World Premiere - The Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation launches educational videos featuring Julien, the trans puppet
This initiative aims to develop the relational skills of young people, parents and educators towards children exploring their gender identity.
MONTREAL, Sept. 5, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - More and more, young children are manifesting a gender identity or expression that doesn't conform to the social norms regarding to the sex they were assigned at birth. To help parents and loved ones and develop the relational skills of other children and their peers, the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation has launched three awareness videos capsules that star the very first trans puppet.
The copyright-free videos feature Julien, a trans puppet, and are available for free in English and French on the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation website, as well as on its partners' websites. The videos come with four educational booklets to guide parents, educators, daycare services and community organizations in using these materials in their respective environments to support and help young people in developing healthy emotional and relational lifestyle habits.
Links:
Video #1: Julia is sad
Video #2: The heart that knows everything
Video #3: Toys are toys
A stigmatized community
The Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation conducted a pan-Canadian survey entitled LGBT Realities last summer that underscores the fact that misunderstandings regarding the trans community still exist. The survey revealed that 98% of trans respondents had feelings of helplessness, loneliness, isolation or discouragement related to their gender identity or expression. Moreover, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse believes that education and awareness measures must be prioritized in action plans that deal with the realities of trans people and the prejudices against them.
"Our goal at the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation is to develop positive and caring environments to foster healthy relational and emotional lifestyles," says Jasmin Roy, President of the Foundation. "More and more studies show that social and emotional skills play an essential role in being a good student, becoming a good citizen and making one's place in the workplace. By promoting scenarios where the puppet talks not only with his family and relatives but also with young people of his age, we are opening the door to dialogue and to allowing young people and their entourage to become aware of a reality that might not be their own."
"Children who are exploring their gender identity or expression are more vulnerable than others," says Julien Leroux-Richardson, President of the Aide aux Trans du Québec (ATQ). "In addition to developing the emotional and relational skills of young people with respect to students who do not identify with traditional gender stereotypes or are exploring other avenues, the videos and the educational tool will make it possible for adults to improve these same skills to support these children better."
"The project the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation has created is extremely promising. TD is very proud to support the development of educational tools that will provide children experiencing challenging situations an opportunity to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue," says Samia Medelci of TD Bank Group. "With these kinds of initiatives, we're opening the door to a more inclusive future."
"The CSQ is always happy to be associated with projects that contribute to the respect and well-being of people. We're convinced that the spinoffs of this Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation project will yield positive results for the children themselves as well as those around them," says Line Camerlain, Vice-President of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec.
The Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation
Created in 2018, the primary mission of the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation is to fight bullying, violence and discrimination against elementary and secondary school children. Its goal is to promote caring environments for students by supporting and organizing various initiatives that provide more effective intervention with victims, aggressors and witnesses. The Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation team is committed to finding long-term solutions to the problems of violence and bullying in all walks of life and engaging in mental health prevention with affected youth. Jasmin Roy and Sophie Desmarais, the Foundation's patron, are now registered as representatives of civil society with the United Nation's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
SOURCE Fondation Jasmin Roy
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