CWY Alumni to Take Part in Major International AIDS Conference in Toronto

	Neelam Ladhar, from B.C., and Andrée-Anne Meilleur, from Quebec, seen here in New Delhi during the Indian phase of the program.

CWY is proud to announce that a group of past participants from the 2005-06 Ontario/India HIV/AIDS program have been selected to take part in the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, from August 13-18, 2006.

Canadians Neelam Ladhar, Andrée-Anne Meilleur and Jérôme Dostie, and their Indian counterpart, Amrita Puri, will be representing CWY and its Indian partner, the Society for the Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM), at the upcoming conference.They will be presenting the innovative work done by CWY and SPYM in India, specifically in the areas of targeted intervention and voluntary testing and counselling.

“I am very proud of their accomplishment,” said Tabish Surani, Director of CWY’s Central Canada Regional Office. “And I am happy that youth initiatives, like this one, will be recognized at a key international event. I think their achievement also speaks to the continued success and impact of the Ontario/India HIV/AIDS program.”

CWY's partnership with SPYM began in 1999. Shortly thereafter, recognizing the strength and leadership of SPYM in the HIV field, CWY pioneered the first Ontario/India community-based HIV/AIDS project in 2001-2002. Since then, close to 100 participants have taken part in this specialized program.

During the Canadian phase, Neelam, Andrée-Anne, Jérôme, Amrita and their fellow participants were based in London, Ontario, where they worked at community organizations and gradually gained a better understanding of HIV/AIDS in both the Canadian and global context. Once in New Delhi, the team worked on SPYM's Targeted Intervention Project, promoting AIDS prevention through a harm-prevention philosophy and working primarily with marginalized communities.

The participants were all deeply affected by the experience and feel that the program will have a lasting impact on them. "Doing this program basically allowed me to figure out what I want to do with my life," explained Neelam Ladhar, who plans to pursue a Master's degree in Global Health and continue working in the field of HIV/AIDS.

“I came to the program seeing HIV/AIDS as a problem of developing countries and some North Americans and returned home feeling that I now have a social responsibility to share my knowledge and my experience,” added Andrée-Anne Meilleur.

This year’s group of 18 participants taking part in CWY’s Ontario/India HIV/AIDS program will be living with host families and working with community organizations in Hamilton, Ontario and New Delhi, India.

For more information on the AIDS conference and on SPYM go to: www.aids2006.org, www.spym.org.

Where Are They Now?

An interview with past participant and film maker Guillaume Lévesque (Quebec/Benin 1998-99)

Q. What impact has CWY had on your life?
A. Canada World Youth opens your eyes and your spirit to the world around you. Through my program, I learned to be myself, to work with others, to understand and accept another culture. CWY had a profound effect on my values. I now try to focus my life on listening to and respecting others, and investing in my community.

Q. Tell us a little about the work you’re doing now.
A. At the moment, I am doing documentaries on a variety of social issues. Subjects vary from the impact of the tourism industry on the Magdalen Islands to the importance of the St. Lawrence for its inhabitants, and from French-Canadian legends to the relationship between people and the land in Gaspésie, where I’m from. For me, it’s a way of expressing myself, of getting involved, of making a statement and taking part in the development of my region.

Q. What is the single most important thing you took away from your CWY experience?
A. CWY is an intense learning experience that profoundly changes the values of those who take part in it. You become more conscious of your surroundings and of the world you live in. CWY gives you the urge to get involved and to play a significant role in society. No school can teach young people what CWY can. I hope that one day my children too will have the opportunity to participate in the greatest learning experience imaginable: Canada World Youth!

CWY Alumni – Staying Connected!

	Paul Seshadri (right) – seen here in Sudan in 1998, during one of his many post-CWY stays in Africa – is looking forward to reconnecting with old friends in August.

As usual, several CWY reunions are currently in the works! Among them, Paul Seshadri and Tony Vetter (Quebec/Zaire 1986-87) are organizing a 20-year reunion of their group in Ottawa this August, while Lorna Knudson (Indonesia 1975-76) and her fellow alumni will be gathering in Whistler, BC, for their 30th anniversary reunion, also in August. For more information on these and other reunions, please contact your Alumni Affairs Officer, Frédéric Lapierre, at alumni-anciens@cwy-jcm.org.

Are you currently planning a reunion? We want to know about it!
Send us an email at alumni-anciens@cwy-jcm.org. We’ll be happy to post the information on CWY’s website. We also invite you to write an entry in our alumni guest book to keep your CWY extended family posted on what you’ve been up to!

Jacques Hébert Receives Award from the Canadian Society for Training and Development

The Honourable Jacques Hébert, founding president of CWY, has been selected as the 2006 recipient of the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD) President’s Award, in recognition of his significant contribution to the education and training of Canadian youth through the organizations he founded, Canada World Youth and Katimavik.

The award is presented annually to an individual “who has made a positive impact on Canadian society as a whole and is generally regarded as a change agent through education, social policy development, or philanthropic endeavour.”

Past recipients include Dr. David Suzuki and Stephen Lewis. The Award will be presented at the CSTD’s President’s Dinner in Toronto on November 7, 2006.

Let’s Encourage Participants with Their Fundraising!

Participant fundraising activities for CWY’s 2006 – 2007 programs got underway in April. The targeted amount: eAch participant is to raise $1,950.

Fundraising is an integral part of the CWY experience, as it instils a sense of community in participants and encourages them to be resourceful.

Would you like to help out? If you would like to offer your support to participants, please contact Brenda Whittaker: bwhittaker@cwy-jcm.org or 1-800-605-3526.

Your Financial Support Helps to Make a Difference!

Your financial support helps to give hundreds of young people the educational experience of a lifetime. If you would like to make a donation to CWY, click here.

Attention CWY Alumni! We do not trade, rent or sell any of our names to other organizations. If you do not want your name and address shared with other CWY past participants for alumni activities such as group reunions, please contact our Alumni Network Department.

2330 Notre-Dame Street West, 4^thfloor, Montreal, Quebec, H3J 1N4
Tel: 1-800-605-3526 / Fax: (514) 939-2621
E-mail: cwy-jcm@cwy-jcm.org / Web site: www.canadaworldyouth.org

Canada World Youth is a registered Canadian charity. We thank the Canadian International Development Agency, as well as our generous donors, for their invaluable financial support.