Bishop’s Forum youth building community around shared concerns

By Gordon Lambie

Over the course of this past week, young leaders from communities across Quebec have been gathered at Bishop’s University, sharing meals and participating in workshops together as a part of the third annual Bishop’s Forum. Bishop’s Principal Michael Goldbloom told The Record that the idea for the forum first came out of the concern that there was a challenge in getting young English Quebecers to stay in the province. Thinking through the factors that might influence a decision to stay or go, Goldbloom listed things like ability to function in French, job opportunities, and family or personal relationships. “There’s not much we can do for those in a week,” he said, “but one of the reasons that I, and many people that I know, feel so attached to this place is that we believe that we could have an impact on the society. My feeling is that one of the reasons you choose to be a part of a place is because you feel a connection to it and like you can affect its evolution.” That in mind, the first forum was then created in the hope that it could help young English Quebecers better understand how society functions in the province and meet other young people with shared interests. Looking back, Goldbloom said that he was quite surprised to find that the initial group of participants showed no interest in leaving whatsoever. See full story in the Friday, Aug. 16 edition of The Record.

 

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