This project is supported by a grant from CIRA’s Community Investment Program. CIRA’s Community Investment Program gives back by supporting initiatives and programs that help build a better online Canada.

This post is submitted by Erum Hasan from the YWCA Girls Center. Erum is an active member of the YWCA Girls Council, a long-time member of Hive Toronto.

Our Ca.pture Youth Council group got together on Saturday, February 4th for our last session. We started off with a discussion and a quick intro to what everyone is up to which created a joyful environment.

We then moved onto a creative team building activity, which was writing one positive comment about each other. It was really helpful to give a chance for everyone to show their appreciation with each other  and express how glad we were to be together on this project.

I also had the opportunity to support other youth facilitators with finishing their Thimble templates and coding. I learned that it was crucial to be patient at first since it was hard to explain how the coding works and what it does (the back end and the product).

It was great connecting with other youth facilitators. We sat in a circle to discuss our excitement for the march break camp. We decided on the details of where the camp will be held and the positions and roles we will be assigned and how the outline/schedule will look like. We looked at how to incorporate everything we have done together into the march break camps.

We ended our day with  making buttons.  It was pleasant to enjoy the afternoon with peers, just listening to music and chatting.  I would love to make more badges and even fund-raise for local charities. Being part of Ca.pture, a digital storytelling project that addressed cyberbullying had a positive impact on my life. I gained valuable experience while working with my peers and learning how to code for social change.

I would like to thank Wendy, Lena, Flora, Gideon and Simona for inviting me to blog as well as participate in this meaningful project and for the opportunity to meet and make new friends.  I learned a few interesting things about my peers: