Wednesday, June 22, 2011 – Nearly 40 youth from across the NWT staged the first dance flash mob in Fort Smith last week. The students were part of the inaugural NWT Youth Symposium, hosted by Aurora College, and spent Thursday afternoon participating in the Aboriginal Student Achievement (ASA) Youth Forum hosted by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE).

“Youth from various regions and backgrounds, provided a strong unified voice to help improve the educational outcomes of all Northern students,” said Minister of ECE Jackson Lafferty. “They are the ones who are directly affected by the education system. It is their education and they play a vital role in creating an Education Plan that caters to their needs.”

The afternoon of workshops included six stations for students to voice their opinions through various mediums including: two discussion centres, a feedback centre, an art centre, a Speaker’s Corner video station, and a dance station that taught choreography to K-naan’s song “Wavin’ Flag.”

Students discussed the difficult issues they face that affect their education, such as: drug and alcohol abuse, residential school influences, student-teacher relationships, and came up with potential solutions.

To bring the afternoon to a close, the youth participants surprised members of the community at a fish fry with the flash mob, which featured the “Wavin’ Flag” dance.

The NWT Youth Symposium provided youth with a chance to experience opportunities available through Aurora College. ECE is thankful to Aurora College for building time in the schedule to enable the department to meet with the youth to discuss the importance of education.

For more information, please contact:

Amy Doerksen
Manager, Public Affairs
Education, Culture and Employment
Phone: (867) 920-6222
Email: amy_doerksen@gov.nt.ca