Members of the NAN Decade Youth Council with National Chief Phil Fontaine, Summer 2003.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation Decade for Youth & Development is heading into its ninth year. The Decade office has been set up to:

• Enhance awareness of the NAN Decade for Youth & Development, its goals, objectives and philosophy.
• Enhance awareness of the situation of youth and increase recognition of the rights and aspirations of youth.
• Promote NAN youth policies, NAN youth coordinating mechanisms and NAN youth programs of action as integral parts of social, economic, political and cultural development.
• Strengthen the participation of youth in decision-making processes at all levels in order to increase their impact on the development of NAN communities.

According to the United Nations, young people everywhere:

• Have aspirations and want to participate fully in the lives of their societies.
• Are key agents for social change, economic development and technological innovation.
• Should live under conditions that encourage their imagination, ideals, energy and vision to flourish to the benefit of their societies.

Our youth are also a social and demographic group at risk with an uncertain future, even though they represent society's greatest hope.

Ontario's Aboriginal population is young & growing. Children under the age of 15 account for 35% of all Aboriginal people and young people aged 15-24 make up 18% of the population. The concentration of a young population means that there is higher need for the provision of child-care, education, job creation, housing and health care than in the Ontario population. This situation highlights the need for youth development planning now, so that current and future needs of our youth may be adequately addressed.