Second Annual YES Network Youth Leadership Forum

REGINA, Oct. 20 /CNW/ - Co-operators Life Insurance Company today hosted a full-day sustainability forum for 80 students from seven local high schools to kick off its 2010-2011 Youth Engagement in Sustainability (YES) program. This is the second annual YES Network Youth Leadership Forum, with more than twice as many participants as there were at last year's inaugural forum.

YES is a unique initiative spearheaded and sponsored by The Co-operators. The International Centre of Sustainable Cities was enlisted to help develop the program in 2009. YES engages and empowers adolescents in making their schools, homes, and communities more sustainable places to live, work and play. The full-day youth leadership forum is designed to equip students with the necessary information and tools for tackling sustainability projects. Forum workshop topics this year included project management, applying for grants, researching, dealing with government and media, and leadership development.

"The passion that young people have for creating a greener, healthier planet is really quite inspiring," said Kevin Daniel, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Co-operators Life. "By providing a program like this, we are seeking to harness that energy and provide them with tools they can use to bring about positive change in the years and decades ahead."

The 2010 YES Network Youth Leadership Forum featured an open discussion of sustainability facilitated by David Noble, founder and principal of 2degreesC, a climate change organization. The prominent environmental activist who has previously worked with Al Gore and given youth engagement talks around North America also presented on youth and their crucial role in addressing the issue of climate change.

For more information on the YES Network, visit: http://www.yesnetwork.ca.

About The Co-operators:
Co-operators Life Insurance Company, with its head office in Regina, is a part of The Co-operators—a group of Canadian companies offering home, auto, life, group, travel, commercial and farm insurance, as well as investment products. The Co-operators Group Limited is a 100 per cent Canadian-owned co-operative with assets of more than CDN $7 billion. It is owned by a group of Canadian co-operatives, credit union centrals and like-minded organizations. The Co-operators is well known for its community involvement, and is listed among the 50 Best Employers in Canada.

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