Time & Location

Applications for 2022 cohort is now closed

About the Program:

Provides girls ages 8-14 with the opportunity to build and expand their leadership capacity.

Program details

• Sessions running October 2020-August 2021

• All sessions delivered virtually

• Sessions run weekly on Saturday at 10:00 - 11:30 am

• Program runs at no cost to participants 

Program Description

#LeadLikeAGirl program is an 11-month program geared towards girls’ ages 8-17 currently residing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Designed to build leadership, confidence and self-efficacy skills, this unique program will provide the girls with meaningful learning experiences that will enhance their knowledge on climate justice, expose them to non-traditional sports, and provide them with Introductory French training.

Mentorship opportunities with female leaders from across a variety of industries will provide them with exposure to non-traditional careers in STEM, gaming, public affairs, business and the climate sectors among many others.

Girls will also get the opportunity to build relationships with their peers and develop their teamwork, communication and collaboration skills as they work together on a major project to solve climate issues within their local communities.

Program Description

#LeadLikeAGirl program is an 11-month program geared towards girls’ ages 8-17 currently residing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). 

Designed to build leadership, confidence and self-efficacy skills, this unique program will provide the girls with meaningful learning experiences that will enhance their knowledge on climate justice, expose them to non-traditional sports, and provide them with Introductory French training. 

Mentorship opportunities with female leaders from across a variety of industries will provide them with exposure to non-traditional careers in STEM, gaming, public affairs, business and the climate sectors among many others.

 Girls will also get the opportunity to build relationships with their peers and develop their teamwork, communication and collaboration skills as they work together on a major project to solve climate issues within their local communities.

Applications are now closed for the 2021 program cohort.

2021 program cohort announcement coming soon

Program details

• Year long program with 6 months of module delivery and 6 month career trajectory internships for eligible participants. 

• Suitable for individuals interested in Global Diplomacy and who self-identify as Black/African/Caribbean.

• All sessions delivered virtually

• 2021 program start date: March 19

• 6 hours of program delivery per week.

• Program runs at no cost to participants

Program Description

The Mandate of the Academy:

The Black Diplomats Academy (BDA), formally launched in 2021, following successful piloting in 2019, focuses on providing Black youth and young professionals 14-35 years old with access to specialized training and experiential learning opportunities to prepare them for a career in international diplomacy and the broader public service.

Key indicators of the impact of this program includes, sending four young women to the United Nations headquarters in New York City in 2019 to be professional trained in world politics and negotiations; in 2020,  at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we maintained our consistent program offering by sending sixteen high school students to virtual Model United Nations and in 2021, launching the Black Diplomats Academy, where 25 undergraduate and graduate students moved through the three pronged complementary program. All three opportunities to engage with policy determining decision makers, were the first in-depth experiences for program participants.

The deep-rooted discrimination and systematic anti-Black racism experienced by Canadians of African descent have led many members of Black communities to be left out of the domestic and international decision-making institutions that Canada participates in. It is for this reason that the BDA positions our priorities based on the Global Sustainable Development Goals agenda. Our scope of practice aligns with goals: #4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16 and 17. Further, with the adoption of the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, the Academy seeks to further define our impact with an emphasis on partnerships to achieve the Goals and the express delivery of Black communities’ equity-based foreign and domestic policy agenda.

In line with the modalities of the Permanent Forum, we have identified key directives within which the Academy is able to foster productive, intentional and systemic changemaking on the behalf of people of African descent here in Canada and globally. Priorities for the Academy include:

Program Description

The Mandate of the Academy:

The Black Diplomats Academy (BDA), formally launched in 2021, following successful piloting in 2019, focuses on providing Black youth and young professionals 14-35 years old with access to specialized training and experiential learning opportunities to prepare them for a career in international diplomacy and the broader public service.  

Key indicators of the impact of this program includes, sending four young women to the United Nations headquarters in New York City in 2019 to be professional trained in world politics and negotiations; in 2020,  at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we maintained our consistent program offering by sending sixteen high school students to virtual Model United Nations and in 2021, launching the Black Diplomats Academy, where 25 undergraduate and graduate students moved through the three pronged complementary program. All three opportunities to engage with policy determining decision makers, were the first in-depth experiences for program participants.

The deep-rooted discrimination and systematic anti-Black racism experienced by Canadians of African descent have led many members of Black communities to be left out of the domestic and international decision-making institutions that Canada participates in. It is for this reason that the BDA positions our priorities based on the Global Sustainable Development Goals agenda. Our scope of practice aligns with goals: #4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16 and 17. Further, with the adoption of the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, the Academy seeks to further define our impact with an emphasis on partnerships to achieve the Goals and the express delivery of Black communities’ equity-based foreign and domestic policy agenda.

In line with the modalities of the Permanent Forum, we have identified key directives within which the Academy is able to foster productive, intentional and systemic changemaking on the behalf of people of African descent here in Canada and globally. Priorities for the Academy include:

Time & Location

Applications for 2022 cohort is now closed

Course Objectives:

• Introduce BIPOC youth to basic cybersecurity principles in the most fun and engaging way possible

• Students will learn about personal cybersecurity and how those same principles are applied at the business level by cybersecurity professionals

• Students will be introduced to the realm of cybersecurity professions and explore how to enter the cybersecurity fields through education and employment

1. Cybersecurity Intro

• Introduce students to the basic (non-technical) concepts of cybersecurity through “shock and awe”

2. Protect v1.0

• Ensure students understand the concept of PI and its value to data aggregators and hackers/scammers

• Ensure students are aware of the purpose of privacy policies and the key words to look for when reading them in order to protect their PI in their daily lives

3. Protect v2.0

• Empower students with the ability to spot attempts to steal their PI and the tools to prevent it

4. Protect v3.0 (like a Pro)

• Provide students with the know-how to secure their devices and networks at home

• Demonstrate the link and similarities between securing a home device/network and a business network

5. Detect v1.0 (intro)

• Ensure students are able to detect when their PII has been compromised and know what to do about it

6. Detect v2.0 (like a Pro)

• Demonstrate to students the links between detecting a personal breach and detecting a breach at the company level

7. Respond v1.0

• Ensure students know what to do if their PI has been compromised to ensure that no further harm can occur

• Demonstrate to students what it means when a company informs them of a data breach

• Show students what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ from the time a breach is detected to the time it is reported in the news

8. Social Media, Gaming, Apps, Ed, etc.

• Demonstrate the risks and tradeoffs involved when online ‘for fun’

• Ensure students know when their PI is being taken (even with their permission) and what meaningfully consent includes

• Ensure students know the best practices for online banking, shopping and other financial transactions to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of a scam

9. How to talk like a Cybersecurity Expert

• Will utilize Kahoot (or similar) to gamify

• Introduce students to the very basic technical aspects of life as a cybersecurity expert

10. Cybersecurity as a Career

• Empower students to explore the various career and education pathways to becoming a cybersecurity expert

• Ensure students know how to begin investigating  cybersecurity as a career