Indigenous youth are leading communities in building a more sustainable and inclusive future. That is why the Government of Canada supports youth organizations that are undertaking important work, such as amplifying youth voices and empowering the next generation of leaders who are accelerating the transition to a sustainable and equitable energy future.
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, is pleased to announce a $442,600 investment to Student Energy for SevenGen 2022, a gathering dedicated to empower the next generation of energy and environmental leaders accelerating our transition to live in a more sustainable way.
In January 2019, 200 First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth from every province and territory came together for the first-ever SevenGen Summit. The Summit's theme was Powering Resilience, with goals for empowering youth and demonstrating the importance of education while furthering conversations on climate and energy challenges and opportunities, particularly for Indigenous communities looking to implement renewable energy for a sustainable future.
Building on the success of the first SevenGen Summit, more than 200 Indigenous youth gathered from September 8-11 for SevenGen 2022, hosted at Whitecap Dakota Nation in Saskatchewan. The goal of this year's Summit was to engage, inform and enable delegates to build capacity, confidence and community that will inspire individuals and groups to carry forward their ideas beyond the Summit.
In addition to SevenGen 2022, the funding provided will be used to deliver a Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program. The program draws upon the youth empowerment and training expertise of Student Energy and the energy project development knowledge of Indigenous Clean Energy to create a robust ecosystem of support to assist Indigenous youth on their paths to become energy leaders.
This project is also supported by partners such as Student Energy, Suncor, Indigenous Clean Energy and Cenovus, bringing the total investment to over $1.1 million.
The Government of Canada is committed to supporting youth participation in Canada's clean energy sector and collaborating with them on actionable solutions in an effort to harness individual and collective action to fight climate change and help Canada meet its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 while ensuring Indigenous communities are supported in transitioning toward a sustainable and prosperous future.
