Youth Empowered Speakers Program
First Peoples’ Cultural Council would like to share that our Youth Empowered Speakers (YES) Program is open for applications.
The Youth Empowered Speakers (YES) Program is for post-secondary students between 18 and 35 who are interested in learning their language while working towards a rewarding career in one of our three streams. Youth must be able to provide proof of acceptance in a post- secondary institution by June 26, 2026.
The YES program provides training and paid work internships to pursue your career in addition to Mentor-Apprentice Program (MAP) language learning. The goal of the program is for Youth to learn their language while preparing for a career in language revitalization in one of three streams:
- Early Childhood Immersion Educator Stream for ECE students alongside MAP hours and a paid internship
- Language Immersion Teacher Stream for BEd students alongside MAP hours and a paid internship
- Community Language Revitalizationist Stream for students in a degree/program (relevant to their career in language revitalization) alongside MAP hours and a paid internship
The total funding amount awarded per team is up to $32,320.
· Applicants have the option to do 100, 200, or 300 hours of Mentor-Apprentice language learning per year, up to $21,000 (includes Youth/Mentor honoraria plus presentation panels)
· Community Internship, paid through the community organization up to $10,120
· Additional Technology Stipend (one-time stipend may be granted as needed for recording devices, laptop, microphone, etc.) up to $1,200
The YES Program is for B.C. First Nations individuals learning one of the 36 First Nations languages of B.C. You do not need to be living in your community (on reserve) to be eligible to participate, but you must be living in B.C.
Register for the online info session!
Please review the recording here to help answer any questions you may have about the program, eligibility and how to apply. To support applicants, we are hosting an online info session on November 26, 2025, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm (PT) to share more about the program, how to apply and answer questions.
Register HERE !
Please visit the YES Program Page for more information on the program details, eligibility, and how to apply.
FPCC staff are happy to support you with your application. To request a one-on-one review of your draft application, please contact Beckie Wesley at yes@fpcc.ca before December 5th, 2025.
We would greatly appreciate your support and would appreciate it if you would share the program poster online or in your community space.
>>> Download Poster Here <<<