The BridgeAbility Program from Youth Culture Inc. connects youth of all abilities through meaningful, educational, and innovative experiences with a broader aim of destigmatizing and elevating disability in the workplace and beyond.
Our Purpose is Threefold:
- BridgeAbility equips young people with the skills, experience and opportunities to pave the way for an inclusive and compassionate future.
- Through activities ranging from hands-on experience, workshops and training, we support youth and corporate clients in their efforts to empower people of all abilities in the workplace.
- We educate and spotlight people with disabilities through our visibility strategy to normalize the inclusion of people of all abilities in the workplace and beyond. We, at Youth Culture, believe in a corporate world and society that embodies and prioritizes our core values of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
In the Workplace Video Series
“In The Workplace” is a video series hosted by Julia, dedicated to promoting inclusion and providing practical tips for individuals of all abilities in various workplace settings.
Click here for the BridgeAbility – In The Workplace YouTube Playlist.
Youth Culture Inc. Interviews
Youth Culture is inclusive in amplifying youth voice and engages all young people in industry, and innovation, through meaningful conversation.
Partnership with ODEN
Youth Culture Inc. is proud to collaborate with the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN). ODEN is a province-wide organization that brings together businesses and Employment Service Providers to increase employment opportunities for job seekers who have a disability. Find out more about their services, information and resources on ODEN’s website.
LEGO Program for Kids and Youth
In collaboration with FIRST Robotics Canada and supported by the CanCode program, Youth Culture Inc. developed a unique program to teach coding and robotics to kids and youth with disabilities. The teaching materials and curriculum were developed and tailored to fit the needs of our students with Down syndrome, autism, and other disabilities. Our ultimate goals for this program extends beyond the teaching of coding and robotics skills, but also paves the way for possible new employment opportunities for youth with disabilities who may be future facilitators and support roles for the program.
FIRST Tech Challenge Simulator
In partnership with FIRST Robotics Canada, Youth Culture Inc. created FTC SIM video tutorials co-hosted by YC’s Tanish Lad and Kosta Pachneris. This pilot program was critical for learning how individuals with Cerebral palsy use the program and provided us the opportunity to consider related employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the future of work.
Click here to view the entire FIRST Robotics FTC SIM tutorial playlist.
Workshops
Youth Culture Inc. provides workshops, training and opportunities to youth and corporate clients for skills development, inclusive leadership, and accessibility and inclusion.
Comments and Feedback about the Workshops:
“The team recognized the opportunity of exercising allyship and in doing more of this and learning more about it”
“Dominant speakers should take a step back at times and let others have a chance to speak.”
“We realized a need to be vulnerable and actively look for traps/identify biases.”
“There was demonstrated high engagement of supporting others who need our voices.”
Visibility Strategy
Visibility is key to Youth Culture Inc.’s role in revolutionizing discussions about equity, diversity and inclusion to focus on those with disabilities and how to prioritize their voices both inside and outside of the workplace. The goals of our visibility strategy surround the destigmatization of disability in both in-person and virtual settings, including live events, videoconferencing sessions, and social media.
We strive to:
- Include voices of people of all abilities when developing our short and long-term strategy
- Create new employment opportunities in the future economy
- Feature role models and team members with PwD in our communications and throughout programming and events
- Share relevant and important content on accessibility and inclusion (AODA, best practices)
- Post about the work and achievements of our employees, partners and volunteers with disabilities