WINNIPEG YOUTH ADVOCATE WELCOMES INTERNATIONAL GROUP TO TEACH GLOBAL SKILLS TO HER PEERS

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International Experience Canada, SYTA Youth Foundation and United Way Winnipeg

Support the Life-Changing Your Big Year Youth Leadership Program

WINNIPEG, July 12, 2023 – Tourism Winnipeg and Travel Manitoba will welcome Your Big Year youth leadership program to Winnipeg, August 17-20, for a Professional and Cultural Development Challenge for youth. Urooba Ahmed, a 19-year-old Winnipeg local, is leading the coordination with area nonprofits to present a series of interactive training events for her peers locally.

Your Big Year (YBY), a youth leadership program based in San Francisco, CA, has worked with more than 250,000 youth across 190 countries, empowering them to make an impact in their life and in their world. Their inspiring, destination-based program that teaches global acumen, employability and future-ready skills, will be hosted this year in Winnipeg.

Ahmed is leading the charge to bring Your Big Year to her community in Winnipeg. “Rural Manitobans often get even fewer opportunities for education, volunteering, and recreation. These types of day programs are entirely necessary, if not critical for underserved individuals,” said Ahmed. “Creating these necessary, accessible experiences for youth to be more involved in their world around them and pave their own way, is truly a remarkable opportunity," Ahmed continued.

Ahmed is working with Local youth programs across the city such as Cedar, Fearless R2W, United Way, Fort Whyte, Apathy is Boring, MACY (The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth) and IRCOM (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba) on the transformational experience that’s intended to bridge academia to career through interactive, engaging activities.

Ahmed has been working with Your Big Year since December 2020, and has also been involved with many youth organizations in Winnipeg and Manitoba as well as across the country. Some of Ahmed’s experience includes Youth Parliament, Model United Nations, the Gord-Downie Wenjack Fund, and the Students' Commission of Canada. For the past three years, she has been a leader in several Your Big Year programs including projects for Microsoft and Lendlease, as well as earning her Make An Impact and Global Citizens Challenge certificates through Your Big Year.

The program is supported by visionary partners such as International Experience Canada, SYTA Youth Foundation and United Way Winnipeg who are committed to seeing young people find employable pathways and gain future ready skills. Tourism Winnipeg and Travel Manitoba are helping to create a home for the program here in Winnipeg. Your Big Year’s Executive Director, Marti Grimminck remarked on the dedication and tenacity of their partners to see opportunities brought to Winnipeg. “With Ahmed’s leadership and the support of our partners, we are inspired by the dedication to bring opportunities to young people in Winnipeg. It’s a perfect collaborative model of what happens when organizations work together.”

Your Big Year hopes to share these critical, life-changing skills with even more youth while in Winnipeg, helping to build a future pipeline of talent in the travel and tourism space. As part of the 4-day program, they will host a panel that includes representatives from Tourism Winnipeg, Travel Manitoba and Indigenous Travel Manitoba, giving local and international youth a direct line to what is possible.

About Your Big Year: Your Big Year is created and produced by International Connector, a San Francisco based innovation and experiential marketing agency specializing in next generation engagement. As a social enterprise, we ignite youth from any and every background to discover their capacity and build their capabilities. To learn more about the program, or to support the program further, reach out to the Your Big Year Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About SYTA: SYTA is a non-profit, professional trade association that promotes student and youth travel and seeks to foster integrity and professionalism among student and youth travel service providers. SYTA is “The Voice of Student and Youth Travel ®.” www.syta.org.