Welcome to the Welland MYAC Webpage!
Interested in applying for next years MYAC? Deadline is June 29th, see application below.
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History of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC)
Before the year 2004 it was evident that the youth were not accurately represented in the City of Welland. Therefore, when Mayor Goulbourne brought forward the idea of the creation of a council for the purpose of not only giving youth a voice but to also prove that youth can in fact be a functioning and contributing member of society. The youth, with their newly found freedom and responsibility, started the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, something that is as much the cities as it is the youth’s. Their purpose was simply to provide a communication link between the city’s youth and the Welland City Council. But far more than that the council set out on a mission to make the youth’s lives more enjoyable and to address their concerns. To accomplish this the MYAC began to create and plan events for the youth in the city. Some events that the MYAC created include bandshows, culture fest, New Years Eve celebrations, and winter lights tours. But what has reined true throughout the council’s existence is the requirement of a functioning yet welcoming center for youth to express who they are and to make lasting friendships. The MYAC accomplished this in 2010 with the grand re-opening of somewhere we like to call Youth Innovations; a revolutionary yet completely reasonable investment in the youth’s future.
The council itself is such a simple idea but the benefits of such a council are unmistakable. The council in the past has always focused on the creation of events to entertain the youth of Welland. But far more than that the MYAC members sit on various other committees and councils to provide a youth perspective on what the city is doing. Over the seven years that the council has been in existence, it is clear that youth have grown and changed, and so too has the council. The MYAC has realised that there are much more pressing matters that affect youth on a day-to-day basis and have decided to take on the issues of self-esteem and bullying in the coming years.
The members of the council are so passionate about what they do, spending countless hours working things out to the finest of detail to ensure the overall success of the council. The members genuinely care about the youth and full heartedly understand exactly what the youth of Welland are going through, this is why the MYAC is so successful it what it sets out to accomplish. This is also why the council can be summed up in this quote: ‘By Youth. For Youth.’ Moreover, the members of the council try to be the best people that they can be, and we encourage others to do the same. We also encourage people to be themselves, and to fallow their passions and talents, because we believe that everybody is unique and amazing.
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
Sincerely,
The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council
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