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Katimavik, which means meeting place in the Inuktituk language, was born from the vision of a humanist, Mr. Jacques Hébert, with the help of his friend Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister at the time.
Right from the beginning, Katimavik offered youth the possibility to engage in volunteer service. Its founder wanted to give young Canadians from all walks of life the chance to discover their country, live in a group and be involved in communities. Learning Canada’s official languages and protecting the environment have always been an integral part of the program.
Through Katimavik, Hébert hoped to foster intercultural exchanges, give hope to youth with limited opportunities and raise their awareness of all the country’s realities. What motivated Hébert most of all in the early days of the program was young people’s need to communicate and get to know each other.
1977, Katimavik was created:
- The program’s goal was to educate Canadian youth through community involvement.
- That year, nearly 1,000 participants worked on projects in more than 80 communities.
Until 1986, Katimavik gave 15,000 participants the opportunity:
- To discover different regions of Canada
- To experience a rewarding personal journey
- To acquire a variety of skills
- To flourish physically and intellectually
From 1986 to 1994:
- 1986: the organization’s entire budget was cut
- Senator Hébert went on hunger strike for 21 days to protest the decision to cut Katimavik’s budget
- Katimavik survived as an outdoor recreational and training centre in Île Perrôt, Quebec
In 1994, Katimavik was reborn:
- Youth Service Canada and Katimavik formed projects in 6 communities and 66 participants from Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick joined.
Katimavik today:
- Nearly 1,000 young adults do volunteer work each year with over 900 non profit organizations in more than 100 communities across Canada.
- Since 1999, Katimavik has received financial support from the federal government through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
- In 2006-2007, Katimavik participants contributed the equivalent of 743,997 volunteer work hours. The total value of these volunteer hours is estimated at $11,630,000 in economic return for partner organizations of participating community.
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