For Ashley Braun, getting a jump on civic involvement early in life runs in the family.
The Pembina Valley native recently travelled to Ottawa for the Forum for Young Canadians, a program that encourages youths to learn about Canada and how it functions.
“You get to learn more about government and public speaking and about working with others and good communication skills,” says Braun. “It's kind of become like a little legacy in our family. My mother went and my sister ... went. I was just interested in learning more about the government and meeting new people.”
A prestigious opportunity
Braun says a relatively small number of students was selected for the program.
“For every one of us that got to go, there were four of us who didn't, and overall, there were 100 people, so that means about 400 people didn’t get to go,” she says.
Each student was asked to write about their interest in politics for the application process. Braun says that only 5 students were selected from Manitoba, including one from Dauphin, one from Steinbach, a few from Winnipeg, and herself.
What did students learn?
According to Braun, the Forum for Young Canadians had a packed schedule of events for its attendees.
One of the things she enjoyed most was a mock election.
“We had candidates, and they got to run for prime minister of Canada,” she says. “It was one of my highlights listening to the debates and hearing the speeches and seeing how creative people could get.”
A lesson about treaties
Another memorable part of Braun's time in Ottawa was a treaty exercise.
She quickly saw the frustrations that arise from creating the agreements.
“We split up into three groups, and then we were told that we had to try to figure out and make a treaty with the other three groups based on what we kind of wanted out of it,” she says.
“That was one of my favourites because it got very intense — people were not happy because they wanted their views on the treaty, but they weren't agreeing with other people.”
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Braun says that the remaining activities were also exciting. Although there wasn’t “much room for rest,” she says the program, which included meeting with a former governor general and visiting the House of Commons, Senate, and Rideau Hall, was refreshing.
“I like the history part of it,” she says. “We got to see different paintings of former speakers of the house and prime ministers. It was very cool.”
Braun’s experience in Ottawa was also enhanced by the other attendees, whom she calls “highly intelligent and kind.”
The return home
Braun has returned home to the Pembina Valley with a new perspective.
“You always think of politicians as [in] some faraway land doing their own thing, but they're right here in Winkler,” she says.
“[The trip] gave me a lot more respect for politicians and for leaders — just how much is put on their shoulders and how much they have to decide.”
Braun says that her trip inspired her. In the future, she intends to become more involved with school leadership and volunteering in the community.
She also has a piece of advice.
“I'd really like to encourage other local kids to come to Forum. It was a wonderful experience,” she says.
With files from Jayme Giesbrecht