« Back to CCMW Projects

TITLE:  MUSLIM YOUTH CANADA OR MY CANADA PROJECT

DURATION: April 2009 - June 2011

FUNDED BY: Citizenship and Immigration Canada's Multiculturalism Program

With direct involvement of Muslim youth, financial support from the Government of Canada's Multiculturalism Program and under the direction of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW), the purpose of the My Canada Project is to develop a coordinated strategy that will provide opportunities for Muslim youth to strengthen their Canadian Muslim identities and increase their participation in the civic life of their communities. The My Canada Project will not be delivering social services but rather educational materials and web tools that serve to open up new spaces for a particular kind of dialogue on what it means to be Canadian Muslims.

OBJECTIVES:

1. An increase in the civic participation of Muslim youth in Canada
2. Provide alternative ways for Muslim youth to find self-fulfillment
3. The participants will gain leadership skills
4. The participants will understand how to use the rule of law more effectively in Canada
5. The participants will learn new strategies to combat radicalization of Muslim youth
6. The participants will gain a greater understanding of the scope and breadth of the use of Web 2.0 and new media in use for and by Muslim youth to engage them in the educational, cultural, social, economic, and civic life of Canada.
7. Muslim youth will gain a sense of belonging and identification with Canada
8. Participants will develop stronger self-confidence, and more effective written and oral communication skills.

STRUCTURE:

There are 3 major stages of the project:

Stage 1:
The project will begin with the creation of a steering committee of 9 members comprising youth, the partner organizations and the CCMW. This committee will lead the development and oversight of all elements of the project.

Stage 2:
To ensure that a collective and unified approach to working with other cultures and faiths will be used in the future stages of this project, a 2 day major Muslim youth "Strategic Planning Forum" in Toronto will be held that will bring together 100 Muslim youth and 70 CCMW chapter delegates from 12 different Canadian cities. The intention of this Forum will be the development of an internal work plan and a set of guidelines that will be used in the future stages of this project.

Stage 3:
The final major stage of the project will involve 17 inter-faith sessions or activities for youth to take place across Canada, led by the youth who attended the Forum along with regional partners. The partnerships with YOUCAN, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and the Afghan Women's Organization will be initiated immediately after the Forum to help support the youth develop and organize these sessions with local CCMW chapters. The 17 sessions will take place in the following places:

These sessions will take place in schools and community centers and will involve an estimated 20-30 inter-faith youth at each one comprised of diverse backgrounds. The participants will be identified through publicity and marketing campaigns aimed at (but not exclusively for) those Muslim youth who are most "at-risk" of alienation from other Canadians and of self-segregation

ACTIVITIES:

1. 50 toolkits produced as a result of the Forum, will be provided for the youth in order to help them deliver the appropriate messages during the public sessions they will lead.
2. A web based media site will be developed by the youth on the already existing website of the CCMW as an aid in delivering messages that counter the literalist and narrow view of Islam.
3. At the end of the project there will be a compendium of stories and experiences by Muslim youth about their identities and what helps them navigate and cope with some of the problems within Canadian society.
4. As a result of the steering committee meetings, a guidebook will be developed for the youth, establishing a proper work plan for the future stages of the project.
5. Included with the toolkit, participants will receive 50 videos (one each) produced as a result of the Forum that will act as a training guide to develop approaches and strategies to combat radicalization.
6. Throughout the evaluation process, surveys will be administered and delivered to all participants.
7. The strategic planning forum will include 100 youth participants, primarily from communities with a high concentration of Muslim youth at the secondary and post-secondary levels. The communities include Toronto, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Waterloo, London, Niagara, Windsor, Edmonton, and the Maritimes.
8. There will be 17 public sessions at educational institutions, held by the youth mentors who have attended the Strategic Planning Forum in Toronto. Leaders at the sessions will mainly include students, teachers, principals, but may also be attended by elected officials, and social service providers. Participants will include Muslim youth from the local community.
9. In order to involve youth from the beginning of the project a steering committee will be developed comprised of CCMW members, representatives of the partner organizations, and youth themselves between 16-25 years old. This committee will meet to discuss and develop a roadmap that will be used to guide every stage of this project.

              Facebook

              YouTube

              Twitter

Muslim Youth Portal

Muslim Youth Canada Forum ? October 31st 2009

Forum Report

Terms of Reference

Youth Leader Agreement