to help the homeless in the real world, she said.
Kirstein said that youth delving deeply into a topic such as homelessness is an example of inquiry-based learning — learning that is initiated by students themselves.
“When a young person comes to the table interested in ending homelessness or talking about mental health in schools or whatever it might be, these are things they’re passionate about and they naturally want to learn about.”
Among the special guests at the summit is Kevin Bree, who sprinkles in humour when he talks about dealing with mental illness that he began to experience in high school.
“He does an amazing job of really connecting with young people,” Kirstein said.
She said the summit has attracted students not only from the Victoria area but also from other Vancouver Island communities and Kelowna.
