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News footage from the 2013 Stand Up Conference

Every young person deserves and has the ability to be successful. We know from data that young men of Colour are at risk of not meeting the Ontario Standard at grades 7 and 8. Only 40% of students born in the English-speaking Caribbean and 45% of students born in East Africa achieve or exceed the provincial standard in all four subjects in grades 7 and 8. These young men represent one of the largest groups of students at risk of failing the grade 10 literacy test and graduating from high school*. They can sometimes feel powerless to navigate the barriers to their success.
In response to the high number of young men of Colour underachieving in schools, The Toronto District School Board launched the inaugural Young Men Conference in May of 2010. The conference was a tremendous success!

For students, the conference provided a very special opportunity for synthesizing their learning, as well as meeting successful men of Colour and hearing directly from them about the challenges ahead and how through, hard work and education they can achieve their dreams. Students’ feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. Students left the day expressing optimism and hope for their futures and were able to visualize a path to success as outlined by the men at the conference.

The men who volunteered to spend the day with the youth at the conference demonstrated their commitment to reaching out into the community and providing leadership in fostering the social and intellectual development of young men of Colour.

As a result of the resounding success of all the prior conferences, we are doing it again for the 5th year! On Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at George Brown College, we will gather over 250 young men in Grades 7 and 8 from cross the TDSB (Toronto District School Board), to spend the day together learning, sharing and growing at this very special conference organized just for them.

The fifth annual Young Men’s Conference will provide its young male participants with the opportunity to engage with successful men of Colour from a variety of professions including business, sports, entertainment, medicine, politics, and so on. These professionals will share their personal stories of success and strategies for overcoming barriers. The hope is that the student participants will leave the day with a feeling of empowerment, responsibility and a desire to be successful!

We spoke with Hugh Lawson about the Stand Up Conference. During our conversation, Hugh talked about:

– His background and his experience with education
– director of Business Development in the Promotional Product Brand Merchandise Division
– The history of the Stand Up Conference
– What young men of color in grades 7 and 8 in Toronto are facing and they are telling him about their lives
– What needs to be done to help young men of color
– Some of his memories from the Stand Up Conference and how the conference has evolved
– The history behind the 100 Strong Academy
– What does he get out of the conference
– The theme for this kids and the men attending this year’s conference

The 5th Annual Stand Up Conference

Date: Wednesday April 30, 2014

Time: 9 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Location: George Brown Campus (290 Adelaide Street), Toronto

This year’s themes are:

For the attendees: “Putting your plan into action”.

For the mentors: “The importance of giving back through mentoring.”

Please feel free to email us at info@blackcanadianman.com

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God bless, peace, be well and keep the faith,
Dr. Vibe
info@blackcanadianman.com
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