Welcoming Remzi Cej, a Choices for Youth board member
Choices for Youth (CFY) is pleased to introduce Remzi Cej (he/him) as a new member on our Board of Directors! Outside of Remzi's work with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills, Remzi is a proponent for advocation and serves many boards, and organizations.
Remzi is a former Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission, and a featured speaker for the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights’ Speak Truth To Power project on human rights awareness and education. He is also a recipient of the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award and a two-time recipient of the YMCA Human Rights Medallion. He has worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross; United Nations Association of Canada; and has volunteered in governance and advocacy roles at Amnesty International and War Child Canada.
In addition to sitting on the CFY's Board, Remzi has been a board member at QuadrangleNL, a support resource for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, as well as Equitas, an international human rights education organization.
In addition to English and French, Remzi speaks Albanian, Turkish, Serbian, Spanish, and German!
Getting to Know Remzi
Our team was able to connect with Remzi to learn what motivated him to join the CFY Board of Directors, and how he hopes to be a part of positive change in our community:
1. What makes our organization’s mission powerful to you?
It indiscriminately seeks to empower youth of diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds to recognize and achieve their full potential.
2. How do you think the board’s expectation matches with your expectations for yourself?
The work of the Board of Directors is intended to help the organization reach its potential, explore new directions, while meeting its long term goals. The diversity of strengths and abilities contributes to a wealth of ideas, perspectives that enrich the work of the organization. My personal mission has often revolved around challenging preconceived notions of what is possible to accomplish, in the face of or perhaps precisely because of adversity. I feel in some ways, the Board of Choices for Youth makes it possible for the organization to test those limits.
3. What does "success" mean to you in terms of your work as a board member?
1- Ensuring the organization has made considerations around key priorities of diversity and inclusion, especially for equity-seeking groups, including Indigenous, Black, Asian, Latino, and other racialized communities; as well as 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; persons of diverse abilities; and other members of equity seeking groups.
2- Learning continuously from others, and building my knowledge of promising practices to support resilient youth.
4. What would you like to accomplish in the next 12 months as a board member of our organization?
Social enterprise - it is important that we consider opportunities for empowering youth to develop the skills and abilities they need to succeed. Social enterprise offers that perfect balance of initiative, community support, and recognition of talent and drive youth have to succeed, despite the adversity they face. It also provides an opportunity for labour and the private sector to contribute to social and economic growth.
Our Cultural Commitments
Our board members reflect the many faces, cultures, identities, abilities, and walks of life that make up our province, and Choices for Youth is thrilled to have Remzi contribute to this by sharing his expertise, knowledge and dedication across our organization. We look forward to the work that Remzi will contribute to our network of sites and programs as a board member. Welcome to the team, Remzi!
Learn more about the Choices for Youth leadership team by visiting us here, and learn about their commitment to our core values and cultural commitment here.