The federal government has confirmed up to $200,000 for a two-year Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society project to increase the leadership skills of culturally diverse young women in northern B.C.
Called Setting the Stage for Girls and Young Women to Succeed, it targets women ages 16-24 from Burns Lake to Prince George to Mackenzie and with the support of an advisory committee, they will lead and implement activities related to participating in civic, political and community life.
Exactly what those activities will be will be decided in September, but some work has already gone into that aspect - the project was actually launched nine months ago - and the outcomes can be found at the Prince George Public Library.
That was where a grand opening was held Wednesday for Inspire Action: Setting the Stage's Photovoice Exhibit, a series of documentary photos that depict issues and barriers in and around Prince George. The exhibit remains in place until Aug. 29.
So far, 24 young women are participating but project coordinator Tanianne Mynen hopes to see over 100 taking part by the time it all wraps up. In the meantime, she is looking forward to seeing what they come up with for activities.
"They'll likely be fun and engaging and at the same time teach the young women leadership skills and give them new shared experiences and knowledge," Mynen said.
Those interested in participating can visit the IMSS webpage, www.imss.ca, or go to Setting the Stage on Facebook.
