Black Child and Youth Wellbeing Conference

Canada’s Black population is growing, reaching 1.5 million in 2020 with 26.6% being children <15 years. Black children and youth in Canada experience poor physical and mental health. This encompasses poor social outcomes, engagement with the child welfare and criminal justice systems, and poverty. Anti-Black racism contributes to these outcomes. A landmark United Nations report identified the impact of anti-Black racism on Black communities and recommended participatory approaches with communities to address their needs. The Transforming the Lives of Black Children and Youth project seeks to build the capacity of trainees, engage Black communities, and mobilize knowledge towards fruitful actions to improve the health and well-being of Black children and youth. The participatory action research (PAR) approach adopted in the project invokes Black leadership and participation for research with, not on Black people. This strengths-based approach capitalizes on the agency of Black people as effective actors in improving their own lives. Training of Black youths will further capitalize on their agency as effective actors and also build the capacity of the next generation of researchers, scholars, and practitioners. Knowledge co-creation by Black people will develop strategies to support significant, long-lasting changes throughout the lives of Black children and youth, in particular, and Black people in general.