National Learning Community 2025

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"The most life-changing thing has been the people I’ve met through my NLC family! I have made lifelong friends that I share so many amazing memories with that I never would have if it wasn’t for 4Rs."

– 2019 NLC Member

I’m excited by the NLC’s call to grow together. There are few spaces to be able to grow into depth with relationships as there is a focus on quantity of connections rather than an intentional approach towards partnerships.

– 2019 NLC Member

I’m excited by the NLC’s call to grow together. There are few spaces to be able to grow into depth with relationships as there is a focus on quantity of connections rather than an intentional approach towards partnerships.

– 2019 NLC Member

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"I’m excited by the NLC’s call to grow together. There are few spaces to be able to grow into depth with relationships as there is a focus on quantity of connections rather than an intentional approach towards partnerships."

– 2020 NLC Member

I’m excited by the NLC’s call to grow together. There are few spaces to be able to grow into depth with relationships as there is a focus on quantity of connections rather than an intentional approach towards partnerships.

– 2020 NLC Member

I’m excited by the NLC’s call to grow together. There are few spaces to be able to grow into depth with relationships as there is a focus on quantity of connections rather than an intentional approach towards partnerships.

– 2020 NLC Member

Slide

"I was fortunate to attend a 4Rs NLC event. A safe, supportive, and open space for cross-cultural dialogue, reflection and relationship- building. The opportunity to engage in this environment was impactful, it felt authentic and personal."

– 2021 NLC Member

I was fortunate to attend a 4Rs NLC event. A safe, supportive, and open space for cross-cultural dialogue, reflection and relationship- building. The opportunity to engage in this environment was impactful, it felt authentic and personal.

– 2021 NLC Member

I was fortunate to attend a 4Rs NLC event. A safe, supportive, and open space for cross-cultural dialogue, reflection and relationship- building. The opportunity to engage in this environment was impactful, it felt authentic and personal.

– 2021 NLC Member

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"4Rs and the NLC gives more than it takes! The reciprocity I experienced was unreal and gave me a glimpse of what real community care and organizing can feel like."

– 2020 NLC Member

4Rs and the NLC gives more than it takes! The reciprocity I experienced was unreal and gave me a glimpse of what real community care and organizing can feel like.

– 2020 NLC Member

4Rs and the NLC gives more than it takes! The reciprocity I experienced was unreal and gave me a glimpse of what real community care and organizing can feel like.

– 2020 NLC Member

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"I learned so much especially in how community care was modelled in all of our meetings and supports. It was a weird year to be doing the NLC but I am glad that there was so much space created to navigate that with us as a cohort."

– 2020 NLC Member

I learned so much especially in how community care was modelled in all of our meetings and supports. It was a weird year to be doing the NLC but I am glad that there was so much space created to navigate that with us as a cohort.

– 2020 NLC Member

I learned so much especially in how community care was modelled in all of our meetings and supports. It was a weird year to be doing the NLC but I am glad that there was so much space created to navigate that with us as a cohort.

– 2020 NLC Member

What is the NLC?

The National Learning Community (NLC) is a year-long leadership program for young people across so-called Canada to learn new ways of community organizing, as we take on the work of decolonization together.

Indigenous peoples from all over the world are already living in a post-apocalyptic reality, and there is wisdom in these experiences – ancestrally, contemporarily and in the ability to still envision ourselves with joy in the future. We want to pull together this wisdom to find solutions to some of the challenges our communities have been facing.

Each year we have invited teams of 2-4 young people between the ages of 18-30 to apply for the opportunity to:

Join a community of BIPOC young people who learn, share and grow alongside each other in hopes of strengthening kinship networks in the face of these crises;
Participate in an opening retreat, where they connect with their NLC cohort for land and culture-based learning, within a supportive environment that includes elders, knowledge holders, mental health supports and other BIPOC youth mentors;
Envision, plan and put together a community initiative, gathering or project using $10,000 worth of funds;
Be supported throughout their planning by the 4Rs team, a community of mentors and mental health supports so they are able to put more intention into the visioning, facilitating, budgeting, communications and coordinating elements of their project;
Learn new organizing skills including community care and relationship-based project management, creative facilitation, and more all while caring for their own well-being;
Participate in online coaching sessions with the 4Rs team as well as the opportunity to join skill-building sessions together with the rest of the NLC;
Come together for a closing retreat to share lessons and celebrate one another’s achievements.

This year, we will take a break from delivering any NLC programming to take stock of all we have learned from these past 6 cohorts and see how else we may want to expand our offer.

This doesn’t mean we won’t be around though! Throughout the coming year, we will be looking to find ways to work with different alumni and helpers to help shape the direction of the NLC. We hope by the end of this break we will be able to offer a more focused and expanded NLC.

Celebrating the Impact We’re Making Through the NLC

Since the start of the NLC in 2017, Indigenous youth, with the support of BPOC and settler allies, have made big impacts in their communities through projects they have accomplished through our program. While we know the true impact of community organizing is immeasurable, we want to take a moment to recognize the impact of our alumni and the work of our team at 4Rs. Since the launch of the NLC, together we have:

Connected young people from many different nations, including Ojibway, Inninew, Anishinew, Algonquin, Oneida, Inuit, Dene, Gwich’in, Inuvialuit, Nêhiyawak, Métis, Mi’kmaw, Ililiw, Nakoda, Nisga’a, Ts’msyen, Tahltan, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Wolastoqiyik nations.
Provided support to on-reserve, rural and urban communities across different territories such as Vancouver, BC, Iqaluit, NU, Bunibonibee Cree Nation, MB, Thunder Bay, ON, Kingsclear First Nation, NB, Halifax, NS, Inuvik, NWT, and more!
Made connections with 116 NLC alumni who spent so much time learning and planning with us!
Hosted 9 online gatherings and a 4Rs alumni reunion focused on connection, culture, identity, and solidarity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic!
Witnessed NLC teams offer back over 30 in-person initiatives to their communities, ranging from on-the-land culture camps, BIPOC art shows, Indigenous drag shows, multi-day gatherings exploring Indigenous identity and solidarity, ceremonies, seasonal storytelling gatherings, healing-centred gatherings, trips to strengthen relationships between Indigenous communities, and more!

Past NLC Alumni Initiatives:

2019 Winnipeg NLC Team

2S Celebration

Hosted by Jake Tuesday and Lee McLean

2020 Iqaluit NLC Team

Ivviulutit Art Show

Hosted by Jukipa Kotierk and Jasleen Jawanda

2019 Lnu Crew NLC Team

Braiding Our Gifts Together Gathering

Hosted by Alexa Metallic, Emily Dunne, Hannah Martin and Brennan Googoo

2020 Listuguj NLC Team

Niganpugultieg Web Series

Hosted by Nadia Wysote, Macy Metallic and Rosalie Labillois

Get Involved

Donate to the NLC! By donating, you’re helping empower Indigenous youth across the country to have a generational and systemic impact on their communities through capacity building & leadership training, projects and events.

Donate

We will be taking a programming break in 2025 to expand the NLC. Keep an eye on our Instagram, X, and Facebook to stay informed and up to date about the upcoming changes to the NLC.

Funder and Supporters

Most recently, the National Learning Community was funded in part by the Peter Gilgan Foundation, Catherine Donnelly Foundation, Indigenous Youth Roots, the Youth Hope Fund through the First Nations Inuit Health Branch and with support from Community Foundations of Canada.

What is the NLC?

The National Learning Community (NLC) is a year-long leadership program for young people across so-called Canada to learn new ways of community organizing, as we take on the work of decolonization together.

This year, we will take a break from delivering any NLC programming to take stock of all we have learned from these past 6 cohorts and see how else we may want to expand our offer.

Celebrating the Impact We’re Making Through the NLC

Past NLC Alumni Initiatives:

2019 Winnipeg NLC Team

2S Celebration

2020 Iqaluit NLC Team

Ivviulutit Art Show

2019 Lnu Crew NLC Team

Braiding Our Gifts Together Gathering

2020 Listuguj NLC Team

Niganpugultieg Web Series

Get Involved

Have any other questions? Contact Ron (ronald@4rsyouth.ca) by email or through the contact form below!

Funder and Supporters

Most recently, the National Learning Community was funded in part by the Peter Gilgan Foundation, Catherine Donnelly Foundation, Indigenous Youth Roots, the Youth Hope Fund through the First Nations Inuit Health Branch and with support from Community Foundations of Canada.

Get in Touch with 4Rs!

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