Message From The IRC

Over the past six years I have watched and listened to the Inuvialuit youth who, through their personal discipline and commitment, have been chosen to participate in the Annual Youth Leadership Program provided through the efforts of Inuvialuit Development Corporation, the National Outdoor Leadership School and other corporate sponsors. These fortunate students have been given a unique opportunity to experience and gain a broad understanding of the term leadership and its practical application in business, in their community and in their individual lives. What does it mean to be a positive and effective leader in each of these areas, what does it take to achieve and maintain this status within both their traditional cultural environment and within the modern economic reality. It is often said that certain individuals are born to be great leaders. What is not so often repeated is that they do not get to be great leaders without formal or observed guidance from others who have gained experience and wisdom in their lives, without recognizing the need to gather a strong team of competent and faithful individuals to advance their vision, and without recognizing the need for and having the discipline to sacrifice their personal time and interests in fulfilling their leadership responsibilities.

While the Youth Leadership Program can offer but a glimpse of these and other attributes required of those who would advance to a leadership position, the program has and will continue to provide the youth of our communities with a valuable and practical introduction to both the challenges and rewards of the many and varied future opportunities that await them. As our students advance through this innovative program their growth as individuals and as a group gives me great hope for the future of our youth, the organizations they will lead in the years ahead and the communities in which they will raise their families.

Sincerely,

Nellie Cournoyea
Chair and CEO
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation