The Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium (IYILS) took place on unceded Musqueam territory, June 26-30, 2017. Over 60 young Indigenous leaders from across the province participated in four days of workshops, networking and facilitated discussion.
The vision for IYILS was to create a strong network of motivated, self-determining young leaders who are grounded in their communities and use that knowledge to envision Indigenous futures. It brought together young Indigenous leaders to cultivate common knowledge and ideas, empower each other and their communities, and foster collaboration.
Executives from the Provincial government were invited for one day to hear from the young Indigenous leaders about work happening across the province, get feedback about the current realities in community, and visions for the future.
The symposium was grounded in Indigenous ways of being, it followed the protocols of the host nation, and focused all its energy on supporting the Indigenous young leaders who attended.
The IYILS team created an Anniversary Report to document and acknowledge the work done at IYILS 2017. We also followed up with some of the participants to see what they were up to a year later.
The report was written by Morgan Mowatt, with contributions by Madelynn Slade. It was designed by Nicole Neidhardt and the photography was by Melody Charlie.
If you are interested in the using the report for any other reason than to read it, please ask permission from the IYILS team. Thank you.