Jer's Vision: Canada's Youth Diversity Initiative is a youth-oriented registered charity devoted to promoting diversity and fighting discrimination in Canada.

Overview

Jer's Vision: Canada's Youth Diversity Initiative is Canada's First national organization to support and encourage the work of youth to address discrimination in their schools and communities. Through grass roots initiatives and partnerships with a variety of established national and community organizations, Jer's Vision provides youth with the tools and the resources to promote diversity and end discrimination of all kinds.

History

The Jer's Vision Scholarship was founded by Jeremy Dias, who faced animosity in high school for being openly homosexual. He made it his mission to make a difference by changing attitudes through educational activism. His activism not only addressed homophobia

Homophobia

Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...

/heterosexism

Heterosexism

Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It can include the presumption that everyone is heterosexual or that opposite-sex attractions and relationships are the only norm and therefore superior...

, sexism

Sexism

Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...

, and racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, but also extended to raising environmental awareness and reducing impaired driving in the community.

Although his efforts remained, for the most part, unchallenged, in his high school, the Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School

Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School

Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School is a high school located on Wellington St. in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Adjacent to Algoma University, this school was founded in 1957 and named after the late Canadian financier and industrialist, James Hamet Dunn.Sir James Dunn Collegiate &...

 in Sault Ste. Marie

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...

,. There was official opposition to his advocacy for sexual diversity. After four years of trying to make a difference in this area he decided to take a more drastic approach. He began by proposing a campaign that would create an environment that welcomed sexual diversity, and advocated tolerance in high school. Called Positive Space, this program was rejected by the administration, which stated that "The [Algoma District School] Board does not permit the posting of material advocating any specific lifestyle in classrooms or hallway[s]."

Jeremy believed the Algoma District School Board's response was discriminatory, and he did not stand alone. Within two days of the Board's decision, over 120 students, staff, and faculty (15 per cent of Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School) expressed, through a petition, that they believed that Positive Space should be implemented immediately in the school, and that it would be an effective way to create a safe place for all youth, staff, and faculty.

After following traditional appeal methods and not moving forward, Jeremy began a human rights complaint against his school and school board on the grounds of discrimination. After three years of strenuous negotiations, the Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School and the Algoma District School Board

Algoma District School Board

Algoma District School Board is a public school board in the Canadian province of Ontario. The school board is the school district administrator for the Algoma District.- Blind River :* W.C...

 offered a financial settlement, but refused to apologize or make policy changes in the district or the school.
Jeremy used the settlement to create Jer's Vision, Canada's first LGBTQ scholarship.

Now, Jer’s Vision: Canada’s Youth Diversity Initiative is a full National Charity currently developing a variety of programs and services to assist youth address discrimination in their schools and communities.

Jer's Vision Scholarship

The Jeremy Dias Scholarship is Canada’s First Diversity Scholarship for youth. The scholarship seeks to reward a youth that has taken initiative in addressing discrimination in their school or community.

CYDI Awards

The Canada’s Youth Diversity Initiative Awards (CYDI Award) are the first awards to recognize the work of dedicated Canadian politicians who work to address discrimination and promote diversity in Canada.

Youth Role Model of the Year

The Youth Role Model of the Year is the first awards to recognize the work of dedicated persons who worked to address discrimination and promote diversity in Canada and abroad.