New Inuit Youth Council pres. excited to amplify youth concerns on national stage
Susie-Ann Kudluk, the National Inuit Youth Council’s new president, says the next two years will be an exciting time for the body to amplify, and advocate for, the concerns of young people across the Inuit homeland.
“We’re all very motivated in improving the lives of youth across Canada, so I think it’s going to be really exciting,” Kudluk told Eye on the Arctic in a phone interview.
“These next two years will hopefully make a positive impact, and be a positive change, for the lives of Inuit youth.”
Kudluk, 25, is from the community of Kangirsuk, in Nunavik, the Inuit region in northern Quebec, and was elected this month for the NIYC 2023-2025 term.
Kudluk, also a former vice-president of the Qarjuit Youth Council, had already been active in advocating for youth in her region for over three years, so when the chance to run for the NIYC president came up, she embraced it, she said.
“I’m very passionate about what I do in terms of advocacy, and in being a part of something bigger than myself,” Kudluk said. “To give voice to what youth need, and to their concerns, is very important to me.”
Priorities to be established
Kudluk has a long-term interest in improving access to mental health services and information for Inuit youth, but stressed that decisions on coming NIYC priorities would be established by the board as a group when they meet for the first time in the next couple of weeks.
“The board has representatives from across each region so I’m looking forward to the conversation with them about what issues they’d like to prioritize and focus on as a whole.”
The National Inuit Youth Council is made up of voting members representing Inuit organizations from across Canada: the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation in the Northwest Territories; the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Kivalliq Inuit Association and Qikiqtani Inuit Association in the eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut; the Qarjuit Youth Council in Nunavik and the Nunatsiavut Government in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
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Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Indigenous youth from across Canada attend clean energy conference in Whitehorse, CBC News
Finland: Connection to nature, concern for environment amongst results of Sami youth survey, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Creating youth links key to driving Canadian-Norwegian cooperation, conference hears, Eye on the Arctic
