CASE Youth Leadership Summit
May 3-8th, 2026
A creative facilitation gathering hosted by the Cortes Island Academy
Participants will explore:
- Explore underground media through art, mural, film, and music
- Learn indigenous ways of knowing and storytelling tools
- Become cultural creators, not just consumers
- Collaborate with artists, musicians, cultural leaders, and other youth
Featuring:
- Khari Wendell McClelland (Power of Hope)
- Tiffany Moses (IndigenEyez)
- Juno-nominated musician Ruby Singh
- Cortes Island Academy facilitators, cultural leaders and artists
- Hollyhock and the lands and waters of Cortes Island, the traditional territories of toq qaymɩxʷ, ɬəʔamɛn qaymɩxʷ, and ʔop qaymɩxʷ First Nations).
Who is this for?
Youth who...
- love "underground" media (art, music, words, soil, science etc)
- are part of a home learning or experential education
- curious about leadership, culture, & social practice
- want to collaborate with creative peers
- want to make change!
Educators and knowledge-holders working for some form of creative change are welcome!
What happens at CASE?
- creative facilitation in the Power of Hope style
- workshops with artists, musicians, and cultural leaders
- morning gatherings and afternoon creative labs
- daily circles and collaborative projects
- evening music, film, and storytelling
Meet your facilitators
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Khari
Imaginative. Bold. Genuine. Hopeful.
Khari is an award-winning musician and creative facilitator who uses the arts and experiential activities for transformational learning.
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Khari has worked with communities across Africa, Australia, Europe, North America and the Caribbean. In a world with increasingly complex societal challenges, the need for values-based creative solutions is paramount.
Khari will be the lead facilitator for CASE Intensive.
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Tiffany
Tiffany Moses is a Dene artist and facilitator from Denendeh (Northwest Territories), and a member of Pehdzeh Ki First Nation.
Tiffany has spent the past sixteen years collaborating with numerous organizations and Indigenous communities through music and film production programs. Passionate about initiatives focused on expression and understanding,
Tiffany is dedicated to working in ways that explore connection, growth, and healing.
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Ruby
Ruby Singh is a consultant, facilitator, and professional artist with over 20 years of consultant and facilitation history, his work is at the intersection of social justice, the arts, capacity building, and systemic change.
Ruby’s expertise lies especially in leading participatory processes based in anti-oppression and liberation-based practices.
Ruby will share his creativity which crosses the boundaries of music, poetry, photography and film engaging with mythos, memory, justice and fantasy.
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Alex
Alex Taylor-McCallum is a Kwak'waka'wakw & Nuu-Cha-Nulth artist of various mediums who was born and raised upon lək̓ʷəŋən Territory (A.K.A the City of Victoria).
Alex has been predominantly working as a self-employed artist since 2022, advocating for healing through creativity. He is a Hip-Hop artist under the alias of PINDN, a muralist, painter and educator who has facilitated numerous mural painting and songwriting workshops in the past few years.
Last Summer Alex had the opportunity to work as Artist In Residence at UVIC with the Indigenous Education Department for their annual Summer Institute, which he plans to do again this year.
Ben
Ben is a teacher and Vice Principal with the Saturna Ecological Education Centre in the Gulf Islands School District.
Ben is passionate about ecological learning, weaving place-based pedagogy with hands-on outdoor education. Supporting students to find their voice, develop a sense of agency, and build community relationships is at the heart of his work.
Most recently, Ben has been studying and implementing Compassion Systems Awareness, deeper learning philosophies, and social-emotional learning (SEL) tools into his practice.
Lee
A graduate of the Cortes Island Academy, Lee is a passionate adventurer who is excited to kindle this same stoke in teenagers.
She holds a variety of certifications from attending COLT (Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training), including Wilderness First Aid and Assistant Overnight Sea Kayak Guide.
Lee is experienced in sea kayaking, whitewater paddling, rock climbing and mountain travel. Recently completing a Level 3 skills kayaking course, Lee is a sea kayak guide during the summer off Northern Vancouver Island in the Broughton Archipelago.
And many more incredible facilitators!
Program Cost
We do our best to keep our programs as affordable as possible. The total cost for this program is $1000 which includes 5 days of accommodation, meals and facilitation. We are able to offer scholarships for those who need financial assistance to attend.
Would you like to attend?
We have scholarships to help rural , remote and indigenous learners get here.
Are you interested in facilitating?
Ask us about how you can attend with or without your students.