Aboriginal youth internship in BC is making a difference

The Province of British Columbia runs an amazing Aboriginal Youth Internship progra.   The program takes young ABoriginal people (under 30) and places them in a 12 month program featuring nine months of working within the provincial government and three months of working with Aboriginal organizations and governments.   The chief architect and steward of this program is Sasha Hobbs, who is sitting next to me in a fog bound Vancouver harbour.   She is working with another friend of mine, the amazing Priscilla Sabbas, and together they are working with 25 amazing young people in their second year of operation.   Intake is done in the spring, so if you are interested in applying, or know someone who is, check the website in March or April and get your application in.

The cool thing about this program is that it is most definitely not a token position.   These are real positions with government ministries and Aboriginal organizations, and by all accounts the sponsors in the BC government want interns to be able to build their capacity and knowledge in working within the BC Government’s new relationship with Aboriginal communities.   Furthermore, the interns that go through the program meet three times a year with each other and stay in touch afterwards, moving towards a cohort model for their community of practice, working and learning together across ministries and organizations.

So here’s a plug for a great little government program that is working, under good grounded community leadership and making a practical and positie difference for the capacity of our communities.