Uniting for Children and Youth (UCY) was founded in 2017 with the belief that only by uniting advocates for the wellbeing of young people are we likely to see a transformation to a more socially and environmentally just society. It is a grassroots local initiative to improve the lives of people living in the Ottawa region of Canada. It is operated solely by volunteers. It has no budget and no political affiliations.
Rather than it being the creation of another organization, UCY is conceived as a meeting place for people working to achieve equity, inclusion and youth agency for all young people, a place for those wanting to get out of their silos and determine ways to accomplish more together. Its advisers are community leaders with a variety of perspectives on how to achieve their common goals.
While public education is not an explicit focus of UCY, its importance is inescapable. Two core values of mental health as stated by the Ottawa branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association are social justice and self-determination. Equity, inclusion and youth agency are basically other terms for the same values. The industrial model of education was not designed for social justice and self-determination and has proven to be incapable of providing for them. The democratic learning model is based on social justice and self-determination, and so the kind of education young people receive is a big concern of people involved with UCY.
Activities of particular note that have been organized by UCY are:
- The 2018 School Board Elections
- A meeting with the newly appointed director of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
- Advancing to Our Brave New World, and
- The Child Friendly Community Conference.
Currently UCY is focusing its energy on helping to create a success of the Youth Rights Day celebrated on November 20th, the day the United Nations has established as World Children’s Day.