Shuswap Youth Launch

Inspiring speakers and interactive activities are on tap for local youth during Shuswap Youth Launch, which is an empowerment day designed for youth aged 14 to 17 (Grade 9 – 11) from throughout the Shuswap area on Thursday, April 16.

The event will be held at the Salmar Classic Theatre from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., including lunch at Ross Street Plaza. There is no charge to the participants for this inclusive event – however tickets must be reserved in advance and are being disbursed throughout the Shuswap on an equal basis.

The team behind the event have been working together with two Salmon Arm Rotary Club mentors since being awarded the grant last November. The other partner in the project is School District 83. The Shuswap Launch Team includes Maggie Beckner (17), Dayton Massey (17), Abbigail Paetsch (14), Mikayla Wilkinson (15) and Caillie Hay-Vicars (15).

By bringing the Shuswap’s future leaders to the Shuswap Youth Launch Day in Salmon Arm —instead of sending a few students to large cities — the goal is to reach a larger number of local youth with an event designed to motivate and educate teens about the importance of developing leadership skills, increase our local young people’s resilience and social connections, support them to be safe from harms to their health, and to promote healthy attitudes and choices now and into the future.

Event Speakers are:
Wali Shah – is a Canadian speaker, poet, musician and philanthropist. He has spoken most prominently on topics including bullying, mental health and social change, while creating spoken word poetry specifically tailored to his projects and engagements. He has wowed youth audiences at WE Day events in Vancouver and Toronto; given TED talks and performed for people like President Barack Obama.

Josh Dueck – is a Canadian alpine skier. From a young age, Josh expressed creativity through skiing and a big part of his identity was as the daredevil who would jump bigger. At 23, while coaching the freestyle team at Silver Star Mountain in British Columbia, Dueck demonstrated a jump for his students. The landing dislocated his back and severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down. The emergency room doctor broke the news as, “You’re going to rock the world in a wheelchair. Before you know it, you’ll be back in the mountains with all your friends riding a sit ski”. He won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in the men’s slalom sit-ski event. On February 3, 2012, Josh became the first person to perform a backflip on snow in a Sit Ski.

David Johnson – David doesn’t let type one diabetes or a degenerative eye condition define his character. His unbreakable positive attitude and commitment to the challenges of a student-athlete lifestyle, despite his impairments, are a testament to his grit and resilience. With three percent field of vision, David competes in the T12 category, running the 400-meter event alongside his guide, Adam. With the 2020 Paralympic games quickly approaching, David is focused, working hard, and preparing for the biggest competition that athletics has to offer.

Other local speakers include Natalie Wilkie, Canada’s youngest athlete at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. She made a remarkable Games debut at age 17 with a gold, silver, and bronze in cross-country skiing. Her success continued at the 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships with silver medals in the long distance cross country race and the mixed team relay.
Mirella Ramsay – the youth leader of the second RBC Future Launch grant project will speak about their commitment to the environment and their goal to educate the Shuswap on sustainable environmental practices.
Kenthen Thomas is a storyteller from the Secwepemc Nation. He has been storytelling since he was a boy. The Secwepemc stories or ‘Stsepetkwll’ – “Legends That Teach” are stories that not only provide entertainment but they also provide lessons.