A young Timmins woman is one of the two candidates from Northern Ontario who have been selected for Rural Ontario Institute’s Rural Change Makers Program.
The institute selected 18 participants, aged 18 to 29, for the program giving them an opportunity to make an impact in their respective rural communities.
Erin Cartan, 23, said she is all set to use her creative skills to work towards community issues and development with support from this program. Her focus is on youth in the community.
“Basically it’s about creating action in our community and building our own network of change makers through webinars and training and collaborative learning with the other change makers across the province,” explained Cartan. “So we’ll be participating in the webinars every week for a couple of months and there will hopefully be a two day in person workshop in the fall where we can all meet each other, obviously depending on the COVID-19 situation.”
According to the Rural Ontario institute, “The Rural Change Makers Program aims to grow the capacity of young adults to serve as change makers and strengthen rural community development by providing leadership opportunities through sustainable, experiential learning.”
The Rural Ontario Institute is a non-profit organization committed to developing leaders, initiating dialogue, supporting collaboration and promoting action on issues and opportunities faced by rural Ontario.
Cartan said under the program, all 18 candidates will be earning a certificate in community development, after which they will proceed towards starting their own projects where they will try to initiate a change in the community.
“It could be like in any field that any of the change makers are interested in. So, we have to host like a discovery session with our local community members and stakeholders to try to find an approach to fixing like an issue that is present in our community.
“Since I work with the Timmins Youth Wellness Hub already, my focus will probably be on youth and finding a solution to something that is affecting youth in our community.
“And then we’ll also need to host the community action lab or an event where we will plan with the community partners to create a short term like concrete project that will focus on the initial steps in affecting change,” Cartan explained.
Cartan has just started working around her projects and has already hosted one webinar where they discussed the basics of rural community development. As she moves ahead with her plan, Cartan hopes to learn more about connecting with different organizations within the community.
Gabrielle Ferguson, leadership programs director at Rural Ontario Institute, said, “The focus on young adults in rural areas is vital for the resilience of rural communities. Futures-focused leaders keep actions relevant and rural living attractive. By the end of the program, participants will be given the opportunity to facilitate sessions that discover high priority community issues and create plans to act. This program will provide them with support systems and coaching to aid them in their success.”
Norman Ragetlie, executive director of Rural Ontario Institute, said, “The change makers were selected with the understanding that they have already obtained impressive innovative qualities and know-how. We want to help accelerate and support these qualities so that they can be impactful within their community.”
Last summer, Cartan did an internship at the Rural Ontario Institute which was in connection with the Youth Wellness Hub. During that time, she worked on projects focusing youth engagement and youth storytelling.
“I have worked with the Timmins Youth Wellness Hub to tell youth stories and I made a short film about youth at the Youth Wellness Hub, about their lives and their struggles,” she explained. “I think definitely since I worked with them before, they probably liked my work ethic and how I perform in the role. So, yeah it’s great to be working with them again.”
Cartan explained in order to be a part of the Change Maker program, she had to go through an online application process in which she stated her views on making changes within the community and its development.
“It feels incredible, I really care about helping youth in the community and being a youth myself, it’s amazing to have the opportunity to build my leadership capacity in the community. Hopefully as this process goes along it will connect me with more organizations and different stakeholders in the community that maybe I haven’t met yet or haven’t had the chance to work yet. So, really hope to make some sort of change and impact.”
Article Credit: timminspress