Recruitment is open for the 2024 Rural Change Makers program

May 02, 2024

The 2024 Rural Change Makers program seeks applicants from engaged young leaders aged 18-35 in rural and northern Ontario.

By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Image via Rural Ontario Institute

The Rural Ontario Institute (ROI) has opened its recruitment for the 2024 Rural Change Makers (RCM) program.

The ROI is a non-profit organization committed to developing leaders, informing decision-makers, and connecting communities. It delivers the renowned Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP), which is entering its 40th year of operation, and the Rural Change Maker program, a youth leadership initiative for young rural, emerging leaders to address local priorities.

The ROI provides data research and analysis on rural trends and demographics. It is currently engaged in a rural housing initiative that will help communities address the housing and homelessness crises being faced by thousands of Canadians.

The 2024 Rural Change program is supported by its regional partners: Opiikapawiin Services LP (OSLP), which represents a collective of 24 First Nations from Northwestern Ontario; Community Futures Huron; Haliburton-Minden Hills community collective, including 20 businesses, leaders, organizations, farmers, and educators; TRENVAL Business Development Corporation; Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation; Renfrew County Economic Development; and the Four County Labour Market Planning Board.

The Rural Change Maker program welcomes applications from engaged young leaders aged 18–35 in rural and northern Ontario eager to become the next faces of change and mobilize action around issues important to their communities.

“It will be exciting to see our youth from Wataynikaneyap partner communities advance their skills, knowledge, and gifts through leadership roles and community projects. The path they choose on their shared leadership journey will help build positive outcomes for the future,” stated Laura Calmwind, Training Program Manager of OSLP.

“The Four County Labour Market Planning Board is proud to support the Change Makers Program as a partner for 024–25. It is important in retaining our youth in the region to engage with them and to build meaningful relationships with their communities,” explained Dana Soucie, Executive Director of the Four County Labour Market Planning Board. “The Change Makers program has proven to be very successful with their excellent hands-on, grassroots approach to educating future leaders. We are so excited for this year's applicants!”

Amber Darling of the TRENVAL Business Development Corporation added, “Trenval Community Futures is proud to bring the Rural Change Makers Program to the Bay of Quinte Area. This program is a springboard for young changemakers to ignite their passions, cultivate leadership skills, and amplify their voices as they embrace challenges that will shape communities in the future.”

Commented Paul Nichol, General Manager, CF Huron, “This is a very strong curriculum that takes youth out of the classroom and gives them hands-on experience in community economic development and leadership. The program provides essential tools for rural changemakers to move their ideas forward.”

Applications for the 2024 RCM program opened on May 1, 2024, and will close on July 1, 2024, with the selection process commencing in August 2024, when up to 36 motivated young adults will be selected to join the experience. These leaders will participate in a series of developmental training sessions, come together for experiential gatherings, complete self-assessments, form planning committees for local activities, and lead entrepreneurial or community initiatives.

Noted Patti Tallman, Executive Director of Haliburton County Development Corporation, “Within the priorities of the Haliburton County Development Corporation, we work on the development of initiatives that will increase the number of youth involved in studies in Haliburton County. HCDC will share knowledge, guidance, and collective resources to support youth involved in the Rural Change Maker program alongside our community partners.”

In a joint statement, Cyndy Phillips, Executive Director, Renfrew County Community Futures, and Melissa Marquardt, Manager, County of Renfrew Economic Development Division, said: "Renfrew County Community Futures and the County of Renfrew Economic Development Division are pleased to partner to support the Rural Change Maker Program. Shaping emerging leaders to bring forth community development solutions is critical to the future of not only Renfrew County but to rural communities across Ontario."

Summing up, Melanie Bidiuk, ROI Communications Manager and RCM Program Coordinator, said: “Participants of ROI’s youth leadership programs do incredible things both in their communities and lives, with many past participants taking on leadership roles in local or provincial government, businesses, and local community organizations.

“Rural change makers are the leaders of tomorrow, and this initiative prepares them for those future challenges.”

Support for the Rural Change Makers program has been provided in part by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ontario Mutual Insurance Association, and RBC Future Launch.

For more information on the RCM program and how to apply, visit www.ruralontarioinstitute.ca/changemakers.

Video: The Investment Opportunities of Industrial Hemp

The fledgling U.S. hemp industry is decades behind countries like Canada, France and China, but according to impact investor and this week’s podcast guest, Pierre Berard, it could flourish into a $2.2 billion industry by 2030 and create thousands of jobs.

To reach its potential, what the hemp industry needs most right now, Berard said, is capital investment.

Last month, Berard published a report titled “Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity — A Pioneering Venture for Investors and Corporations Driven by Environmental, Social and Financial Concerns” in which he lays out the case for investment.

It’s as if Berard, with this report, is waving a giant flag, trying to attract the eyes of investors, saying, “Look over here. Look at all this opportunity.”

Berard likens the burgeoning American hemp industry to a developing country.

“There is no capital. People don’t want to finance. This is too risky. And I was like, OK, this sounds like something for me,” he said.

As an impact investor who manages funds specializing in agro-processing companies, Berard now has his sights set on the U.S. hemp industry, which he believes has great economic value as well as social and environmental benefits.

He spent many years developing investment in the agriculture infrastructure of developing countries in Latin America and Africa, and said the hemp industry feels similar.

“It is very nascent and it is a very fragmented sector. You have pioneers and trailblazers inventing or reinventing the field after 80 years of prohibition,” he said. “So I feel very familiar with this context.”

On this week’s hemp podcast, Berard talks about the report and the opportunities available to investors in the feed, fiber and food sectors of the hemp industry.

Building an industry around an agricultural commodity takes time, he said. According to the report, “The soybean industry took about 50 years to become firmly established, from the first USDA imports in 1898 to the U.S. being the top worldwide producer in the 1950s.”

Berard has a plan to accelerate the growth of the hemp industry and sees a four-pillar approach to attract investment.

First, he said, the foundation of the industry is the relationship between farmers and processors at the local level.

Second, he said the industry needs what he calls a “federating body” that will represent it, foster markets and innovations, and reduce risk for its members and investors.

The third pillar is “collaboration with corporations that aim to secure or diversify their supply chains with sustainable products and enhance their ESG credentials. This will be key to funding the industry and creating markets,” he said.

The fourth pillar is investment. Lots of it. Over $1.6 billion over seven years. This money will come from government, corporations, individual investors, and philanthropic donors.

The 75-page report goes into detail about the hemp industry, its environmental and social impact, and the opportunities available to investors.

Read the report here: Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity

Also on this episode, we check in with hemp and bison farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, PA, where he grew 50 acres of hemp grain. We’ll hear about harvest and dry down and crushing the seed for oil and cake.