In Spring 2019, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will launch a new Youth Advisory Group (YAG) to bring together a select group of students between the ages of 16 and 24 from across Canada to serve as a forum for engagement between youth and policy-makers on cross-cutting issues with respect to immigration, settlement and integration, citizenship, refugee affairs, and international issues.
Benefits to participating:
Beyond helping to ensure that student perspectives are considered in IRCC policy and programming, by participating on the YAG students will have the opportunity to:
- Actively participate in discussions, activities, and brainstorming exercises.
- Learn more about the federal government, including the policy process and cross-cutting immigration-related topics.
- Develop their communication, analytical, and leadership skills.
Application details:
IRCC is inviting Brock University to nominate a maximum of two students from our community to apply to the YAG.To apply, please submit a 1 page (max) statement of interest explaining why you are interested and why you would be a good candidate to isa@brocku.ca The deadline to apply is Wednesday, November 7th, 2018 at midnight.
Students interested in applying, must confirm the following:
- Currently live in Canada and be between the ages of 16 and 24 on November 19, 2018 (i.e., the date of the application deadline).
- Nominees may self-identify as an immigrant, newcomer, refugee, naturalized citizen, or Canadian youth. Nominees do not need to have gone through the immigration system themselves, but should have direct experience with newcomers (e.g., mentoring a newcomer youth or providing services for youth).
- Nominees should be students with leadership capacity who make positive change in their community, and who have an interest in engaging on policy and programming and learning more about the federal policy process.
Nominees should also be aware of and comfortable with the roles and responsibilities of serving as a YAG member. In particular, nominees should be aware that:
- Successful applicants will be invited to join the YAG for a two-year term.
- The YAG will meet three to four times per year (one in-person meeting per year in Ottawa and two to three virtual meetings). Members will be expected to participate consistently in meetings.
- Members will not be paid for their participation, but IRCC will cover expenses associated with travelling to and staying in Ottawa for in-person meetings.
The selection process:
Top applicants will be selected for phone interviews, which will be used to finalize the selection process. Successful candidates will then be invited to join the YAG.
In selecting YAG members, IRCC will consider the strength of applicants’ responses to the online application form and during the phone interviews. In addition, IRCC will strive to balance interests in the settlement and integration, immigration (including international topics and international students), citizenship, and refugee sectors. Age, gender, diversity, regional representation, and representation from francophone communities will also be considered in the composition of the group.
