ARTHUR – The Wellington County Learning Centre is celebrating Black Heritage Month with a creative competition.
Youth aged 12 to 18 can submit projects ranging from essays and poetry to paintings and dance videos, with the chance of winning a laptop computer or $25 gift card.
Tyner Bouteiller, youth program coordinator at Wellington County Learning Centre, created the competition so youth can explore their identities, increase self-confidence, and raise awareness of issues impacting people of colour.
Submissions can be text, video, audio, or creative art about one of these topics:
- personal experiences as a youth of colour;
- an inspirational person of colour; or
- stories on local or personal heritage or identity.
Judging is based on effort and how winning the laptop will support education.
This is the first time the Wellington County Learning Centre has organized a competition for Black Heritage Month, and Bouteiller wants it to show youth of colour in the county the centre is interested and open to including them.
Bouteiller hopes the competition will “raise some of the voices of Black youth and other youth of colour in the community, so we can hear from them and they can hear more about our resources.”
The centre supports adults and youths with educational programs and materials.
Bouteiller notes she’s interested in hearing what services youth of colour in the county are using and “what experiences they have, whether negative or positive.”
She said the learning centre organizes competitions regularly, and often only gets four or five submissions. She’s hoping for more this time.
“We want people to know that we are here to support them,” Bouteiller noted.
She encourages participants to reach out if they want help with any aspect of their submission.
“The whole point of the centre is to provide educational materials and support,” she noted.
“So we are happy to help in any way to provide that accessibility.”
The competition is open to youth living in Wellington County only and the deadline is Feb. 22.
For more information and submission forms visit the Wellington County Learning Centre website, call 519-848-3462 or visit the centre in Arthur.
