Steve Amarualik Youth Leadership Program

Supported by the Arctic Watch Beluga Foundation

Arctic Watch Youth Leadership Program

Program: Arctic Watch 2012 Youth Leadership Week
Participants: Young adults 14 to 19 years of age
Dates: July 27 to August 3rd, 2012
Cost: $5,900 from Yellowknife, NT, Canada

After more than 20 years of organizing Arctic trips and polar expeditions as well as 10 years of operating a wilderness eco-lodge on Somerset Island, in Nunavut, the Arctic Watch team, composed of Richard Weber, Josée Auclair and a select group of experienced guides, will organize the first Arctic Watch Youth Leadership Program to be held in the summer of 2012.

This program is dedicated to the memory of Steve Amarualik. Steve was a fourteen-year-old Inuk from Resolute Bay who came to work at Arctic Watch. Steve worked with us at Arctic Watch for five years and, during that time, he blossomed into an intelligent, athletic young man who loved life and speed. He became a member of the family—and his loss was deeply felt by the entire Arctic Watch team. As Steve truly embodies the goals and expectations of the youth program, it has been named in his honour and memory. Steve serves as a reminder to the participants of the qualities that the program helps them develop. With Steve Amarualik as a role model for the goals of the program—someone to whom Inuit youth can relate—we hope that his example will also help young people in Resolute Bay develop the life skills they need to deal with the challenges of life as an Aboriginal youth in the Canadian Arctic and build the kind of lasting relationships that will provide them confidence and enhanced self-esteem.

The Arctic under the midnight sun is an inhospitable and fragile environment, filled with natural treasures and rich in history of indigenous people and European explorers. This land changes people. Season after season, young adults come back from their Arctic trips changed, more mature and confident, often having discovered new passions and developed personal objectives and future challenges.

This program will include not only backpacking, kayaking, rafting, exploring, participating in scientific research, looking at the effects of climate change and guiding but also a leadership-building curriculum designed to challenge the team and strengthen individuals. The program leader is a professional in the field of youth outdoor education.

Inuit youth from Nunavut will also be involved in the program. Inuit are the residents of Nunavut who deal with the land and elements of the Arctic on a daily basis. Their participation will enhance the program and greatly benefit all participants.

The seven-day stay, in the base camp and in the field, is designed to bring out the best in each participant, allow them to gain a better knowledge of themselves and encourage them to grow in an environment where everything demands expertise, reflection and the courage to push their own limits.

Come Experience Arctic watch for yourself, we are now taking reservations for this years trips.