Youth First: A Canadian Youth-led Initiative in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Published November 2021

Contributors
Author: Reah (Hyun Ju) Shin, Harleen Kaur, Catherine Howe, Justin Whitty, Kyla Quigley Regan Katerenchuk, Victoria Bonnell, Ronglan Cao, James Liu, Geoffrey Pearson
Publisher: Canadian Journal of Children’s Rights
Date: 2021
Geographic Coverage: Worldwide
Type of Resource: Academic Journal
Sector/setting: Other
Vulnerable groups: Children, Young People
Developed with children and young people? No
Type of participation: N/A
Availability: Open Access
Keywords: Canada, Child, Children’s Rights, Covid, Covid-19, Cyberspace, Participation, Young People, Youth, Youth-led initiatives
Introduction
This reflection writing was co-written by seven young people and three Master of Arts Child and Youth Care (MA CYC) students from Ryerson University. Our writing centres around a Canadian youth-led initiative called Youth First, developed as a MA CYC placement due to the lack of placement opportunities available during the pandemic. Youth First focused on creating safe and interactive spaces in cyberspace for young people during the pandemic. Through this reflection, we hope to share our experiences, accomplishments, lessons learned and overall reflection of being part of this initiative during a global pandemic.