A 16-year-old Sacred Heart High School student will be among the inaugural participants in a brand-new international effort called the Global Citizen Youth Leadership Program.
After a three-day orientation last week in Regina, Kaitlyn Kitzan, along with seven other Saskatchewan student leaders left for El Salvador where, according to Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation they will “learn about international development issues such as health, human rights, Indigenous solidarity, and youth leadership across borders.”
Kitzan was nominated by teacher Melissa Moen, Student Representative Council advisor, and chosen by an SCIC committee from among nominees from across the province.
Kaitlyn has a keen interest in working as a part of a team with other youth, and takes pride in the role of being an ambassador, whether it’s through the Global Citizen Youth Leadership Program, or through other areas of her life such as the SRC at her school, or through her interest in agriculture,” said Steffany Salloum, Global Citizen program coordinator.
“Kaitlyn is a strong leader, and really demonstrated an interest in wanting to apply her leadership skills to the global level. The Global Citizen Youth Leadership Program gives her an opportunity to do just that, and to bring back her experiences to share with her peers in a meaningful way.”
Kitzan, who will be president of the SRC next year, said she was pleased to be recognized for her efforts.
“I think I’ve done a lot for global issues and for the school,” she said.
Part of that was an educational trip to Ecuador in March of this year. The tour was organized by EF Educational Tours in partnership with the Canadian charity Free the Children.
The impetus behind Free the Children and its “Me to We” campaign is to motivate youth to make change locally and globally.
Robbi Humble, SCIC communications officer, said Global Citizen has a similar goal.
“The idea of global citizenship is to take responsibility for ourselves at home as well as overseas,” she said.
Kitzan found out she had been selected shortly after returning from Ecuador.
“I was super-excited that in just a few months I would be going back to South or Central America,” she said.
Her own background growing up on a farm near Theodore kind of led her into international development.
“I have a passion for agriculture and food security issues, especially for people who aren’t as lucky as me to have three meals a day,” she explained. “I have a passion to help others.”
In keeping with the local-global theme, the kids are not done once they return from El Salvador.
In the fall, they will be travelling around the province on a speaking tour of schools and community groups.
Kitzan has also been selected to present a research paper about her travels to the Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa. The three-day event hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation brings together approximately 200 students from around the United States and other countries with international experts in science, industry and policy.
She is especially excited, though, to share her experiences with her own classmates at Sacred Heart.
“Hopefully they’ll take a step with me to help on some of these development issues,” she said.
