Representing Canada: Ainsley Wood travelled to the United Nations to provide a youth perspective
In June, the United Nations headquarters in New York City hosted the nineteenth session of The Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP19).
The Government of Canada released a call for youth applications to attend the conference and provide a youth perspective to both the Canadian delegation and the overall conference – Ainsley Wood answered the call.
Ainsley has been involved with the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) for three years now. She started on the Youth Leadership Committee (YLC) before spending a year as vice chair of the YLC and now serves as chair.
"The Government reached out to a few organizations, like RHF, to find youth representatives, and I was fortunate that RHF put my name forward," Ainsley explained. "RHF helped me put together my application and less than a month later we were heading to New York."
Bringing Youth Perspectives to Global Conversations
The first day of the session was civil societies day, which was an opportunity for advocacy organizations and governments to share their priorities and what they have been doing to advance disability inclusion.
"One thing that was emphasized on day one was the importance of civil society organizations, like RHF, and how they can help hold governments accountable for the decisions they make," Ainsley said.
There were many different organizations present, which Ainsley explained was great to see. The Canadian delegation took three youth delegates to the conference to provide the youth perspective.
"It was nice to have the youth perspective there," Ainsley said. "I hope that having myself and the other youth delegates in the room and talking on panels will inspire other countries to follow Canada's lead and see the value in the youth perspective."
While Ainsley was at the conference, she was able to meet with government officials from around the world and talk to Canada's government representatives as well, something that she said she found real value in.
Opportunity to Speak on a Panel on Workplace Inclusion
Ainsley also had the opportunity to speak on a panel. The panel was entitled Financial Independence in a Time of Disruption: Ensuring Social Protections and Improving Labour Force Participation for Persons with Disabilities.
"It was so exciting, but also really nerve wracking." Ainsley said. “The main point I wanted to drive home was that advancing inclusion in the workplace needs to start before the workplace. Funding for support workers, healthcare, accessible housing, and transportation- all the pieces that happen around the workplace and set up our daily lives, that’s where the barriers exist to workplace participation."
The other panelists included:
- Leslie Church, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Jobs and Families, Persons with Disabilities
- H.E. Mr. Harish Parvathaneni, Permanent Representative for the Government of India
- Robert Richard, Director General for Social Affairs and Safety of Work in the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Health, and Equality of the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt
- Ms. Bjørg Sandkjær, Assistant Secretary-General, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
"I also mentioned the work I have done with the YLC. For example, I touched on education in our schools about disability inclusion in the workforce, the importance of professional development programs and making these resources accessible," Ainsley said. " I could feel everyone's eyes on me while I was speaking, and it showed that people wanted to hear from a youth perspective."
Learnings from a great experience
After an action packed two days, Ainsley said overall the experience was wonderful and she was very grateful for the opportunity to represent both Canadian youth and Canada as a whole.
While there were so many different panels across the conference, Ainsley said she learned so much from the ones she attended.
"It was great to hear a lot of talk about what has been done well to date, and what we could also work on going forward. The most engaging panels were the ones that encouraged people to take action and had solutions that people could actually take part in."
The experience reinforces the importance of the youth voice in these large conversations. Youth have an important role in shaping these conversations as globally we work towards a more accessible world. It was a reminder for Ainsley that meaningful change requires diverse perspectives from everyone.
Learn more about our Youth Leadership Committee and the difference you can make.
