(photo/ North Battleford Downtown Business Improvement District (BID)

By Alyssa Rudolph

youth forum

Battlefords Youth Forum gives teens a voice through interactive learning

Nov 19, 2025 | 1:15 PM

Whether it’s questions about self-confidence or banking, curious youth will have the opportunity to get some of them answered during the seventh annual Battlefords Youth Forum.

The event began in 2018 as a way to give teens in the community a voice; they could talk about community events from their perspectives or simply ask questions about whatever was on their mind.

Renee Sperling, program lead for Big Brothers Big Sisters, said the forum helps youth to understand themselves.

“We have a lot of conversations about things like using their voice, having hard conversations, knowing that our relationships with our friends and others are healthy, and how to do better in our coping skills,” she said.

Now, the program has shifted to an even more interactive experience. This year, 150 youth ranging from Grades 7 to 12 from John Paul II Collegiate, Sakewew High School, and Clifford Wuttunee School will hear from a featured speaker, but will also participate in activities led by community partners and experts.

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“There’s five of them [interactive sessions] this year that go right from talking about what to do with the dollar bills to how to fuel ourselves in a good way, talking about mindful tools and our circle of support,” Sperling said.

Organizers of the forum believe in building strong connections between youth and local supports like Anchor and Thread, Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre and Roots of Hope.

“Our goal is to continue to get our temperature read on our youth and understand a little bit more about what’s happening in the community.

The other component of it is to provide those spaces for youth to be curious and to be able to explore the things that they’re most interested in,” Sperling said.

Although the forum is run like a one-day conference, information gathered from the event is stored and used as reference points by all of the participating organizations.

“For us, it is really a call to task from the youth to the adults, and it’s one that we don’t take lightly. It’s a space where we come to knowing that we are there to listen to what they have to tell us and to go on that journey with them,” Sperling said.

Youth Grade 8 and older that want to join in Friday’s forum can contact Big Brothers Big Sisters or register themselves on their website.

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alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com