DESIRÉE DECOSTE

STAFF WRITER

Prince Edward County native Jasper Dailey spoke at a Picton Rotary meeting last month about his virtual experience at the annual Adventure in Citizenship program established by the Rotary Club of Ottawa.

The Adventure in Citizenship program, which was established in 1951, sends around 220 senior high school students from across Canada to spend four days in Ottawa however the event was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dailey was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Picton to attend the event.

Adventurers chosen to participate experience tours, lectures, discussions and social events designed to enhance their understanding and appreciation of Canadian citizenship. Public figures including former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, the Right Hon. Joe Clark, and the Hon. Ed Broadbent participated in the program as students.

“The former Prime Minister and Right Honorable Joe Clark was really cool to hear about,” Dailey expressed. “He was a previous adventurer himself and had me feeling very inspired being an adventurer. I feel very ready for tackling the world now than before this event.”

This annual event provides a unique opportunity for a selected group of young Canadians to come together to gain a better understanding of our country. Through meetings with political leaders, senior officials and others, the students learn a great deal about the workings of our democratic institutions. Through meeting one another and having discussions among themselves, they learn to appreciate the diversity of Canada and the privileges and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship.

“We (Adventurers) made a discord server,” Dailey stated. “What discord is, it was originally used as a video game platform to talk with your friends but its gone off to a place where likeminded people can make connections, we can network and at its peak we had about 80 of the adventurers in the group and we were all talking together.”

Through the four days Adventurers held a mock election for the programs Prime Minister, discussions with the speaker and staff members of the House of Commons and tour the Parliament Buildings, discuss the importance of social engagement, attend a special sitting of the Citizenship Court and much more.

For more information on the Adventurer in Citizenship program please visit https://rotaryottawa.com/page/welcome-to-the-rotary-adventure-in-citizenship-program

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