OUR MISSION
Serving the youth.
YES is a global youth-led non-profit organization that aims to inform, guide and counsel young people on the adversities they face while connecting youth to opportunities and resources to help achieve their goals. YES strives to continue its international youth advocacy through bringing awareness on current pressures that youth face, providing a platform to discover strategies to minimize those struggles, and fostering an environment where youth can freely participate in discussion with one another. Through these efforts, YES hopes to mainstream youth engagement and implement local youth platforms all over the world.
OUR GOALS
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The Youth Engagement Stance aims to implement local youth platforms in all ten provinces of Canada which will provide specific resources catered to one's province.
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The Youth Engagement Stance aims to partner with various institutions and corporations to directly connect youth with academic, career, and financial opportunities.
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The Youth Engagement Stance aims to provide youth with accurate information, guidance, and up to date opportunities while striving to educate youth on strategies to minimize the barriers they face.
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OUR FOUNDER
Founded by Arishya Aggarwal, The Youth Engagement Stance was established in order to provide youth with an environment in which they can reach their fullest potential by removing the barriers that stand in their way.
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Arishya participated and won first place at Concour D'art Oratoire, a provincial french public speaking competition when she was nine years old. From there, she discovered her voice which she used to become a gold medalist at the provincial Royal Canadian Air Cadets Effective Speaking Competition, a gold medalist in singing and voice at The Royal Conservatory of Music, a repeated first place award recipient for Associated Manitoba Arts Festival in poetry, piano, prepared and impromptu speech and more. While competing in a large number of debate tournaments, Arishya also became an accomplished and awarded debater at the national and international level.
Discovering what she wanted to use her voice for at the age of 14, Arishya began her youth advocacy and was made the first youth board member of her city's Communities In Bloom Initiative. Her passion and continued efforts allowed her to become the first youth board member of Portage la Prairie Chamber of Commerce, first youth board member of Portage Community Revitalization Corporation, first youth board member of Portage Active Transport Committee, and ultimately the City Youth Councillor, working directly with the Mayor at city council. Arishya used her platforms to provide information, resources, and opportunities to the youth of Manitoba, while simultaneously working to bring awareness to the adversities that youth face.
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Graduating and attending university at the age of 16, Arishya spent all of her high school years serving the youth. Currently 18 years old and going into her third-year at Queen's University in Ontario for pre-medical studies, Arishya aspires to become a surgeon while continuing her youth advocacy at the national stage.
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What started off as a youth herself discovering her voice, has now grown into an international movement that’s committed to empowering youth to discover theirs while making sure that their voices are heard.
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Arishya is currently a national finalist at Miss World Canada representing Manitoba. There she hopes to raise more awareness about The Youth Engagement Stance and expand her youth advocacy to help more youth.
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Check out Arishya's interview with CBC or learn more about her journey with The Youth Engagement Stance on her Instagram at @arishyaaggarwal.