Cayla Karls, 21, recently joined 150 students from across Canada in Quebec's Laurentian Mountains for the National Friendship Revolution Retreat. The event brought together participants ages 15-25 to connect and learn about leadership and disability inclusion.
Karls, an occupational therapy student at the University of Montreal and volunteers at Friendship circle, discovered the event through Friendship Circle's Instagram account. She relished spending the weekend with the group, noting, "It was ideal for forming future community leaders and creating lasting friendships with people who want to do good."
Kayla Karls, right, with Elise Golbert
The event hosted world-renowned speaker Rabbi YY Jacobson, as well as other distinguished guests including Ysabella Hazan, Lee Haberkorn, Steven Abadi, and DJ Adam Greenberg.
The weekend brought together students from all over Canada, including Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. The theme of the weekend was leadership and inclusion, and participants had the opportunity to learn from some of the top leaders and educators in the field.
Rabbi YY Jacobson, a celebrated speaker and teacher, gave several keynotes throughout the weekend. His talks focused on Love Relationships, Leadership & communication addiction and trauma. He also touched on the qualities of great leaders and how we can develop these skills within ourselves. Watch here
Ysabella Hazan, a prominent social entrepreneur and founder of the non-profit organization Decolonized Judean "To Be You," spoke about her experiences working with marginalized communities and the importance of empathy and understanding in creating more inclusive environments.
Haberkorn, an entrepreneur and Montreal Media icon on Virgin Radio, led a workshop on Creative Leadership and teamwork.
Attendees also heard from Montreal's Steven Abadi, who conducted a workshop sharing his experiences growing up with autism, his journey into music therapy, and overcoming stigma as an adult. Abadi has been involved with Friendship Circle since age eight and found the opportunity to connect with youths from across the country to promote inclusion irresistible. Watch here
Abadi hopes attendees will take small steps in their communities to foster inclusion, such as checking in on friends or inviting someone from another table to join theirs. "The stigma around people with disabilities still exists, and I think this weekend gave people an opportunity to open up and discuss this topic in a really deep and meaningful way."
In addition to the intellectual, the weekend also included lots of fun activities such as skiing, ice skating, and other outdoor activities. There was also a dance party and music performance by Steven Abadi and DJ Adam Greenberg. These activities provided a great opportunity for participants to bond and create lasting friendships.
Friendship Circle of Montreal's Rabbi Refael Paris and Chana Paris organized the first-of-its-kind national event. Rabbi Refael Paris hopes students left feeling invigorated, inspired, and eager to share the message of friendship and inclusion in their hometowns. He aimed to unite attendees and encourage them to put aside differences.
Danielle on the right
Danielle Shaposhnikov, 20, a University of Alberta student from Edmonton, traveled over five hours to attend the event. She called the experience "amazing" and appreciated meeting like-minded individuals committed to making the world a better place. Shaposhnikov learned about opportunities to engage with Friendship Circle.
She found the weekend to be the perfect recharge for the rest of the semester and returned home with a broader community of individuals with similar values. "I feel like I made a really lasting friend group, an amazing group of people who were kind-hearted and hard-working."
"This project has been made possible in part by the government of Canada, and we are grateful for their support," said Refael Paris. "We would also like to extend our thanks to Pajar Canada for providing us with awesome swag, Waff world gifts for the notepads, and Fleuriste Main Florist for the beautiful flower arrangements that added a special touch to the weekend. Thank you to everyone who made this event possible and to all the participants who made it a memorable experience.”
Canadian National Friendship Revolution Retreat - Highlights
