YouthWrite Society Canada

The Cause

To foster literacy and a love of writing and reading among young people in Alberta by providing access to Alberta's literary artists, their mentoring expertise, and their works.

YouthWrite is committed to the creative development of youth and exploring opportunities for collaboration, particularly in a multi-disciplinary approach to mentoring writers.

YouthWrite seeks to expand its role within the writing, theatre arts, education, and arts communities, within Edmonton, throughout the province, country, and internationally.

YouthWrite has typically held annual overnight camps (lasting a week) in Bragg Creek, AB, attracting young participants from across the Prairies. In light of current circumstances, we're adapting our programs to a new format.

We aspire to hold a virtual camp this year in the fall and winter months; one for adults, the other for youth ages 8-19. We've put a ton of time into brainstorming, curating and workshopping it, to tailor our annual physical camps to the digital realm.

The camps will cater to those who demonstrate a financial need, and more generally, to those on the socio-economic margins of society. Most significantly, YouthWrite seeks recruit and encourage participation from those who identify as belonging to BIPOC communities.

At YouthWrite, we pride ourselves on fostering a safe, inclusive environment that celebrates diversity. With these beliefs as our guiding principles, we intend to build on the success of this summer's virtual camp we realized, in order to continue promoting the creative arts for youth and adults alike in the province.

Who Will it Benefit?

YouthWrite seeks participation from those on the socio-economic margins, and from individuals identifying as LGBTQ2S+ or BIPOC. This grant will benefit the participants by allowing us to run these camps, to fill a void in their lives (particularly during these sensitive times), and to provide a safe space that nurtures their creative and personal instincts. The camps allows people to be comfortable in their own skin, while simultaneously giving them the ability to conflate their personal and professional aspirations.