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OUR MISSION...
"To create a healthier future for Aboriginal Youth by being a voice, taking action, and making positive changes at a local and provincial level"
What is PAYC?
The Provincial Aboriginal Youth Council (PAYC) is a youth council made up of youth aged 14-24 who are involved with Friendship Centres across BC. PAYC comes together four times a year when they attend the BCAAFC quarterly meetings. The BCAAFC is the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, and they act to link all the friendship centres in BC. These meetings are an opportunity for PAYC members to voice their hopes and concerns on behalf of youth.
What does PAYC do?
PAYC strives to:
Represents youth voices at a provincial level
Act as a liaison between Friendship Centre youth councils, PAYC, and the BCAAFC Board of Directors.
Implement province-wide initiatives to benefit Aboriginal youth
Provide a network of communication in which youth can learn about other friendship centres, both provincially and nationally, and the Friendship centre movement as a whole.
Encourage and support BC Friendship Centres to develop strong local youth councils.
Provincial Aboriginal
Youth Council History
The Provincial Aboriginal Youth Council (PAYC) started in 2000 at a meeting in Vernon, BC of a dynamic and energetic group of Aboriginal youth. The purpose of the meeting was to find a way for youth to start actively participating in the Friendship Centre Movement. The next time PAYC met was in Vancouver in 2001, where the council started to develop their Terms of Reference. These Terms of Reference were brought forward to the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC) Board of Directors and passed in principle. Over the next couple meetings PAYC developed their Terms of Reference further, introducing the age group permitted, drug and alcohol policies, and guidelines for the election process.
In November 2001 PAYC received their first Urban Multi-purpose Aboriginal Youth Centre (UMAYC) slippage funding. PAYC used the slippage to build capacity, as they still do today. In February 2002, PAYC structured their first PAYC Executive Positions. At this time it was noted that PAYC only had one vote at the BCAAFC Board of Directors, and PAYC wanted to be more involved with board decisions. Furthermore, at this meeting PAYC decided on their logo and resolved to develop their own website.
The next time PAYC met was very significant and changed the structure of the BCAAFC Board of Directors. Not only did PAYC get 4 more votes at the board table, they turned their Executive positions to an Executive committee and the committee members held the votes at the Board of Directors table. Another topic at the meeting was holding another Youth Conference. Since the past two pervious conferences were a success they felt it was important to have another one.
Over time PAYC continued to strive, break barriers and support Aboriginal youth across BC within the Friendship Centre Movement. PAYC got major support and guidance from the BCAAFC Board of Directors, staff and elders. PAYC couldn't have come this far without its dedicated young members.
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LOCAL YOUTH COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
PAYC is made up of youth representatives from local youth councils at BC Friendship centres. These local youth councils play an important role in planning and organizing youth activities at their centres. Local youth councils also provide a way for youth to gain experience in volunteering, community work, and project development. To find out about how to start or run a local youth council, check out the links below. You can also read specific details about each of the Friendship Centre's local youth councils on this website. Search for each council using the interactive map on the right!
Who is PAYC? MEET THE BCAAFC-PAYC EXECUTIVE
The PAYC Executive Committee is a board of 5 youth who are elected every year at the AGM. The committee is made up of the BC Youth Representative and four other PAYC representatives. They vote on the BCAAFC Board of Directors and are responsible for speaking on behalf of PAYC at a provincial level. The 2009-2010 committee is made up of:
Ruth Cook
PAYC Elder
Andrea Landry
Tillicum Haus Native Friendship Centre
BC Youth Representative to AYC
Archibald Thompson
Port Alberni Friendship Centre
Elders’ Liaison
Megan Harms
Prince George Native Friendship Centre
UAYC Representative
Todd Alec
Prince George Native Friendship Centre
BCAAFC Executive
Samantha Cardinal
Tansi Friendship Centre Society
UAYC Representative
Downloads
Please feel free to download the following PDF(  .pdf) documents by clicking on them and saving to the appropiate location. Please note that some of the information located on this page in the following documents could be outdated, the documents below are simply for resources for your own communities and friendship centres
How Can I Join BCAAFC-PAYC?
How to Structure a Youth Council
Tips for Starting Your Own Youth Council
Fundraising Ideas
Getting Members, Keeping Members
(Please note that all documents listed above are in PDF format and require Adoeb Acrobat to view. Available at www.adobe.com )
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