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Nenan Dane taking submissions for Youth Advisory Committee

First Nations family services organization Nenan Dane has announced plans to form its first Youth Advisory Committee (YAC).

By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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Indigenous Voices

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January 21, 2025

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Family Services organization Nenan Dane zaa Deh Zona offices in Fort St. John (Ed Hitchins, energeticcity.ca)

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — First Nations family services organization Nenan Dane has announced plans to form its first Youth Advisory Committee (YAC).

A Facebook post on January 16th made public the plan to implement a YAC to collaborate alongside Nenan Dane.

According to the post, the aim is for the YAC to be a “diverse group of individuals from various Indigenous backgrounds and communities” within the Treaty 8 region of northeastern B.C.

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Ultimately, the panel selected will take on the task of shaping a planned Indigenous Youth Conference slated to take place at Northern Lights College’s Fort St. John campus, located at 9820 120th Avenue.

“This group will represent the voice of youth, in decision-making processes, bringing forward ideas, concerns, and solutions relevant to the event,” reads the post.

According to the announcement, the gathering is scheduled for sometime in late 2025 or early 2026.

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First Nations members between 14 and 25 years of age are eligible. The deadline for nominations will be Wednesday, February 5th.

Applications for nominations can be found online through the link or by emailing Nenan Dane executive director Derian Young at dyoung@nenan.ca

Authors

Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A guy who found his calling later in life, Edward Hitchins is a professional storyteller with a colourful and extensive history.

Beginning his journey into journalism in 2012 at Seneca College, Edward also graduated from Humber College with an Advanced Diploma in Print and Broadcast Journalism in 2018. After time off from his career and venturing into other vocations, he started his career proper in 2022 in Campbell River, B.C.

Edward was attracted to the position of Indigenous Voices reporter with Energeticcity as a challenge. Having not been around First Nations for the majority of his life, he hopes to learn about their culture through meaningful conversations while properly telling their stories.

In a way, he hopes this position will allow both himself and Energeticcity to grow as a collective unit as his career moves forward and evolves into the next step.

He looks forward to growing both as a reporter and as a human being while being posted in Fort St. John.

This reporting position has been funded by the Government of Canada and the Local Journalism Initiative.