February 26, 2008

by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean

Since being appointed as governor general, I have wanted to make the institution I represent a place of dialogue and ideas, where the citizens of this country can make their voices heard. In essence, I wanted it to be a place that is accessible to everyone, particularly youth who feel cast aside, as though society has turned its back on them. Their disillusionment and feeling of alienation makes them among our most vulnerable citizens, causing a tear in our social fabric.

So I asked myself, how can I make this institution that I represent more accessible and meaningful to young people? How can I make it a space in which youth voices can be heard and taken seriously?

And then it hit me: I need to ask the youth themselves!

During the first year and a half of my mandate, during my official visits to Canada’s 13 provinces and territories, I made a point of meeting with youth everywhere I went, from major urban centres to the smallest rural communities up north, so that they could tell me how they wanted to be supported and what we could do together.

What they told me can be summed up by two suggestions:

“We want people to understand the work that many of us are doing using the arts and culture to transform despair and indifference into hope and social change.”

“We want more opportunities for young people to meet and for our society’s leaders to back our initiatives.”

So in response, I created the Urban Arts Forums, which I held for the first time a year ago in Calgary. Each time is an opportunity for youth, decision makers, philanthropists and community leaders to come together to discuss how art can make our cities, neighbourhoods and living spaces more vibrant. The discussions also look at particular situations, realities and issues like violence, fear of “the other,” dropping out, the lack of decent spaces to create and live, exclusion, poverty, inequality—the many blights that poison our relationships with one another.

These forums are especially constructive because they offer those who have nowhere to voice their opinions or whose voices are seldom heard a way out of their isolation. They allow us to explore what our citizenship means and to break down the solitudes that undermine our ability to live and work together. The intent is that we will act in a spirit of solidarity and commitment.

The experience has been incredible! What these young people have shared is intense, at times unexpected, and deserves to be taken seriously.

In Calgary, at the Quickdraw Animation Society, young artists told me how they are using film and animation to turn away from despair, the streets and violence.

In Toronto, at the Whippersnapper Gallery, they told me how hip hop, painting and spoken word have enabled them to reconnect with the power of words, helped them to overcome the lure of gangs, and have even saved their lives.

In Winnipeg, at the Graffiti Gallery, they told me how the urban arts are being used as tools to galvanize a community and take action in their neighbourhoods, to stand up to the proliferation of drugs, gangs and violence. They have since created a successful community-wide initiative that has mobilized the residents of a neighbourhood struggling with these problems to make it a safer place to live.

In Montreal, at the Maison des jeunes de la Côte-des-Neiges, they told me how the urban arts have rehabilitated youth in trouble with the law, reduced violence, and brought people together around common projects.

In Ottawa, at SAW Gallery, they spoke about their frustrations with indifference and their desire to increase opportunities for youth to express their concerns creatively. They have also put together an urban arts committee to pool the efforts of young artists in the city.

Just recently, at Centre A in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, sadly known as Canada’s poorest neighbourhood, young people showed me how they are using documentary videos to project their dreams and solutions so that they might transform their neighbourhood, and how the urban arts are allowing them to recover, to find sure footing, and to develop a feeling of belonging. Like so many other youth, they emphasized the urgent need for funding, recognition, partnerships, mentors, spaces, workshops. Their ideas came fast and furious.

Those are but a few examples that show how eager young people are to use their creativity to make a difference. What I find fascinating is that irrespective of the city, the issues, challenges, and initiatives are the same. I am delighted that these young people want to build a network of solidarity across Canada.

In addition to the Urban Arts Forums, we also held some 20 Art Matters forums during our travels. Again, artists and participants from the culture sector were able to talk about their involvement, about the power and impact of creation, about culture as a means of reinforcing the social bond. Increasingly, we are tying together the Urban Arts Forums and the Art Matters forums, building bridges between artists so that ideas can flow freely.

I have already told you how during my official and State visits to South Africa, Haiti, Brazil and Argentina, I met with urban artists who were often young. In some of the poorest neighbourhoods, they too spoke about the tremendous impact art-based projects are having on their communities. They also told me of their desire to connect with young people in Canada.

I must admit that I find the idea of a network extending beyond our borders to be very appealing. For this to work, we must first consolidate our own networks here in Canada, lend greater support to our youth, and work together to hold a national urban arts forum.