This is the moment you have been waiting for! Do you want to travel to Ottawa for the experience of a lifetime, meet new friends from across Canada, improve your leadership qualities, try new activities, become a Youth Ambassador for healthy active living?

The Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability (ALA) will bring 50 young people from across Canada to Ottawa for the experience of a lifetime. This program is a partnership between ALA and the YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada program which is funded, in part by the Department of Canadian Heritage. The eighth annual ALA Youth Exchange will be held in Ottawa at Carleton University from June 27th to July 3rd, 2008.

The Youth Exchange is a celebration of the diversity of disability and Canadian culture. It exposes participants to a wide variety of active living opportunities, provides a cultural experience through interaction with people from across Canada, and inspires and enhances personal leadership qualities. Participants of the Exchange will have the opportunity to learn about community involvement and the advocacy process.

ALACD encourages young Canadians between the ages of 14 and 17 as of June 1st, 2008, to apply before the February 1st, 2008 deadline. Space is limited! You can register online from the "APPLY" link on our webpage or by clicking the following link: application page.

The cost to participate is $500 per selected participant which includes all activity fees. Travel, accommodation, meals, attendant care services (if required) will be provided by the YMCA. The Alliance is dedicated to an inclusive environment and if needed, the Alliance will help you with your fundraising efforts. For more information about costs and fundraising, click here.

Delegates will interact with their peers from coast to coast, learn communication and advocacy skills and participate in events with an "active living" flavour. Activities of previous Exchanges included rock climbing, table tennis, sledge hockey sailing, visits to Parliament Hill, sight seeing and tubing on the Rideau River.

Since 2000 the Exchange has been a huge success and garnered rave reviews from participants. Kristen Barnes, a delegate from the 2004 Exchange writes of the experience "For myself, I have a visual impairment and still do things that I sometimes never expected I'd ever be able to do or accomplish, but seeing the other 49 delegates this week showed me just how much of a future could be out there for anyone with or without a disability."

That confidence is enhanced by educational sessions focusing on communication, goal setting and advocacy. Using a newly developed "Ambassador Advocacy and Speaker's Kit", delegates will learn how to seek opportunities in their home communities and to encourage inclusive, active communities.

This event would not be possible without committed volunteers. Youth Group Volunteers are currently being recruited. The application deadline for Group Volunteers is January 31st, 2008. For more information, please visit: link to volunteer page.

For more information on the 2008 Youth Exchange or the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability, contact Nadia Smith at 1-800-771-0663 xt.23 or TTY 1-866-771-0663, email at nadia@ala.ca, or log on at http://www.youthambassadors.ca/ye08/index.html.

The ALACD is a national, non-profit organization formed in 1989. It has 20 national partners and works in every province and territory to promote healthy and active living for Canadians with disabilities.