Apathy is Boring Re-Launches ‘Youth Friendly’ Consulting Program

NGO aims to engage partners in improving inclusive practices & democratic environments for Canadian youth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONTREAL, QC - March 17, 2021 – Apathy is Boring is announcing the re-launch of Youth Friendly, a consulting program that collaborates with partners to drive innovation by strategically and intentionally integrating diverse youth perspectives in their work and practices through a set of carefully curated services. Their mission is to help create spaces where youth can have tangible impact on the conditions they live in through access to decision-making, especially within our democratic institutions.

A recognized leader in reaching and engaging youth, with a wide range of partners such as Canada World Youth and The City of Kitchener, Youth Friendly holds a wealth of experience and resources that can enable organizations to better engage and involve youth in decision making processes. 

According to Apathy is Boring’s Executive Director, Samantha Reusch: “The program is designed to support organizations to better and meaningfully engage youth in today's environment. We want to engage other organizations so that there are better opportunities for youth at the decision-making table, ones which yield meaningful change, in a sustainable and accessible way.”

Young people have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic and now is the opportunity for organizations to implement substantive long-term change. A recent study by Apathy is Boring, in partnership with the Environics Institute for Survey Research, shows that:

• The two youngest generations of Canadians – most often referred to as Generation Z (ages 9 to 24) and Millennials (25 to 40) – are the largest in the country’s history, and together make up more than forty percent of the population. 

• Two in three Gen Z and Millennials report that the pandemic has had a major or moderate impact on their emotional health and well-being.

• Three in five Gen Z and Millennials report a major or moderate impact on their ability to continue with their work or education, and on their day-to-day finances and ability to pay bills.

• Younger members of these generations, women, students and those looking for work, and those who identify as Indigenous, Black or South Asian are all more likely to report significant impacts from the pandemic.

These findings are based on a comprehensive survey of 5,264 Canadians ages 18 to 40 across the country, which included Millennials (ages 25 to 40) and leading-edge GenZers (ages 18 to 24). 

As part of contributing to Canada's economic and social recovery, Youth Friendly can bring a youth perspective to help organizations, social enterprises, government, and communities better understand how to create conditions that generate meaningful, sustainable environments and engage young Canadians in order to leverage their expertise in reopening a strong and democratic society.   

Youth Friendly services include presentations with key learnings, workshops, in-depth brainstorms, youth-friendly audits, and implementation plans. Each of these services are personalized to new partners, in order to support them in reaching their goals and increase organizational capacity to engage youth stakeholders.

The program is re-launching on March 17 and will be working with partners across Canada.

Contact: Taharima Habib, Youth Friendly Coordinator
Pronouns/Pronoms: She/Her/Elle
youthfriendly@apathyisboring.com , 514.844.AisB (2472)

The new report on the “Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Millennials and GenZ” is available online at www.environicsinstituteorg; for further information on the study, please contact Dr. Andrew Parkin at andrew.parkin@environics.ca.

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About Apathy is Boring: Apathy is Boring (A is B) is a non-partisan, charitable organization that supports and educates youth to be active and contributing citizens in Canada’s democracy. While one of the organization’s primary missions since its inception in 2004 is to promote the youth vote, AisB firmly believes that getting young people actively involved at all decision-making levels will inevitably lead to an increase in civic participation and better outcomes for us all.