B.Y.T.E.’s mandate: Yukon youth unite to strengthen youth voice, take action and bring about positive change for the wellbeing of everyone.

B.Y.T.E.’s services are directed at youth between ages 12 – 29. Vision: Bringing Youth Towards Equality strives to be socially, ecologically, and ethically responsible to the greater Yukon Community. B.Y.T.E. attempts to create healthy communities where youth voices are heard and creative potential has space for expression. B.Y.T.E. envisions a community of individuals, young and old alike, who meet without judgement and fear, and instead cultivate tolerance, understanding, compassion and respect for one another.

Brief B.Y.T.E History:
In 1998, Bringing Youth Towards Equality (B.Y.T.E.) began to surface out of Yukon’s need to have a youth organization that is generated out of youth ideas, plans, and initiatives. Supported by the PAYY Coalition (Positive Action with Yukon Youth), a group of energetic youth decided to put together the first Yukon Youth Conference. It was a success, so the group reassembled later in the spring to formally form B.Y.T.E. Since day one, B.Y.T.E.’s been involving youth in every step of the decision making process and has grown into a national program.
B.Y.T.E. is a Yukon wide organization that is mandated to strengthen Yukon youth voice that began 12 years ago. We now focus on rural Yukon youth and use a ‘for youth by youth’ organizational model.
We regularly poll Yukon youth on what issues they face, want to learn more about and take action on, and then we create programming surrounding these outcomes. Our most popular program is our Community Outreach: on-call youth created and run workshops. In the last two years, the B.Y.T.E. staff team has created safe experiential lesson plans on the issues outlined by Yukon youth. We have recruited and trained an on-call facilitation team of over 30 youth to offer workshops in schools, rural youth centers and winter and summer camps.

Programs…

B.Y.T.E. On-Call Facilitation Team:
The B.Y.T.E. On-Call Facilitation Team is a team of contract facilitators who work on an on-call basis to fill in as a traveling team for B.Y.T.E. in order to support Yukon rural communities and First Nation groups. The team focuses solely on providing facilitation services through B.Y.T.E. The B.Y.T.E. Team is trained by professionals to engage other youth in a variety of ways, ensuring fun, experiential and interactive methods. The team is currently trained in giving workshops on youth rights, leadership, anti-oppression, climate change, video, violence prevention, social networking for social change, substance abuse, photography, yoga, meditation, dance, ‘zine making and job survival tips and tools. Our team also has the ability to design and tailor other topic areas as requested. We have been trained to provide workshops aimed at helping rural youth make and maintain healthy lifestyle choices. Our training also included an understanding of Yukon First Nation cultural values and an awareness of issues that all Northern youth face today. Our facilitation team enables B.Y.T.E. to expand and maintain our connection to the rural communities by raising our level of involvement and availability.

Community calendar: Our website http://yukonyouth.com/community-events/ provides a series of local events that young people can take part in. It is updated regularly and has an array of activities and events.

Green Your Space: We have improved our office space to lessen our impact on the earth. The facts and figures have indisputably proven that if things are not altered today we will not have a healthy tomorrow. B.Y.T.E. is doing its part in taking responsibility for our actions on the earth, and hopefully this will encourage others locally to do the same. If you come to visit our office you can see the changes and browse our office guidelines, employee manuals, and our event protocol checklist.

Toxic Blend ‘zines: the Yukon ‘zine of counter-culture, art, rants, questions, and future scapes. The do-it-yourself magazine is a venue for young people to express themselves. It’s uncensored and bursting with style. By encouraging youth to be the media rather than fall prey to it, the Toxic Blend is a refreshing document of young writers and artists that dare to speak their minds.

Annual Celebration of Youth Week in May: An interactive events calendar is compiled to celebrate youth in the Territory. BYTE team puts on free BBQs at local Whitehorse High Schools each year and invites all other youth focused service providers to come along.

B.Y.T.E. Radio Hour Listen to CJUC 92.5

Annual Earth Day events Every April 22nd - B.Y.T.E. puts on an event/eco green office space open house.

Annual Skateboarding Canada Day Competition: Each year B.Y.T.E. along with Triple Js, Board Stiff and Boys and Girls Club hosts the Canada Day Skateboarding Competition event within three categories: advanced, intermediate and beginner.

Office drop in services
Our office here in Whitehorse is our headquarters for planning and implementing our programming, however, we do allow youth to use our space for the following activities:
- create art
- take out books and dvds from our social issues library
- take clothes and kitchen items from our free store
- use our computers
- parents and youth can also use our referral services
-we also connect young people with opportunities from international exchanges, employment, attending national youth conferences to being represented and heard in community forums. - sign out office space for meetings and office contract work

BYTE sits on several territorial and national committees to ensure a Yukon youth voice:

Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition
Yukon Youth Network Group
Whitehorse Youth Coalition
National Addiction Awareness Committee*
Rural Team Yukon
Girl’s Action Foundation*
Environmental Education Association
TakingITGlobal*
Canadian Climate Youth Coalition*
Town Youth Participation Strategy*
*National Groups

Creates and publishes information booklets such as Where It’s At, Do It Up - Escape Boredom, and Get it Started.

Develops programs and projects as dreamed up by youth. B.Y.T.E. recruits, trains, and works with youth to create, build, and run all events and programs.

Connects young people with opportunities from international exchanges, employment, attending national youth conferences to being represented and heard in community forums.

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