More than 200 Delta students attended the third annual Delta Youth Leadership Conference last week at the North Delta Recreation Centre.
This event, which was organized in partnership between the Delta School District, the Delta Police Department and the City of Delta, was run by student volunteers from all five North Delta high schools.
The day began with opening remarks from several special guests.
With Elder Rose, students acknowledged the traditional and unceded territory of the Tsawwassen and Musqueam First Nations people.
Students were honoured by listening to Tsawwassen First Nation member Nathan Wilson sing the Coast Salish Anthem.
Delta Mayor George Harvie then spoke about how “investing in children and youth has been identified as a key priority [for the city].”
The three guests of the day were motivational speaker, Adrian Starks, the first female DJ of the NHL DJ Baron S, and award-winning entrepreneur and author, Kendal Netmaker.
Each of the guests spoke about their own battles with mental health and how they overcame such obstacles. The overarching theme of all of these presentations was the importance of seeking help and receiving support.
DJ Baron S compared mental health to physical health, stating, “Anyone who is born with a mind is going to experience mental health issues.”
Being a youth conference, it is important for young people to understand that their feelings are very normal and they should not be ashamed to reach out and seek support. As these topics are heavy and not always the most relatable for young students, DJ Baron S did a great job at getting the energy up, by playing music and displaying videos in the background. As the presentation went on, more and more kids got up to the front of the stage and began to dance. They laughed and sang and cheered each other on. This was an excellent display of youth engagement, community and camaraderie.
In the afternoon, students moved into smaller breakout room sessions to have meaningful conversations about heavy topics and create a safe space to unpack their thoughts and feelings.
Netmaker highlighted the importance of this in his presentation.
“We need to learn to speak about our feelings to people every day,” said Netmaker.
Students could choose between topics such as racism, intergenerational trauma, substance abuse and body image, with students leading and moderating their own discussions. Walking around the building, there was lots of chatter and conversation amongst the students in every group. The energy throughout the day was positive and responsive to the activities and the speakers, and it was reassuring to see that the future generation of young adults consists of many passionate leaders. Each of the groups developed action items from their discussions which will be shared back to their school communities to help initiate change.
“This conference is the kind of event that keeps me going as a trustee,” said school board chair Val Windsor. “Seeing kids getting involved like this is what I love.”
The school district wishes to thank the Delta Police Foundation for providing numerous door prizes, including an iPad, and to the Phoenix Society’s Phoenix Flame Food Truck for providing food for all of the participants.
Editor’s note: Emily Bancroft is a Grade 12 student at Burnsview Secondary.
