Community Changemaker is empowering Sudbury's youth to redefine success

Kamilah Francis wants young people in the Greater Sudbury area to define what success means to them.

Recently, Francis was named a Community Changemaker for 2023 by Ontario Community Changemakers, supported by 8 80 Cities. 

Ontario Community Changemakers is a leadership and micro-grant program for young Ontario residents to help spark new ideas and invigorate change in their local communities. 

Through this award, Francis is the recipient of a $5,000 micro-grant and leadership development training. 

In its third year, the program supports leaders from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to deliver their own creative projects that will activate public space, enhance civic engagement, and/or foster social inclusion.

"I've always done work in the community, so don't really do it for the name, but it's kind of cool to be the one in Northern Ontario to receive the award," Francis, who is behind the group Future North said. 

Future North is a five year project dedicated to improving available resources and employment opportunities for youth and young adults in the District of Sudbury and Manitoulin.

Her changemaker pitch focused on helping youth individuals create their own definition of what it means to be successful. 

"What we want to do is have young people think about success in a different way."

She said a lot of people think success is tied to having a certain dollar amount attached to their name or having a certain status of fame. 

"But for some people, being successful is just having a stable job and being able to cover all of their bills and have a little bit of extra for some leisurely activities and time." 

Through her changemaker project, Francis wants young people to understand that they can be successful in their own right and make it achievable based on how they define it.

"There's so many pivots that happen [in life] that it never necessarily always works out the way exactly we think it will."

Francis, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Behavioural Neuroscience, added, "It all does end up coming around and being great in the end."