TORONTO, ONTARIO, May 23^rd, 2019 – Youth Fusion is pleased to announced the success of the first ever Ontario installment of the Future Education Festival, on May 23^rd and 24^th, at the brilliantly captivating Evergreen Brick Works and the glitzy Yonge-Dundas Cineplex Cinemas.

The job-creating organisation welcomed approximately 700 students ranging in age from 12 to 18 years old, from dozens of schools across the province, to join fellow students in a celebration of their finished work in Youth Fusion’s experiential learning projects aimed at developing employment readiness and 21^st century global competencies, including Cinema, Media Production, Environmental Design, Video Game Design and Robotics. This event is a Torontonian take on the flagship, Montreal event, which is preparing for their latest installment this coming week.

The festival brought together industry partners, professional mentors, and post-secondary institutions to support the youth, to encourage them to pursue potential training and employment opportunities they otherwise might not have been able to access. Representatives included partnered post-secondary institutions: OCAD University, Durham College, Ontario Tech University, Carleton University, and Confederation College, and l’Université Saint Paul.

Guest speakers included Cam Collyer, Executive Director of Evergreen Brick Works, Heather Steele, Director of Communications for Ubisoft Toronto, Ontario’s largest game development studio, and representatives from RBC. Judges for the Youth Fusion awards include representatives from the National Film Board of Canada, DOC, TFO, and the Conservation Authority. Also joining in the festivities were representatives of major partners including award sponsorship by Landscape Ontario, The City of Toronto and partnering sponsors PWC, the Counselling Foundation, and the Azrieli Foundation.

Fast Facts

• Youth Fusion operates in 25 schools, province wide, ranging from grades 1 to 12
• Youth Fusion was listed as one of the top 100 Canadian charities by Macleans in 2018 and 2019
• Youth Fusion is nationally celebrating their tenth year working and partnering with Indigenous communities across Québec and Ontario
• Follow the company on Instagram @fusion_jeunesse and the Toronto festival @future.ed.festival

 About Youth Fusion

Youth Fusion is a bilingual, job-creating charity that contributes to school perseverance, employability and civic engagement of targeted youth by developing innovative experiential learning projects that create ongoing links between school systems and the community. Every week, we work with over 13,000 young people in over 200 schools in rural, urban and Indigenous communities, including 4700 youth in 23 Inuit and First Nations communities.

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Contact Information

Kathleen Hemsworth

Youth Fusion/Fusion Jeunesse

Ontario Communications and Event Manager

E: khemsworth@youthfusion.org

T : 416-453-2209