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Real Talks Youth Conference begins at COTR
East Kootenay PARTY Society with the support of Teck, College of the Rockies and the RCMP are pleased to present ‘REAL Talks 2017’ – a conference for East Kootenay youth.
“The goal of REAL Talks is to discuss current issues and topics with and for our youth,” said EK PARTY Director Erin Pighin. “It is my first year with the conference and I am excited to begin working with prevention in the East Kootenay region.”
The conferences first began back in 2015 working with students in grades 8 and 10 and then included grade 9 students in 2016. “It is quite a big event,” said Pighin. “We could potentially talk to more than 600 students a day from Cranbrook, Kimberley, Invermere, Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford, Golden and everywhere in between.”
Cpl. Al Nutini with the RCMP Strategic Prevention Services has been involved with the PARTY Society for almost 18 years and has watched the progression. “P.A.R.T.Y Program was very well branded in the East Kootenay’s when I first arrived but like with anything you do, it grows and changes along the way,” he said.
“Many people think of the PARTY Program that took students through the real life trauma of a risk related decision but today PARTY has become a continuum of messages around key issues that affect our communities and the decision making/choices required to navigate them in a healthy way,” Nutini said.
He says the conferences open up dialogue about the many issues that are part of students day to day. “We address and talk about the many issues that young people face like bullying, violence, social media, body image and so much more. These topics, and new ones, are presented and dialogued about every year. In fact our grade 10 students get to break out into groups of 30-40 students and bring their thoughts about how these issues are affecting them and their peers.”
This year’s keynote address comes from Beverley Lambert who is a Metis jigger and brings a message focussed on being true to who you are, being okay with where you come from and loving yourself. Lambert uses her skills as a jigger to bring high energy to the room while promoting a message of love and acceptance for all. “We are so excited to have Beverley here and we hope REAL Talks will continue to grow and provide positive healthy discussion for our youth,” said Pighin.
This year’s conference happens at the College of the Rockies main campus in Cranbrook from May 16-18.
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