The Region of Waterloo is often celebrated for its culture of innovation. We pride ourselves on experimentation, collaboration, and preparing for what comes next. Yet, one of the most powerful opportunities for innovation in our community remains surprisingly underdeveloped: trusting young people with leadership today.

We speak often about youth engagement. We encourage young people to volunteer, to share ideas, to sit on panels and advisory groups. These efforts are valuable but they are not the same as leadership. Too often, youth are invited to contribute without being trusted to decide.

If we are serious about building a resilient and inclusive future, we must move beyond participation toward shared responsibility.

Young people are navigating a world shaped by climate uncertainty, rapid technological change, economic disruption, and global interconnectedness. They are not waiting on the sidelines for adulthood to begin engaging with these realities. They are already adapting, organizing, questioning, and imagining solutions. When communities fail to recognize this, we risk designing systems that are out of step with lived experience.

Meaningful youth leadership begins with a simple but transformative principle: youth voices must shape decisions, not merely inform them.

A truly youth-centred approach prioritizes young people’s needs, interests, and perspectives not as an afterthought, but as a starting point. When youth are involved early and meaningfully, they develop a sense of ownership, accountability, and purpose. Leadership becomes something they practice, not something promised later.

Equally important is how youth leadership is held. Youth-led does not mean youth-alone. Strong communities are built through intergenerational dialogue spaces where experience and fresh perspective meet with mutual respect. When young people and adults learn from one another, leadership becomes more balanced, grounded, and sustainable.

This kind of collaboration requires courage. It requires openness to uncomfortable conversations, to questioning assumptions, and to listening without defensiveness. Growth, both personal and collective depends on our willingness to be challenged and to revise what we think we know.



In recent years, young people have led some of the most honest conversations in our society—on reconciliation, equity, climate action, and belonging. These conversations are not easy, but they are necessary. Creating space for them strengthens relationships and deepens understanding across communities.