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The physical presence of the Werklund Foundation Centre for Youth Leadership Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary will result in strong local awareness of both the Werklund Foundation and of the specific research and curriculum being developed by the Director, research staff, and graduate students associated with the centre.
This film explores these issues, and brings forward the voices of Canadian youth, media educators, and academics. It is designed to serve as both an introduction to the various issues related to privacy, social media and youth and also serve as a provocation for youth to become more involved in not only shaping the social media landscape but in educating policymakers about their insights and concerns about online privacy.
Where will we find tomorrow's leaders? Shirley Steinberg says these young women and men are all around us — we just have to facilitate them to discover their own abilities.
Steinberg, the director and chair of The Werklund Foundation Centre for Youth Leadership Education and professor of youth studies in the Faculty of Education, focuses on the cultural, social, and educational development of youth. And while some children and young adults are nurtured and educated to become leaders, it's another group that catches Steinberg's eye. Learn more.
is a short film produced by Drs. Giuliana Cucinelli (Concordia University) and Shirley R. Steinberg (Director, Werklund Centre, U of Calgary). Henry Giroux (Global Television Chair, McMaster University) and Steinberg reflect on the needs to restructure how we work with youth and facilitate empowerment and leadership for young women and men. Taking a critical pedagogical stance, Giroux and Steinberg articulate the essential nature of youth work, and the creation of the Werklund Foundation Centre for Youth Leadership Education.
On April 11, academics and scholars from around the world converged at the University of Calgary to take part in "Talkin' Bout Their Generation: Empowered Youth in an Era of Chaos and Indecision", the Werklund Foundation for Youth Leadership Education's inaugural event. The full day conference featured international experts on a variety of topics related to youth and youth culture, including popular culture and youth, LGBT youth, youth and colour, and social activism and youth leadership.
In the evening, Henry Giroux, renowned cultural critic and one of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy in the U.S. gave the keynote presentation entitled, "Youth in Revolt: Coming of Age in an Era of Savage Inequality". A prolific writer, he is best known for his work in public pedagogy, cultural studies, youth studies, higher education, media studies, and critical theory. Giroux holds the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton. Click here to hear the introductions, the speech by Dr. Giroux, and to view a slide show from the talk.
