The Samara Centre’s Director of Research and Policy, Beatrice Wayne was a panelist on the CBC’s Speechless: Where Do We Go From Here, a program about how we can better support young people’s engagement in productive civic discourse, on and off campus. 

Drawing on Samara Centre research, Beatrice emphasized the need to teach young people how to participate in democracy with the same rigor as other subjects and to empower them with the ability to find common understanding across differences. She also pointed to the importance of digital platform regulation to address how online spaces can amplify conflict, shape perceptions of dissent, and fuel polarization. Finally, she called for investment in our civic infrastructure through initiatives like the Canadian Democracy Endowment. 

Watch the full discussion.