Summer program aims to help newcomer, racialized kids in Brandon see themselves as future municipal leaders

CBC

17-07-2025

A new program aims to help newcomers and racialized youth in Brandon, Man., step into the world of local government — and imagine themselves as future leaders.
The Youth Rise Leadership Program — a civic engagement program created through a partnership with Westman Immigrant Services, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and the City of Brandon — is the first program of its kind in Manitoba, according to Enver Naidoo, the CEO of the immigrant services organization. Its focus is empowering youth through civic engagement and leadership development, he said.
Ahmed Elketeay, 15, a student at Brandon's Vincent Massey High School, says he didn't know a lot about how municipal government works before the program, but that's changed.
"We've basically been learning about how to become a leader," and about entrepreneurship, he said.
The skills he's learning will let him "help Brandon to become even a better place than it is," said Elketeay.
He wants to become a doctor and one day wants to help build a second hospital in Brandon to ease pressure on the health-care system, he said. He believes the program is helping him develop the tools to make those goals possible.
Now in its fourth week, the Youth Rise program includes skill-building sessions and mentorship from local leaders for 12 youth.
Elketeay and eight other participants got a tour of one of the Brandon fire and emergency services department's halls on Wednesday from fire Chief Terry Parlow.
The program is an opportunity to inspire future leaders, and maybe even future firefighter-paramedics, said Parlow.
Having young people talk with department members about what they do in the city opens their eyes to the opportunities, he said.
"We want them to feel like they have a place here … because they've walked through the halls," said Parlow.
He also said it's important for his department to reflect the diversity of Brandon.
Fostering citizenship, belonging: CEO
Westman Immigrant Services CEO Naidoo says the program primarily focuses on immigrant and newcomer youth, but he hopes to expand it to include others from diverse backgrounds.
"We wanted to be a bit more fluid in our description," he said. "Our focus is trying to introduce youth who may not have had experiences to civic engagement at the level that it exists here in Brandon."
Immigrants make up about 18 per cent of Brandon's population. Naidoo said ensuring they know what career paths are available locally is essential for long-term retention and representation in a range of jobs.
He believes the program can have a generational impact, because it will help youth understand how they can be involved in their local community for years to come.
"If you don't have an understanding of how you can get involved … it's a missed opportunity for both youth and the city," Naidoo said.
But it's about more than jobs, he said — it's also about fostering a deeper sense of citizenship and belonging by getting involved in their community. Whether through volunteering, a student council or voting, that level of engagement can give youth skills they can carry forward into future careers, said Naidoo.
"This could support just the way we see the shaping of youth being more involved in the city of Brandon at a variety of levels," he said.
The program's success will be measured by how many mentorships it builds and whether it improves retention in the community, said Naidoo. The goal is to eventually expand it to include 100 youth.
Looking to the future
Regina Carlos, 16, who came to Brandon from the Philippines last June, was encouraged to join the program by her mom.
She now attends Crocus Plains High School in Brandon and wants to pursue a career in health care. She's said she's enjoyed the hands-on approach of the program, and the opportunity to build leadership and networking skills.
"I think that in college or university, I might be able to use networking to my advantage to move up in society," Carlos said.
Through the program, she's working on an advocacy project focused on mental health — a topic she says wasn't talked about enough in the Philippines. That can make people feel left out of the community, and she doesn't want that to happen to anyone.
Elketeay, meanwhile, is working on a project focused on equality — something he says every community needs.