Young Water Speaks is a national storytelling project and contest.
Youth will get inspired by local waterscapes & history through pre-workshop activities in engaging workbooks & online storytelling workshops led by Waterlution’s trained Youth Advisory Board volunteers. Youth develop stories to be entered into the contest and win amazing regional prizes! Canadian youth that participate in storytelling training workshops & the contest will also be invited to engaging sessions with experienced and emerging storytellers (meet them & learn more about the workshops & contest below).
There are opportunities for individual kids & for classes/youth groups!
Students from across the country joined rapper, public speaker, writer and mental health advocate, Kalvonix, as they learned to tell stories through rap and wrote a nation-wide collective water rap.
First Nations Storytelling Event!
Students from across the country joined Grandmother Kim Wheatley, Dr. Shirley Williams and J’net Ayayqwayaksheelth, as they shared inspiring and educating Indigenous water stories.
Water and Poetry with Rosemary Hu!
Students from across the country joined Vancouver based poet and linguist, Rosemary Hu, and they learned to write poetry and write poems around water.
Diverse storytellers are also joining this project to inspire and support your youth in getting creative with their contest entry!
Storytellers will connect with participants via training videos and Canada-wide interactive webinars. The storytellers are training our volunteer Youth Advisors who will deliver your workshop.
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Grandmother Kim Wheatley
Storytelling Gatherer
[ultimate_modal btn_size=”md” btn_bg_color=”#8d2e5e” btn_bg_hover_color=”#1833a0″ btn_text=”BIO” overlay_bg_opacity=”80″ img_size=”35″ img_close_background_color=”#8d2e5e” close_icon_position=”popup-edge-top-right”]Kim Wheatley is a Traditional Anishinaabe Grandmother who shares ancestral cultural knowledge through stories, songs and workshops. She has appeared on television, magazines, books, radio shows and numerous written articles. Kim has been working in partnership with Waterlution for two years to bring First Nations water perspective, connections and knowledge to youth and young professionals in Waterlution’s programs. Over the last three decades Kim has garnered a number of awards and coordinated a number of high profile events including The Great Lakes Water Walk, Masters Indigenous Games & The Indigenous Arts Festival Fort York.[/ultimate_modal]
Calvin 'Kalvonix' Tiu
Rapper, Public Speaker, Writer & Mental Health Advocate
[ultimate_modal btn_size=”md” btn_bg_color=”#8d2e5e” btn_bg_hover_color=”#1833a0″ btn_text=”BIO” overlay_bg_opacity=”80″ img_size=”35″ img_close_background_color=”#8d2e5e” close_icon_position=”popup-edge-top-right”]Calvin “Kalvonix” Tiu is a rapper, public speaker, writer and mental health advocate born and raised in Vancouver, BC (Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples territory).
He is a Kwantlen Polytechnic University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts, English Major and Minor in Counseling. Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 12 months, Calvin has an intense passion for the art of storytelling and using it to inspire others to make a difference. He has performed for various events including the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver as well as many high school seminars as part of his “Frontier Poetics” Outreach program. Lastly, Calvin has written and recorded over 25 albums and can find his music on all streaming platforms including Apple Music and Spotify.[/ultimate_modal][ultimate_spacer]
Aliénor 'Allie' Rougeot
Economics and Public Policy Student, University of Toronto
[ultimate_modal btn_size=”md” btn_bg_color=”#8d2e5e” btn_bg_hover_color=”#1833a0″ btn_text=”BIO” overlay_bg_opacity=”80″ img_size=”35″ img_close_background_color=”#8d2e5e” close_icon_position=”popup-edge-top-right”]Aliénor “Allie” Rougeot is an Economics and Public Policy student at the University of Toronto. She moved from France to Toronto, Ontario (Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples traditional territory) for university. She has been an environmental and human rights activist for the past 10 years and has focused her attention on climate justice since high school. In January 2019 she took on the role of coordinator for the Fridays for Future in Toronto. Fridays for Future is a worldwide movement where students have been striking and protesting to demand bold climate action from all levels of government. Allie has been recognized for her work by the Canadian Voice of Women for peace with the Kim Phuc Youth Award, Toronto Post Magazine in “20 under 20”, and Corporate Knights “30 under 30”. Allie believes climate change is a complex issue, and that both mobilizing to demand climate justice and actually co-creating solutions to climate change can pass through powerful storytelling.[/ultimate_modal]
Rosemary 昕禾 Hu
Local Poet & Linguist
[ultimate_modal btn_size=”md” btn_bg_color=”#8d2e5e” btn_bg_hover_color=”#1833a0″ btn_text=”BIO” overlay_bg_opacity=”80″ img_size=”35″ img_close_background_color=”#8d2e5e” close_icon_position=”popup-edge-top-right”]Rosemary 昕禾 Hu is a local poet and linguist working on and benefitting from the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (know commonly as the Vancouver area). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Science from UBC, with research centring endangered Indigenous language preservation. A storyteller, a linguist, a poet and a Chinese immigrant, she is eager to share her experiences and passions with Waterlution as a Youth Storyteller for Young Water Speaks. You can find her performing in various open mic poetry slams throughout the city. As a poet who was encouraged and supported by teachers from elementary school, through high school and university, Rosemary is a strong believer in providing tools and resources for youth to engage in writing and storytelling. And what could be a more crucial topic than water, that which sustains all life?[/ultimate_modal]
Valérie Ivy Hamelin
Multidisciplinary Artist, Mi’gmak Nation of Gespeg
[ultimate_modal btn_size=”md” btn_bg_color=”#8d2e5e” btn_bg_hover_color=”#1833a0″ btn_text=”BIO” overlay_bg_opacity=”80″ img_size=”35″ img_close_background_color=”#8d2e5e” close_icon_position=”popup-edge-top-right”]Valérie Ivy Hamelin is a multidisciplinary artist from Mi’gmak Nation of Gespeg, with expertise in singing, storytelling, playing flute, native hand drum, african percussion, dance and gumboots. Ivy primarily conducts workshops in French.[/ultimate_modal]
Marilyne Busque-Duboi
Writer & Poet
[ultimate_modal btn_size=”md” btn_bg_color=”#8d2e5e” btn_bg_hover_color=”#1833a0″ btn_text=”BIO” overlay_bg_opacity=”80″ img_size=”35″ img_close_background_color=”#8d2e5e” close_icon_position=”popup-edge-top-right”]Marilyne Busque-Duboi is a writer and poet, who focuses on the relationship between the external environment and interior self. Marilyne primarily conducts workshops in French.[/ultimate_modal]
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Contest Prizes & Exhibition
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Water Speaks Travelling Art Exhibition
Coming July – October 2021
All the winners from the YWS Storytelling Contest and other notable entries, will have their stories shown in a travelling exhibition across Canada.
The exhibition will include indoor and outdoor set ups to be installed for up to 1-month at a time. YAB members in the areas will also lead a special event, such as a local river stories walk, during the exhibition period.
Available Prizes
$100 gift card to be spent at United by Blue Lush gift packs of body soaps and creams
More prizes will be announced soon
If you/your organization is interested in hosting the exhibition, contact Laina Timberg at laina.timberg@waterlution.org
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FAQ
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Once you book an online workshop with a volunteer Youth Advisor via our website, you’ll gain access to Waterlution’s google classroom with pre-workshop activities & original training videos from the storytellers & volunteers. There will be pre-workshop activities to complete.
Click here to meet the volunteers who will deliver your online workshop!
The workshop will be 1.5 hours for grades 3-8 and 2.5 hours for grades 9-12. Workshops are designed appropriately for different age groups.
During the workshop, students learn to generate ideas inspired by water, create a main character, choose a creative storytelling avenue, and create their storyboard.
After the workshop, students will have one month to create and submit their stories.
Story formats can be a creatively written story, an oral story, a short film, a painting, a sculpture, a dance, a song or another creative method.
All participating groups/classes will be invited to also join special interactive webinars hosted by our expert storytellers (happening about once every six weeks!)
Curriculum Links: This contest is aligned with curriculum across provinces and territories. It works particularly well with, Social Studies, Language Arts, Earth Sciences, Visual Arts & more! You’ll receive access to the curriculum links documents once you register.
All workshops are free and there is no cost to submit stories to the contest at the end – expect for postage if you are submitting via mail instead of google classroom.
Evaluation Process: stories can be fiction, nonfiction or a combination of the two! They must be centred around water and inspired by a real Canadian waterway. Extra points if your story is also inspired by your family’s culture or a real event in Canadian history.
Winners will be announced in April 2021.
Prizes are awarded within 4 different regions in Canada. Within each region, a separate prize is awarded for different age groups: 7-10, 11-13 and 14-18. A total of 12 prizes will be awarded in March 2021.
Beyond Prizes–A Traveling Storytelling Exhibit is set to travel across the country in Autumn 2021, winning stories and other lucky submissions will be featured in a travelling storytelling exhibit alongside stories and creations from emerging Canadian storytellers, artists & musicians!
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Examples of Water Stories Created by Waterlution Staff & Youth Advisors
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Partners
Actua, Alberta Lake Management Society, Anishinabek Nation, Cariboo Regional Library – Williams Lake Branch, Ecology North, Educational News CAN, Environnement Jeunesse, Fredericton Arts Alliance, Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom Center Edmonton, Inside Education, Lesser Slave Watershed Council, Milk River Watershed Council, Red Deer River Watershed, Safe Drinking Water Foundation, Shaw Centre for Salish Sea,Stephen Leacock Foundation, Sustainable Youth Canada (Montreal), World Youth Parliament for Water, & Youth Fusion
COVID-19 Adaptation Update
January 21st, 2021 – All Training/Workshops will be hosted via online video conference until at least April 15th, 2021. The next COVID-19 adaptation update will be released on March 31st, 2021.
