Erin, a graduate student at Carleton University, attended #YouOttaKnow in November where she met Pegah and Anna, the CJOYC co-chairs. Below is the article Erin wrote featuring Pegah and Anna and their experiences with CJOYC. Thank you for writing Erin, and thank you to Pegah, Anna and the CJOYC members for their hard work!
The Ottawa Youth Commission offers so much to engage youth in the Ottawa community, including conferences, workshops, and focus groups. But have you ever wondered who’s behind the scenes making it all happen? Meet the co-chairs of the youth commission, Pegah Akbari and Anna Liang!
Both of these young women have been involved with the youth commission for several years as volunteers. Akbari, 18, is currently studying kinesiology at the University of Ottawa, and Liang, 17, is in her final year at Lisgar Collegiate Institute.
As co-chairs, both ladies say that while they do administrative tasks, their main role is advancing the CJOYC mission of giving youth in Ottawa a voice in municipal government. In their roles they are also very involved in creating and planning CJOYC events. In fact, both say that the recent #YouOttaKnow conference is a standout memory in their run as co-chair so far.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of the planning and organizing of the event and of course being able to be an MC for the event was a great experience,” Akbari says.
Liang says, “The event led to the establishment of many new relationships, and I proudly saw strangers become friends.” She adds that the conference taught her how to plan an event effectively and gave her an opportunity to conquer her fear of public speaking.
To make the day even more exciting, Akbari and Liang were interviewd on CBC’s “All in a Day” radio show in response to the conference!
But for these women, it’s not simply about the limelight, or one specific event – it’s about connecting with youth around Ottawa.
“To tell the truth,” says Akbari, “the thing that tops all of this is when we have students from our conference come and ask us how they can become involved with the Ottawa Youth Commission. It’s then that you know you’ve done something right and you’ve reached out to someone!”
Akbari and Liang hope that through the youth commission, they can reach out to their peers and get them involved in the city, whether that be through volunteering with the youth commission, or coming out to the events and learning more about local affairs and public policy.
Both Akbari and Liang intend to stay involved in the youth commission as long as they can, and they encourage all Ottawa youth to get involved. Liang says that her involvement in the youth commission helped her “grow both as a person and as a citizen,” and Akbari notes that not only has she met wonderful people as a result of her involvement, but she’s also become involved in events she would have otherwise never heard of, such as the Annual National Child’s Day celebrations on Parliament Hill.
And if the success of the Ottawa Youth Commission this year is any indication, the commission itself has certainly benefitted from these fantastic co-chairs!
A big thank you to Erin for writing this article and showcasing our members!
