It’s International Youth Day!

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Welcome to The Feed! As you know, our weekly editions of The Feed are where we break down the biggest stories in Canadian news and politics in a bite-sized way. This week, we’re shaking things up a bit, and for good reason, of course!

Today, Wednesday, August 12, marks International Youth Day, and with this year’s theme, Different Contexts, Common Aspirations, we’re spotlighting four members of the Apathy is Boring community. While every young person has their own unique experiences, we share many of the same hopes: making a difference, finding community, and helping shape the future of our country.

This week, you’ll hear from program alumni who are doing exactly that.

First up, Camille Georges (she/her), who participated in Apathy is Boring’s second ever cohort of the RISE Program in 2018 (almost 8 years ago now). Hear from Camille:

Participating in RISE confirmed my commitment to community work, allowing me to discover the power of collective action. RISE was my foundation. What I learned during the program remains at the core of my work today: involving communities every step of the way, being accountable and transparent, sharing resources, and leading with love and care.

From completing the program, Camille moved on to eventually work with Apathy is Boring, joining the team as the RISE Program Coordinator in Montreal:

As a young professional within Apathy is Boring’s workplace, I was surrounded by a team that genuinely supported my growth and welcomed opportunities to learn and reflect. From my fellow coordinators, I learned so much about finding my own facilitation style, voicing my beliefs, and leading with authenticity.

What’s Camille up to these days?

Camille is a Senior Strategy Advisor at the Institut du Nouveau Monde, where she supports public participation, civic engagement and democratic innovation projects. She recently completed her master’s degree in Human Systems Intervention, and also consults with organizations looking to strengthen their equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism practices.

Outside of her main role, Camille sits on the board of the Black Healing Centre and also finds joy in baking, her family and friends, and creating space for herself outside of work. Beyond her professional work, community-building is woven into everything she does.

Next, meet: Mustafa Abbas (he/him), who completed the BUILD Program in 2023, and also attended several Table Topics events.

As a Sudanese immigrant who hadn’t experienced living in a democratic society, but who advocated for democracy, BUILD helped me understand Canada’s political system and how to engage with it effectively. Since completing the program, I’ve strengthened my youth advocacy networks, contributed to national campaigns, and continued working toward more just refugee and climate policies.

For more about Mustafa’s work while completing the program, check out his profile on the BUILD Cohort 5 page.

What’s Mustafa up to these days?

Mustafa is a Youth Network Coordinator with the Canadian Council for Refugees, where he leads programming and supports connections for young newcomers. Through other high-impact roles, Mustafa has represented youth from climate-vulnerable countries, and shaped policy dialogues in Canada and abroad.

Ishag Yagoub (he/him) is another BUILD alumni who completed the program in 2024, and also participated in one of our newer Table Topics iterations, Table Topics in Your Neighbourhood.

BUILD has been a significant milestone in my leadership journey. It provided me with a deeper understanding of the Canadian democratic system and strengthened my confidence to actively engage in civic life. BUILD allowed me to take meaningful action and advocate for change in refugee and newcomer communities in Canada.

For more about Ishag’s work while completing the program stop by his profile on the BUILD Cohort 6 page.

What’s Ishag up to these days?

Ishag is the Environmental Program Coordinator with Links for Greener Learning, where he leads sustainability programs and community-based ecological initiatives. In collaboration with Mustafa, Ishag also co-founded Civic Pathways for Refugees, a non-profit supporting newcomer civic engagement and amplifying voices from newcomer communities.

And last but not least, hear from Noel Ormita (he/him), a RISE alumni who completed the program in 2025:

The RISE program came at the perfect time of my life: when I had the passion to get more involved in my community, but didn’t know exactly how, when, and where. RISE answered all of these questions for me! This program supported my confidence building and growth as a community builder.

What’s Noel up to these days?

Sharing space with leaders and other young people further motivated Noel and his fellow Ambassadors. So they created municiPAL Calgary, a voter outreach initiative actively encouraging civic participation in our communities.

Noel has also learned that so many young people are ready to contribute to their communities, so he ran in an election. He is the President of the Representation Executive Council (REC) at the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University for the 2026-2027 Academic Year, and looks forward to continuing to advocate for students and young people in every role after.

Hear it directly from Noel: If you’ve been waiting for a sign to decide whether to sign up for RISE or BUILD, this is your sign.

And with that, we’ll be back to our regular format of The Feed next week.

No new crossword for you this week, so you have extra time to finish last week's. P.S. Visit Volume 248 for more help finishing the crossword below:

LAST WEEK'S CROSSWORD

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