Over the last year, I was fortunate to be included in a working group led by the Child and Youth Advocate’s Office that focused on child and youth well-being in the province. Specifically, the group was looking to create a strategy based on foundational principles of children’s rights and on Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Because the group consisted primarily of government representatives, NBSPRN was asked to join the Working Group and to help engage other key stakeholders such as the research and NGO communities. To that effect, we were able to work with the group to help facilitate 3 sessions (Appendix F), identify members who would sit at the Provincial Round Table (Appendix D) and draw on our membership to create an Academic Advisory Board that would assist the working group in ensuring an evidence-based approach to the Strategy’s development and eventual measurement (for a full list of Working Group and Academic Advisory Board members see Appendix E in the Strategy document).

While the direction of the Strategy was largely governed by the decisions made by the members who sat at the Provincial Round Table (Appendix D), the behind-the-scenes work was critical to the success achieved by the larger group. Together these groups (Provincial Round Table, Secretariat, Working Group, Academic Advisory Board) worked to achieve what I believe is a leading example of cross-sector collaboration in New Brunswick. Not to mention, the players involved (from government, community organizations and academic institutions) now have new connections and experience working with a talented team towards a coordinated, shared vision. This is exciting news for New Brunswick and I am grateful to have participated. Congratulations to everyone who contributed!

You can access the Strategy by clicking here and view the news release celebrating the recent launch by clicking here.