{"id":964,"date":"2021-11-11T19:21:53","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T19:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/404mag.org\/?p=964"},"modified":"2021-11-11T19:21:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T19:21:55","slug":"open-spaces-for-discussions-for-young-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/404mag.org\/en\/open-spaces-for-discussions-for-young-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Spaces for Discussions for Young People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Interview with Audrey Brunette and<\/strong> Zo\u00e9 Caravecchia-Pelletier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By Pauline Dufour | August 18, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last May, the Center for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence and <\/strong>LOVE (Quebec)<\/strong><\/a> united their expertise within the framework of the \u201cInternational Day of Living Together in Peace\u201d to lead an awareness workshop for students of the Louis-Riel High School (\u00c9cole secondaire Louis-Riel<\/em>). Through viewing a short film and practicing drawing, they were able to express themselves on sometimes delicate subjects such as radicalization, violence, hatred, etc. Breaking the cycle of violence among young people is the very essence of LOVE (Quebec)\u2019s mission, we wanted to know how this organization, established for 28 years, develops the resilience, leadership and confidence of young people in difficulty. For this, we spoke with two members of the team.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLOVE (Quebec) created spaces for dialogue to open discussions. They are a safe space for young people to be able to share, and so that we can understand where their pain, their injuries and sometimes their hatred come from.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>Audrey Brunette, Director of Programming<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n To begin with, what are your roles within the organization?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Audrey Brunette: Since the beginning of spring, I have held the role of director of programming. I have also been a coordinator for the past three years. My role was to facilitate programs and offer clubs which consist of 24 workshops. These are a mixture of learning photography, writing, but also discussions on themes that are not necessarily addressed in a school environment. As Program Director, I still give workshops, but I am more involved in curriculum development and team supervision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zo\u00e9 Caravecchia-Pelletier: I started as an intern at LOVE (Quebec) in the fall of 2020, and I officially became the program coordinator and sexologist in mid-June of this year. My tasks consist in planning, facilitating, evaluating and then modifying our programs. I also prepare and plan the sexology workshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do all young people have access to LOVE (Quebec)? Who are the young people who benefit from your programs?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Audrey: The largest pool of young people comes from schools where awareness workshops are conducted. Often, young people between the ages of 14 and 15 are asked to start the programs. Participation in the workshops is completely voluntary. In addition, young people who have difficulties and who want to share come to us, because the school does not have enough workers to offer this type of service. At first, the organization was created to help perpetrators of violence. Violence and hatred being important themes, we realized that there were many more people who needed our services, not just young offenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What strategies do you use, or your workers use with young people?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Audrey: Strategies vary a lot from one setting to another. Personally, my strategy is to create a bond of trust to give young people the chance to express themselves. First of all, I have an approach that is empathetic. I try to listen and not impose myself as the expert who will teach them everything. When I hear more discriminatory words, I raise awareness while remaining informal. Being informal is very important, even in contexts that are more formal like in schools, because the bond of trust is created more easily in this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What were the challenges encountered in (re)connecting with young people during the pandemic?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Audrey: We got in touch with young people on Instagram. Each speaker has a professional Instagram account, which allows them to get news and remain accessible if young people want to write to them. As young people are often more comfortable with communication via social networks, this measure has made it possible to reach a greater diversity of young people. We were able to intervene remotely with those who were in great distress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are you doing to educate young people about the influence of social media on sex or sexuality?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Zoe: Social media can create and maintain myths about sex, virginity, or other myths about the body in general. Our goal is to analyze these myths using our sexology workshops and our question boxes which aim to answer the questions and concerns of young people. There has been a lot of awareness raising about sexual violence on social networks, especially about \u201csextortion\u201d and sharing of intimate photos. We want to make young people aware of the risks and impacts of such actions, but especially of their rights, so they develop a more enlightened view of sexuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sextortion is \u201ca form of blackmail. This is when someone threatens to send an intimate photo or video of you to other people if you refuse to send them money or other intimate images.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nDID YOU KNOW?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n