About
Canada’s most recognized career event TAKE OUR KIDS TO WORK (TOKW) AND THE ART OF WORK (2023) - 2023
Assuming leadership of the TOKW programs builds strong connections to schools and employers, connects year-round Art of Work youth placements.
PRIORITIZING YOUTH VOICE (2022) - 2022
The SCC facilitated XXX formal youth advisories and consultations for federal, provincial and municipal governments and major youth organizations.
SAFER SPACES AND MENTAL HEALTH PRIORITIZED (2021) - 2021
The SCC supports more than 158 other organizations to adapt and respond to youth needs during the Pandemic.
GROUND BREAKING RESEARCH ON YOUTH GENERATIVITY; YOUTH ACTION AS LEGACY (2020) - 2020
The Pandemic accelerated CEYE/SCC’s Dr. Lawford and Ramey’s research.for UNICEF and Frayme on impacts of the pandemic and polarization.
SOCIAL IDENTITY FORMATION AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS (2019) - 2019
SCC responds with multiple programs to youth requests for help with pressures on being authentic in on-line and in-person spaces.
A YOUTH POLICY FOR CANADA (2018)-2018
The SCC begins hosting workshops across Canada to support youth input into Canada’s first federal youth policy.
THE CANADA WE WANT (2017) - 2017
The SCC launches the #CanadaWeWant Youth Movement
SHARING THE STORIES RESEARCH AND EVALUATION PLATFORM (2011) - 2011
The SCC pilot tests and launches the Sharing the Stories Research and Evaluation platform.
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR YOUTH ENGAGEMENT (2000) - 2000
The SCC is awarded the designation of the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement. CEYE is a network of youth, organizations and academics focused on generating and sharing knowledge of youth engagement best practices.
HEALTH CANADA YOUTH ACTION COMMITTEE ON TOBACCO (1999) - 1999
The SCC supports Health Canada to setup a Youth Action Committee (YAC) on Tobacco. The Youth Leadership Team (formerly YAC) is now the longest-serving federal youth advisory mechanism.
ASIA CONNECTS CONFERENCE (1997-1998) - 1997
50 SCC staff across the country. 10 simultaneous youth conferences in each province connected by video link software.
THE STUDENTS COMMISSION OF CANADA (1991) - 1991
270 young people generated recommendations for action to improve the lives of youth in Canada. The final recommendation "commissioned" an organization for "students" to implement the recommendations. That is who the Students Commission was born.
YOUTH ADULT PARTNERSHIPS (1991) - 1991
TG Magazine invited to report on a national youth conference at Humber College. Event demonstrated the power of youth-adult partnerships
TEEN GENERATION (1980S) - 1980
Teen Generation (TG) written by youth with adult support and distributed to all schools across Canada
NATIONAL YOUTH MAGAZINE (1940S) - 1940
National youth magazine founded by youth
The Students Commission of Canada Statement of Purpose
Purpose: The SCC is a charitable organization that purposefully works with others to ensure that young people are valued, heard and their ideas for improving themselves, the lives of their peers and communities are put into action.
Our desired outcome: A world where all young people transition positively into a successful adulthood.
Our Four Pillars: Respect, Listen, Understand, Communicate™
Respect
We start with respect for the gift and strength that each person carries within: for young people, their idealism and their capacity to improve the world
Listen
With respect as our foundation, we learn to listen. We listen not just with our ears, but with our heads, hearts and all of our senses. We listen actively, intensely, not just to words, but to silences, to deeds, to experiences.
Understand
To understand is to go beyond listening, to process what we have heard from others, to reflect upon the new knowledge and gifts given to us.
Communicate
The beginning of action, this is when the obstacles fall away. We create plans with others and implement them to make a positive difference in our world.
Our Strategic Priorities
Our focus is to stay small, incubate ideas directly with youth, and work in partnership in all projects with youth and other organizations. We focus on being a node in the web of Canadian organizations and institutions that promotes the exchange of knowledge and expertise among youth and organizations to promote all youth thriving in a healthy Canada.
Turn Knowledge into Action and Action into Knowledge
- Capture knowledge and tell stories about what's working and not working for Canadian youth.
- Increase and share the evidence-base for decision-making related to effective youth programming and development.
- Young people generate and use evidence to take action on issues that matter to them.
Strengthen Networks
- Champion youth-led initiatives, provide and advance youth opportunities to network with each other.
- Work with others to shape a positive future for all young Canadians.
- Build capacity, connections and understanding among youth and organizations.
Strengthen our function as a Node in the Youth Well-Being Network
- Continue to reflect upon, refine and execute our specific skill sets to contribute to the network purpose.
- Continue to strengthen and diversify our funding sources to sustain our activities over longer periods of time without financial pressures.
- Continue to hire young people and support our staff, volunteers with professional development.
Our Culture
- We incubate and innovate with youth and, because we do, we generate sparks for positive change.
- We work in youth-adult partnerships and, because we do, young people's voices are influential in improving their lives and the lives of their peers.
- We work with partners and, because we do, we are inclusive and supportive, building community and strengthening a network of partners dedicated to youth thriving.
- We turn knowledge into action, and action into knowledge and, because we do, we are constantly learning and improving our process, as well as those of others.
- We work with vision and passion and strive to integrate head, heart, feet and spirit in all that we do.