Founded in 1971, Canada World Youth (CWY) is a world leader in developing international educational programs for young people aged 15 to 29. An international non-profit organisation, CWY is dedicated to enriching the lives of young people that have a desire to become informed and active global citizens. CWY programs are designed to help youth experience the world for themselves, learn about other cultures and diverse Canadian communities while developing leadership and communication skills. Mainly focused on health and environment, the educational experience instils a long-lasting sense of global social responsibility.

 

In 2009-2010, CWY will empower 1,000 young people through their participation in one of the 35 Youth Leaders in Action exchange programs or as a part of the 21 development projects offered by the Global Learners or InterAction programs, which will take place in 17 host countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean or Eastern Europe.

 

 

Programs

 

Youth Leaders in Action: Canada World Youth’s core program is Youth Leaders in Action; where groups of 18 young people from different cultures (9 Canadians and 9 from a partner country) live with host families and work together on volunteer projects for a total of six months—three in a Canadian community and three in a community in one of our partner countries. The program is focused on health and environment issues and aims to inform youth on the challenges of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

 

Global Learner Program: It is designed for educators who wish to organize a group of youth to complete a volunteer project in an overseas community. This program varies in length from 2 weeks up to 3 months and can be adapted to the objectives of the participants, enabling educators to offer it as a part of their curriculum.

 

InterAction Program: This program offers an opportunity for youth to have an international volunteer experience in a developing country for 4 to 6 weeks. Youth participants will volunteer in local projects dealing with health issues, environment and eco-tourism that are defined by local partner organizations to highlight the issues of international development.

 

CWY at a glance

 

Close to 32,000 youth participants have completed a CWY program since 1971.
CWY has worked with partner organizations in 67 countries.
CWY youth volunteers contribute close to one million hours of volunteer work every year.
For CWY’s 35th anniversary, 101 Canadian communities made Oct. 15-21, 2006 Canada World Youth Week
An impact study conducted in 2005 indicated that CWY programs were a life changing experience offering leadership and communication skills.