Welcome to five new Youth Advisory Council members and congratulations to our council members for their impact over the last year!

August 12, 2024

Today, on International Youth Day, CIHR-IHDCYH is pleased to welcome five new members to our Youth Advisory Council (YAC), joining eight returning members. Welcome to Kira, Sophie, Finn, Toluwani and Henry! 

We invite new voices onto the council every year and aim to ensure broad representation from across Canada. This year our new members represent Alberta, Northwest Territories, Ontario and Saskatchewan! Each member brings unique perspectives grounded in their personal lived experiences and interests, educational pursuits, community and volunteer positions, and intersectional identities. Members participate directly in projects and activities related to health research priorities centered around the well-being of children, youth, and families in Canada and beyond.

In the past year, council members represented IHDCYH at events including an Inspiring Healthy Futures 2.0 Summit in Ottawa, a climate change symposium in Toronto, an IHDCYH-led research network Sustainability Workshop in Vancouver, and a patient engagement workshop in Halifax, led by the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis. Members brought council updates and participated in IHDCYH’s Institute Advisory Board meetings in Montreal and Winnipeg, where one YAC member also participated as a community event panelist on the topic of Integrating Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Perspectives into Research hosted by the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. YAC members participated in a dedicated engagement session for the refresh of the CIHR Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR), and engaged in focus groups and discussions culminating in a group submission to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s initiative, Toward a National Framework for Environmental Learning. Congratulations to all council members for your vast impact over the last year!

Thank you to all applicants and our continuing council members for your engagement and for sharing your thoughts about the importance and direction of health and well-being research and services in your communities! Read more about the YAC members.

Thank you to our council members who have completed their terms and are becoming part of our growing YAC alumni network – it has been wonderful to work with you, Robert, Jolie, Vivek, Ash, Alexandria, Sarah, Eki and Annika!

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