How can we further support emerging social innovators?

Jennifer Corriero, Executive Director of TakingITGlobal and Curator of #FlourishWorkbook

On Tuesday June 20, 2023, Yukonstruct and TakingITGlobal partnered to host an event in Whitehorse to celebrate the launch of Flourish: A Workbook for Emerging Social Innovators. Discussions took place on the question of how we can further support emerging social innovators. One of the points raised that stood out for me is from Rohan Garg who is an Alumni in attendance from our #RisingYouth microgrants program that ran between 2017–2022 as part of Canada Service Corps. He talked about the importance of having people to listen and offer a sounding board when ideas are in the early stages of development. The power of youth voice and participation can only be realized when spaces are held for people to speak up on a variety of issues.

Earlier that day, I sat outside Whitehorse City Hall, on the traditional territory of Ta’an Kwäch’än Council and the Kwanlin Dün First Nation at a gathering hosted by the City of Whitehorse to witness a historic occasion. The flags of both Ta’an Kwäch’än Council and the Kwanlin Dün First Nation would be permanently raised alongside the other flagpoles.

One of the speakers to mark this occasion is City Councillor Michelle Friesen who shared a story about how this initiative began at the start of her term about a year ago when she asked about why the flags of the First Nations were not included. The response she received was along the lines of no one asking that question in council chambers before. This provokes us to consider the transformational power of a question and the changes that can unfold when there are platforms for different voices to be at decision-making tables.

Michelle is also an Alumni of the #RisingYouth Community Service Grants. Over 7,000 grants were distributed to youth (15–30) and our organization is now focusing on building additional resources to strengthen networks. As an Alumni who speaks powerfully about the impact of her project experience as both a participant and organizer, Michelle was invited to join as a contributing author of Flourish: A Workbook for Social Innovators. This 300 page book features insights from 50 contributing authors and it has been inspiring for me to bring different perspectives together as the curator for the project.

Following the Flag Raising ceremony, we went over the CBC for an interview to feature our book launch event that took place at Yukonstruct on the evening of June 20th. We are thankful to Leonard Linklater for hosting an interview with us on CBC Listen Midday Cafe that allowed us to share our hopes for with the launch event and how this resource is designed to help support future initiatives for community impact. It was wonderful to be able to share messages about the importance of surrounding youth with people who care.

It was beautiful to soak in the milestone moment during the celebration event and continue to generate ideas related to the hopes I have for the book. In attendance, I was delighted to speak with Josee Belisle from Yukon University who works on a program that supports social entrepreneurs in the Yukon. We are excited to see how the #FlourishWorkbook can be utilized in different learning environments as a tool to help nurture and grow initiatives that contribute to a vibrant society.

Special thanks to social innovators who came out to support the gathering including Jessi Hall, another #RisingYouth Alumni and Flourish Contributing Author, Doronn Fox for his opening remarks and providing traditional food for the event, Ian Angus for his words of wisdom, Alyssa Carpenter who leads the Western Arctic Youth Collective, Lisa Preto and her team for performing live music and Shayma Saadat, Executive Director of Yukonstruct for partnering with us.