Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab and Children and Youth Planning Table launch Youth Impact Project

Waterloo Region – Smart Waterloo Region (SWRIL) and the Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT) have officially launched the Youth Impact Project. This project will help young people to access funding to build out solutions based on issues identified in the 2023 Youth Impact Survey results.

“The Youth Impact Survey is not only about hearing young people’s voices – it's about actively responding to those voices in meaningful ways,” said Karen Redman, Chair of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. “That’s why it’s so important that young people have the resources to participate in decision making and help build the Waterloo Region of the future.”

“The creativity, insight, and potential of young people in our community is endless,” said Joan Fisk, Chief Executive Officer of United Way Waterloo Region Communities. “As an organization that strives to empower collaboration and innovation, supporting and bringing the ideas of our youth to life is critical in creating an equitable and prosperous future for everyone who calls our region home.”

With funding from the Region of Waterloo and United Way Waterloo Region Communities, SWRIL and CYPT have established a $70,000 fund that youth can access through community organizations to activate their ideas. United Way WRC invites the community to support this project through the United for Youth Campaign, where any additional contributions will be allocated to youth projects.

For the first phase of the Youth Impact Project, from January to March 2024, CYPT and SWRIL are leading capacity building trainings/sessions with community organizations around youth engagement and the innovation process. After organizations complete training, CYPT and SWRIL will support organizations and their youth as they develop ideas to address challenges seen in the 2023 Youth Impact Survey data. In late Spring, youth will pitch their ideas to an all-youth panel who will select which projects receive funding.

Fast facts

• CYPT and SWRIL announced the Youth Impact Project at the Youth Impact and Action Summit on March 2nd, a youth-led, youth-centred event about mobilizing data from the Youth Impact Survey. The Youth Impact and Action event was project managed and led by three youth employees of the Children and Youth Planning Table, Julnar Aizouki, Kian Mirzaei, and Haniya Nazir.
• In May 2023, the Children and Youth Planning table launched the Youth Impact Survey with the goal to hear from a diverse cross-section of youth aged 9-18 about their well-being. In total, 1,876 youth completed the survey.
• In November 2023, United Way Waterloo Region Communities invested $100,000 in the Youth Impact Project.
• The innovation training that SWRIL and CYPT are offering for the Youth Impact Project draws from a framework and concepts from the Global Innovation Management Institute’s GIMI Impact Program. SWRIL has administered the GIMI Impact Program in all three major school boards in Waterloo Region: Waterloo Region District School Board, Waterloo Catholic District School Board, and Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir. Learn more about SWRIL’s GIMI Impact Program in Waterloo Region schools.

Other Quotes

“Organizations that serve young people in Waterloo Region are doing transformative things every single day. The Youth Impact Project is an opportunity to bring all that experience and knowledge into a room together to collaborate and figure out how to ensure that youth are involved in the whole process. We’re working to create a better system to support youth in actioning ideas that address the challenges that are impacting them.”

—Joana Lincho, Youth Engagement in Systems Lead, Children and Youth Planning Table of Waterloo Region

“The Youth Impact Project is an equity tool. Youth that are furthest from opportunity don't always get the chance to build out their ideas and participate in decision making. The approach we're taking – in connecting with community organizations – is making sure that we're reaching all the different demographics of youth to the best of our ability.”

—Jahmeeks Beckford, Play Lead, Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab

About Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab

Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab (SWRIL) was originally Waterloo Region’s entry into the 2019 Smart Cities Challenge. After months of public and stakeholder engagement, Waterloo Region decided the challenge most important to them was healthy children and youth. Although they didn’t win the competition, SWRIL survived based on generous funding from area municipalities and the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation. SWRIL has engaged over 5,000 young people through the lab’s youth-led projects, pilots, and experiments.

About the Children and Youth Planning Table

The Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT) is a member-driven partnership with over 65 Voting Member Organizations across Waterloo Region. The CYPT works to improve the well-being of children and youth through a system of coordinated and effective services that are supported by capacity building initiatives. Recognizing the complex challenges and issues related to the well-being of children and youth, the CYPT operates through a collective impact model seeking to promote the shared vision of “Happy, healthy children and youth — today and tomorrow.”

About United Way Waterloo Region Communities 

United Way Waterloo Region Communities believe that every person in every community deserves the opportunities, access, and connections they need to build a good life – regardless of their income, the neighbourhood they live in, or their social identity.  Thanks to generous donors and partners, United Way WRC is privileged to collaborate with people, non-profits, and businesses to empower multiple innovative, impactful, and measurable solutions. United Way WRC fight local poverty by building and strengthening a network of agencies that function as the Waterloo Region’s social safety net.

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