Aboriginal Youth Network (AYN) - Canada

AYN uses the Internet to provide a place where aboriginal youth can seek out and discuss information they may find useful in their everyday lives. The main focus of the AYN website is on news, events, and youth communication. Social issues are linked to aboriginal culture in specific areas such as current events, expression of ideas, involvement in the community, and disadvantages that aboriginal peoples face. For example, a volunteer AYN writer provides a summary of the January 2004 Aboriginal Peoples Commission; click here to read this article. In the "Daily Rant", young people reflect on various issues and then respond to each other. For example, in repsonse to a rant on poverty, one AYN community member noted "although it was quite clear that you don't appreciate being stereotyped into the "aboriginal role in society," you have stereotyped me into that category...And you're right, society does try and tell us where we belong and how we should deal with it and whatever, but don't buy into that..." The "Cyberskins" section explores issues facing young aboriginal people and their communities; personal stories, opinions, and writing from AYN members are meant to provide a look at what various communities are doing and thinking about across Canada. Education and employment opportunities are also posted on the AYN site. The website also includes some entertaining sections that feature links to online games and youth aboriginal radio websites and "lifestyles" information, for example.

AYN also provides communication tools for aboriginal youth, such as free email accounts, web boards, and the Circle mailing list. Interactive web modules, such as "A Tribe Called Quit": A cultural-based interactive module dealing with Tobacco Reduction and Resiliency!, are also designed to stimulate interaction. AYN also offers web development for projects and services, as well as free hosting space on the server for other organisations' websites. Organisers encourage people to contribute to the AYN community by letting them know what's going on in particular communities, as well as by sharing opinions, ideas, stories, poems, and events on the website.

In addition to the tools and content it provides, AYN works to be accountable to young people in its organisational structure - its youth advisory committee meets in person twice yearly and twice via teleconference. The youth aboriginal community is consulted on an ongoing basis informally as well, using mailing lists, Microsoft NetMeeting, message boards, and chat rooms.

Youth, Cultural Identity, Technology.

AYN was initially established in the Spring of 1995 by MicroWorks Incorporated. MicroWorks, Kendall Lougheed Inc., UNAAQ Inc,. and a volunteer Aboriginal Youth Steering Committee collaborated on the vision, ideas, knowledge, and technology used to set up the AYN. The AYN was initially created to house a Solvent Abuse Module, which is one of the interactive module described above. Along the way, one of the young women administering the web module had the idea to expand the website. She worked with aboriginal youth across Canada to create an online community specifically for them. Organisers explain that AYN was created to respond to the social and health issues that aboriginal youth face due to the breakdown of aboriginal culture in Canada. It was implemented as part of an effort to help youth surmount the disadvantages they face as aboriginal people.