Our Work With Youth
Over the years, the CEC has been committed to youth engagement and the efforts supported have provided youth with opportunities to raise awareness, provide tangible, sustainable, and innovative solutions for environmental issues in their communities, and influence CEC’s strategies, projects, and initiatives.
CEC 2024-2026 Youth Engagement Strategy
Building upon previous CEC youth engagement efforts, the 2024–2026 CEC Youth Engagement Strategy seeks to identify challenges and opportunities for meaningful youth engagement across the CEC—including its cooperative work program, decision-making spaces and existing activities—by fostering more meaningful youth engagement, building community capacity and helping to ensure long-term sustainability of youth engagement approaches.
Youth play a pivotal role in advancing sustainability by embracing a holistic approach. Engaging youth accelerates knowledge-sharing and awareness, supports intergenerational dialogue and action to tackle environmental challenges and provides opportunities for the development of skills.
Generation of Environmental Leaders Program
Discover the Generation of Environmental Leaders Program (GELP), an initiative inviting youth (18-35) in Canada, Mexico, and the United States to share their solutions to support North American communities and preserve our shared waters, lands and air.
The GELP offers more than a platform for ideas; it provides official mentorship, networking opportunities, and seed funding to amplify the impact of solutions in local communities.
Join the GELP and be part of a collaborative network of young environmental leaders.
CEC Youth Engagement Week
The CEC Youth Engagement Week (YEW) is an annual event designed to embrace youth perspectives in North America by fostering their active participation in the CEC’s work and efforts. The YEW aims to create an enabling environment for youth from Canada, Mexico and the United States to engage in meaningful dialogues, contribute to environmental discussions at the regional level and collaborate on innovative solutions to address pressing environmental challenges. Through workshops, consultations and collaborative projects, the CEC Youth Engagement Week supports the development of an intergenerational network committed to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Youth Innovation Challenge
From 2017 to 2023, the CEC hosted the annual Youth Innovation Challenge, a contest that invited youth from Canada, Mexico and the United States to submit their innovative ideas and solutions for improving both the environment and the economy in North America.
EcoInnovation Network
The EcoInnovation Network (EIN) was launched in 2019 with the vision of facilitating the creation, enhancement, and networking of innovation centers within academic institutions across North America. This network aims to cultivate youth and community leadership in innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable growth. As of 2022, the EcoInnovation Network will be managed by the University of Waterloo in collaboration with the CEC.
Green Entrepreneurship Workshop Series
The Green Entrepreneurship Workshop Series offers young entrepreneurs tips, advice, and information about sustainability and entrepreneurship from North American business, academic, private sector, and Indigenous perspectives. These series took place in 2020 and 2022 in collaboration with the University of Waterloo’s Entrepreneurship @ Environment office.
Greening Entrepreneurship (March 3)
What is the role of entrepreneurs in a transition toward more sustainable societies? This session offers an introductory discussion that tackles this question and offers some direction to those in early stages of their sustainable and entrepreneurial journey.
Private Enterprise and New Entrepreneurs: How Established Companies can support New Entrepreneurs
Supporting the next generation of business leaders is a win-win-win solution for complex challenges related to climate change, unemployment, and business development.
Entrepreneurship and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (March 17)
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for universal adoption.
Championing Indigenous Youth Startups (March 24)
This session offers an exploration of Indigenous Youth Startups from across Turtle Island.
Succeeding as a Student with a Green Startup (March 31)
This session will offer tips, tricks, and lessons learned from student entrepreneurs who are balancing their entrepreneurship with their studies.
What is a Green Entrepreneur?
These live workshops bring together key researchers, successful entrepreneurs, and dedicated youth from across North America in a series of engaging and interactive 90-minute sessions.
How to Start a Green Business
These live workshops bring together key researchers, successful entrepreneurs, and dedicated youth from across North America in a series of engaging and interactive 90-minute sessions.
Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development Goals
These live workshops bring together key researchers, successful entrepreneurs, and dedicated youth from across North America in a series of engaging and interactive 90-minute sessions.
Innovation and Incubation with Green Startups
These live workshops bring together key researchers, successful entrepreneurs, and dedicated youth from across North America in a series of engaging and interactive 90-minute sessions.
Impact Investing and Fundraising for Green Startups
These live workshops bring together key researchers, successful entrepreneurs, and dedicated youth from across North America in a series of engaging and interactive 90-minute sessions.
Succeeding as a Student with a Green Startup
These live workshops bring together key researchers, successful entrepreneurs, and dedicated youth from across North America in a series of engaging and interactive 90-minute sessions.
Internship Program
If you are interested in our internship program, visit our Work With Us webpage.
Engaging Young People and Educators on Fighting Food Loss and Waste
The CEC Food Matters Action Kit is loaded with informative resources and hands-on, creative activities to inspire young people of all ages to prevent food waste at home, at school and in their communities.
From organizing a disco soup party and learning food preservation techniques to building worm compost bins and solar dehydrators, the Food Matters Action Kit, with its activity guide, is designed to encourage young people of all ages to protect the environment by preventing food waste. Dive in and discover dozens of fun and impactful ways to make a difference!
Inspiring Youth to #ShrinkFoodWaste
Our Food Matters Action Kit is loaded with informative resources and hands-on, creative activities to inspire youth of all ages to prevent food waste at home, at school and in their communities.
#ShrinkFoodWaste: Let’s Shrink Food Waste Mountain
#ShrinkFoodWaste: Tale of the Forgotten Food
#ShrinkFoodWaste: Day of the Ugly Food
CEC Food Matters Action Kit
Contact
If you are an individual or an organization interested in learning more about how you can get involved in potential opportunities for increased youth engagement and collaboration, feel free to reach out to us.
Julie Amina Jacquemin
Lead, Outreach, Partnerships and Youth Engagement