Katimavik

Katimavik (Inuktitut: ᑲᑎᒪᕕᒃ "meeting place") is a registered charity that engages Canadian youth through volunteer work.

Katimavik provides opportunities for young Canadians to participate in five to six-month periods of community service throughout the country via the National Experience program.

During the 2018-19 program year, Katimavik had 198 participants spread across six communities: Nanaimo, BC; Calgary, AB; Winnipeg, MB; Sudbury, ON; Quebec City, QC; and Moncton, NB.

Each youth volunteers for at least 30 hours per week and completes a learning program that focuses on Truth and Reconciliation, Canada's official languages, eco-stewardship, leadership, cultural diversity, and healthy living.

Katimavik was started by Pierre Trudeau's federal administration under the responsibility of then-Senator Jacques Hébert as well as then-Minister of National Defence Barney Danson.

He subsequently worked with Quebec region director Claude Raiche to continue Katimavik as an outdoor recreation training centre at Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot.

The next year, the Government of Canada's Department of Heritage provided the program with ongoing funding and the number of projects and youth tripled.

His stated objectives are to increase Katimavik's visibility, broaden and improve the National Experience, and diversify the organization's programming and funding sources.