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YOUTH CONTRIBUTIONS
Volunteer Accomplishments
Chen Chen
Longtime ALPHA volunteer Chen Chen was honoured by CPAC, formerly the Chinese Professional Association of Canada, as its 2022 Young Achiever Award recipient. In her capacity as former vice president of McMaster University’s ALPHA student chapter, Chen led an enthusiastic group of volunteers who raised awareness of atrocities committed in WWII in Asia. She spearheaded important conversations about war crimes and injustices, biological warfare, and individual and state responsibilities.
Chen is an inspiring example of what we can do today about the injustices of the past. Congratulations Chen!
Positive Activism - Building Bridges
Alissa Wang
Alissa is a young leader whose passion for researching the atrocities of WWII in Asia led her to become a global ambassador for knowledge and dialogue. Alissa’s journey is informed by early experiences as a research intern with ALPHA, travelling to Washington and Harbin to receive mentorship abroad and gain field-specific expertise on biological warfare experimentation. We have seen her become a young spokesperson on historical injustices on the world stage, and Alissa continues to build connections between places of study worldwide in pursuit of a vision of peace and humanity.
Leadership with ALPHA Education
Melissa Chan
By contributing as a volunteer on a number of projects, Melissa brought creativity and value-added insights to our History Meets Humanity student conference and research work. In turn, they deepen her understanding of the impact of history on contemporary issues and enhance her leadership acumen. Specializing in international development in her undergraduate studies, it has expanded to include a passion for education. She also brought laughter to our workplace.
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Creativity Project
Anna Asgaraly
With its growing influence, it was time for ALPHA Education to refresh its website. Anna was the successful applicant to our Canada Summer Job 2019 internship. With her technical and creative expertise as a designer, Anna was central to the ALPHA Education amazing website. Working in a reciprocal collaborative relationship with ALPHA staff, the experiences contributed to Anna gaining invaluable employment competencies that employers seek. Anna is remembered also for her love for yummy ice-cream!
Featured Social Change Project
Title: Voices of the 'Comfort Women' (CW) Movement - an Interview Anthology
The "Voices of the CW Movement" project started as an idea to put human voices and multidisciplinary perspectives at the forefront in teaching about the history and implications of military sexual slavery (or what is commonly known as the 'comfort women' issue). From 2017 onwards, youth-led interviews were conducted with artists, academics, and advocates who had expertise on the CW issue, in order to unearth these very perspectives. Empowerment from ALPHA Education came in the form of establishing these connections, helping youth think about the questions they would like to ask, and providing support and guidance at various steps along the way.
ALPHA Youth Council
ALPHA Youth Council (AYC) is independent from ALPHA Education, and composed of youths and young professionals between the ages of 14 and 30 years old. The Advisory Youth Council contributes to sustaining the impact of ALPHA Education's four strategic directions.
Vision
AYC members become youth ambassadors through the discourse of humanity education.
Mission
AYC members provide a safe and trusting platform where young people can feel respected, give voice, become engaged in the community, take positive actions and be nurtured to become future leaders of ALPHA Education.