As the weather heats up, so do activities within the AYO! Movement! This summer we will be hosting these 7 opportunities (there may be more) and will be debuting our first ever AYO Staff position for one lucky summer student!! Find below some upcoming upcoming opportunities for Indigenous youth:
AYO Politix & #PDvotes17 (Saturdays)
There is a provincial by election to replace MLA Kevin Chief in Point Douglas on June 13th 2017! That means AYO Politix (#politixBS) is meeting with individual candidates, recording Speed Rounds and working with other community groups to have an All Candidates Forum! Stay tuned to the AYO Politix Facebook Page to learn more! We will be asking the candidates to speak on local economic development, child welfare (See Fearless R2W) and Health (See our TOP 5 Health Policy list). Our festivities began on Sat May 20th, with Green Party’s Sabrina Koehn Binesi! Upcoming Brain Storm dates are below:
- NDP Bernadette Smith – May 27th @ the Windmill Restaurant @ 12 noon
- Progressive Conservative Jodi Moskal – June 2nd @ Neechi Commons @ 9:30am
- Liberal John Cacayuran – June 2nd @ Boogie’s Restaurant @ 12 noon
- All Candidates Forum – DATE TBA
Meet Me at the Bell Tower (Fridays)
The MM@BT movement continues to meet Fridays at 6pm in cooperation with the Indigenous Family Centre and Food Not Bombs (and of course our relatives the Bear Clan gather at 6pm on the same corner). We look forward to welcoming consultations related to The Merchant’s Corner, a bell tower baby first birthday and a chance to explore both mental and community health!
- The Future: Merchant’s Corner Consultation & Willow’s Birthday (May 26th)
- Mental Wellness Bell Tower feature Mental Health advocates (June 2nd)
- Community Health Bell Tower featuring local health organizations (June 9th)
Fearless R2W (Thursdays & 1 Saturday)
Fearless R2W is moving forward, we are about to release our re-vamped Community and Government Recommendations on our blog! We continue to meet Thursdays at Turtle Island Neighbourhood Centre at 510 King Street and are beginning the process for our first ever COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT FORUM. We will also be supporting the AYO Politix Candidate’s Forum and asking questions on child welfare.
- Sharing Circle – Thurs May 25th
- CFS Jeopardy – Thursday June 1st
- Community Empowerment Forum & Youth Pipe Ceremony – Sat June 24th, 1-4pm
Inner City Voices (Mondays)
Every Monday for the past 5 years, @northendmc has been hanging out on the CKUW airwaves with many of the other rowdies from AYO & the Village including Jenna Liiciious, Markus, Chris, Ninoondawah and many more! MC & Liiciious recently had a blast hosting the 11th Annual Volunteer Awards & Listener Appreciation Party for the CKUW family! We promote local musicians, especially hip hop, and are always looking for interesting and exciting ways to collaborate with inner city residents and groups as well as other shows on CKUW like Rogues Primate.
- Like us on Facebook “Inner City Voices”
- Download past episodes from the CKUW archive each week as a podcast!
- Follow us on Twitter or Instagram @InnerCityVoices
The Village Walk (Mondays)
Back by popular demand and now in it’s 3rd year, it’s the Village Walk! Brought to you by SpiritFusion, AYO!, Ma Mawi Chi Itata, Got Bannock? & more – The Village Walk provides a chance each lunch hour, on Mondays, to start your week with a walk around the community where we can explore the neighbourhood and get healthy together.
- First Village Walk of 2017 – Monday June 5, 2017 @ 12 noon at 445 King St
- The Village Walk is on Facebook – weekly events will be made with updates/routes/details
- AYO made a web page for the village walk here!
Youth Pipe Ceremonies (Saturdays)
We’re back for the 2nd year of weekly, summertime, street level youth led ceremony! We’ve already hosted 2 events at the North End Bell Tower and the Merchant’s Hotel. We are looking forward to supporting other events in the community where ceremony, and the streets can come together, in spaces where we can pray for families and express gratitude for the good things we have in our lives.
- Youth Pipe Ceremony for MMIWG: May 27th @ 2pm @ Memorial Park
- Youth Pipe Ceremony for Youth in Care @ Community Empowerment Forum: June 24th
100 Basketballs (Family Fun Day in August)
For the past 3 years, #100Basketballs has provided inner city children and youth with free basketballs and a family fun day that featured basketball related give aways, food, entertainment, 3 on 3 basketball tournaments and more! This year, 100 Basketballs will happen in August and for the first time will be in the West End of Winnipeg. More details will be available soon!
- If you wish to partner, support, donate equipment, shoes, basketballs or help in any other way please contact Lenard Monkman at lenardmonkman@gmail.com
- Donations can be dropped off with the AYO team Fridays at MM@BT
There you have it! After 7 years of existing it is amazing to see how our volunteers and partner organizations continue to work together to make space in the village for community to be created. We have now shared 7 of our initiatives that you can get involved in this summer either by attending as a participant or getting involved as a helper. See you on the street!
AYO! Movement - The Blog 