Eviance Youth Committee (EYC) Member Position
Introduction
The Canadian Centre on Disability Studies Inc., operating as Eviance, is seeking a five to seven (5-7) person cohort for their Youth Committee. These youth positions affirm Eviance’s commitment to promote diverse leadership and opportunities for youth in the disability movement in Canada. Successful candidates will be between the ages of 18 and 30 years and identify as a person with disability(ies). We are looking to engage youth committee members for one-year (2-3 positions) and two-year (3-4 positions) periods starting September 2024.
Who We Are
Eviance’s mission is to be a facilitator of knowledge-to-action in the global cross-disability field and to bring people and knowledge together on local, national, and global levels to incite behavioural and system level change. We enhance intersectional and reflexive action-based solutions that advance human rights and equity-focused decision making in Canada and abroad. Our vision is to realize an inclusive, equitable and accessible society that is sustainable for ALL.
Our mission is realized through the following main activities:
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Community-based projects (i.e. research, education, inclusive development, knowledge mobilization) using methods that embrace human rights, intersectionality, reflexivity, innovation, and excellence;
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Seeking strategic partnerships and collaborations with institutions, governments, organizations, businesses, and civil society;
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Dedication to the use of high-quality evidence in disability, and inclusive broader sector policies, programs and practices; and,
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Including persons with disabilities diversely located in constructive and meaningful ways in all of our activities.
What We Offer
We offer a unique focus on intersectionality, reflexivity and human rights in community-based and informed projects that involve policy, practice and research with consideration of diverse marginalized groups of people with disabilities. We understand that people with disabilities represent a complex, heterogeneous, multilayered social position that is shaped by geographic location, culture, and experiences of race/ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, class and ability. Thus, we employ methods that identify and address the issues experienced by intersecting sub-populations of people with disability diversely located. Our work recognizes that people with disabilities may hold positions of power and privilege, as well as face heightened risks of violence, poverty, exclusion, and barriers in access to basic needs and human rights.
Our knowledge of disability rights issues at the local and global level is complemented by our knowledges and experiences in community-based and informed projects inclusive but not limited to research and evaluation. We have extensive experience in disability rights monitoring, human rights training and education, applied social research and utilization focused evaluations. Our work is intended to be useful for a wide range of audiences including people with lived experiences of disability, consumer-driven and other disability organizations, other non-profit organizations, governments, funders and the general public. Our work is also guided by knowledge/evidence-informed, best practices in accessibility and knowledge mobilization.
As a consumer-driven organization operated by and for people with various disabilities, we have extensive experience in participatory and emancipatory research methodologies. Namely, we focus on collaborative processes of co-creation, co-design, and the co-production of services and supports to promote the progressive realization of human rights and inclusion of people with disabilities and other diverse groups.
Location of Work
Eviance’s Head Office is in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with virtual offices staffed throughout the country. Youth located in communities across Canada are encouraged to apply.
Recruitment Process
We invite interested youth to submit their resume and a letter of interest to Olivia Boonstra, Senior Research Officer, at olivia.boonstra@eviance.ca. Your letter of interest should be a maximum of 500 words addressing the following:
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Explain your interest in being a member of the Eviance Youth Committee.
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Two (2) things you hope to achieve as an Eviance Youth Committee member.
Eviance staff will review applications on a rolling basis. All applications are due by September 6th, 2024, at 5pm EDT. We will contact all applicants via email regarding the status of their application by October 2024.
We are pleased to ensure an accessible recruitment process for applicants. Please let us know of any accommodations you may require to participate in our recruitment process.
Program Information
Program Information
The EYC will support youth programming and have access to opportunities related to the following fields:
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Leadership.
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Disability and social justice.
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Human rights.
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Community engagement.
Experience and Qualifications
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Lived experiences of disability (inclusive of psychosocial/mental health disabilities). Please note you will not be asked to disclose your disability at any time.
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Knowledge of and/or interest in learning more about: intersectionality; reflexivity; human rights; and disability and social justice.
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Interest in learning and engaging within the cross-disability movement.
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Interest in community-based projects, organizational leadership, community engagement, and/or education-as-advocacy.
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Willingness to engage in virtual communication (Email, Zoom, Google Drive).
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Commitment to peer learning and knowledge sharing.
Position Description
Through Eviance’s Youth with Disabilities Strive to Accelerate Results (YSTAR) project, this opportunity will enhance the leadership capacity of youth with lived experiences by providing them with a meaningful leadership role in a national organization. The objective of the EYC is to increase youth engagement and bring new perspectives to Eviance. EYC members will have the opportunity to increase their leadership capacity and increase the capacity of a national disability organization through the integration of youth in leadership roles.
Through participation in EYC, youth will develop skills, internal capacities and networks to enable their own leadership potential, specifically in the areas of governance, project management and community-based research. Youth will have access to YSTAR trainings and the opportunity to engage with Eviance staff and board on national youth-focused projects.
There will be an honorarium awarded for hours required in this position.
Duties and Responsibilities
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Quarterly meetings: The EYC members will meet at minimum once per quarter.
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Engagement: Stay engaged and informed on issues impacting diverse disability community, with focus on youth priorities.
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Co-Creation: Collaborate on youth engagement strategies and help set priorities for Eviance.
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Action Projects: EYC members may co-create and develop trainings alongside Eviance staff to support youth engagement.
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YSTAR Consultation: Help Eviance create and run a youth leadership program with the goal of ensuring youth voices and perspectives are considered through process and program.