Kids of Canada: UNICEF Canada wants to hear from you

Are you a young person living in Canada? One Youth is looking for children and young people to share their personal story, good or bad, on growing up in Canada and how it has affected their life. You are experts in your own lives, and can tell your story better than any adult can. Let us help elevate your voices and experiences and raise awareness about what young people in Canada are experiencing.

You can do this in 4 simple steps:

1. Take a selfie (landscape (long ways), not portrait orientation preferred!)
2. Tell us your story
3. Sign a photo release form (If you are under 18, your parent/guardian will also need to sign)
4. Submit it to atruesdell@unicef.ca

Our goal is to provide a platform for young people to have their voices heard, and help others understand what young Canadians are experiencing, and the challenges they face. These blogs should be easy to understand and meaningful. These guidelines were developed to help you with the writing process. 

Please check out the following guidelines before you start writing. UNICEF Canada’s One Youth team will review the blog before it is posted on our website. Heads up: we might make some small edits before the blog is posted. If a post needs improvement, we will return it to you with suggestions for your review.

Thank you for your interest in telling your story for Kids of Canada!

Tips for writing your blog

1. Your blog is about a story from your life: This blog can be either a personal experience or an experience that impacted you, positive or negative. Try to put yourself in the story and write in first person by using "I" statements. We encourage you to be yourself, find your own voice and share your story.
    
2. Your blog is easy to understand and informal: Pretend you are talking to your friend. This will make the blog easy to understand. Write in whatever way is most comfortable to you. Don’t worry about using elaborate words, writing an introduction and conclusion, and using perfect sentence structure. Feel free to use short paragraphs or bullet points to make the post easier to read.
    
3. Your blog post is the right length for you: Find the right length for your post. Whether that is 2 sentences, or 2 pages, whatever you need to tell your story works for us!

4. Your blog gives readers something to do: If it fits in with your blog, you can suggest that readers get involved by encouraging readers to take an action to improve child and youth well-being, or asking them to share your message or post on social media using the #KidsofCanada hashtag.

5. Your blog is respectful of others: Kids of Canada aims to create an environment where any young person feels comfortable, no matter their nationality, gender, cultural background, religion, or sexual orientation, so we ask that you keep this in mind when you are writing. Please make sure that your blog is not harmful to others and does not use inappropriate language. Never disrespect, offend, or attack anyone or anything in your blog.

Privacy is important to us: Never post or share personal or identifying information online. This includes your full name, address, telephone number, school name, parents’ names, credit card number, or social security number. Don’t write about other people without their permission. If you are comfortable doing so, please only share your first name and your age in your blog.

If you don’t want to include a photo with your story, don’t let it stop you from sharing. Alternatively, you can share a photo of yourself as a baby or young child, draw a picture, or take a photo of something that relates to your story. Please do not include photos that you do not have permission to use.

If you have further questions about this, please contact atruesdell@unicef.ca