In May 2009, hundreds of students from across Canada will descend on Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for the annual Canadian Youth Against Impaired Driving (CYAID) National Convention. The Department of Transportation and Public Works is pleased to be bringing this great event to the Island for the first time ever.
“It’s truly our pleasure to be able to host this very worthwhile convention,” says Minister of Transportation and Public Works Ron MacKinley. “It’s essential to reach out to youth and educate them on the dangers of impaired driving early on.”
CYAID was formed in 1990 in an effort to unite impaired driving related youth initiatives across the country. CYAID members, like Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD), have a positive effect on many students every year through their drinking and driving awareness campaigns. Using events, displays and community activities, these students try to keep young people informed and make their communities safer. CYAID member groups bring together parents, educators, law enforcement, media and the business community to work together on one cause.
“Hundreds of thousands of students get the message every year thanks to the members of this organization,” says Adeline Trainor, SADD Teacher Representative at Bluefield High School. “This conference allows those members to network, to be inspired, to get motivated and to learn great leadership skills to assist in programming in their own schools and communities.”
The conference will be held over four days in May 2009 at the University of Prince Edward Island.