Candies Kotchapaw creates program that prepares youth for a career in diplomacy
March 9, 2022
With two Social Work degress and working on the frontlines for almost 12 years, Candies Kotchapaw reached a tipping point in the profession and was seeking change.
“I wanted to be on the policy side of social work and how systems interact and advance some people while holding others back,” she recalled. “I was particularly interested in how Black communities are held back at the intersection of education and employment.”
While researching for her Master’s thesis that revolved around the greater inclusion of racialized social workers in public policy development, Kotchapaw met Wanda Thomas Bernard who was the Director of Dalhousie University’s School of Social Work before being appointed to the Canadian senate.
“When I reflected on the fact that she was the first Black female social worker who was in public policy that I saw in that space that I could relate to and also on my difficult journey, I thought about young Black youth who have aspirations to do great things, but don’t have mentors to help them,” she said.
“I struggled through the course of my adult life in Canada with precarious work. I feel very strongly that those who make the laws in Canada should have a modicum of lived experiences that colour their perceptions of how laws that are being made in this country impact citizens. The people making the laws don’t understand the nuanced experience of actually navigating the system themselves. As a social worker with the experience of navigating structures that are challenging, I felt that I could directly contribute in a few ways.”
Kotchapaw started taking small steps to be a change agent.
She mentored young people at her church, connected with policy influencers and participated in the Young Diplomats Forum in Latvia in 2017.
Over 100 aspiring diplomats from nearly 75 countries attended the weeklong program of practical sessions, workshops, policy exercises and institutional visits by world-leading experts.
While doing her undergraduate studies, Kotchapaw learned about the Young Diplomats of Canada program that promotes the leadership of young Canadians through international delegations, research projects and advocacy initiatives.
“Because of low income and no qualifying extra-curricular activities as is the stereotypical reality of Black youth, I was ineligible to participate back then,” she said.
Attending the conference was eye opening for Kotchapaw who wanted to be a Canadian diplomat, but didn’t see a pathway to that field.
“There were 60 participants, all under 35, from 30 countries,” she said. “I could count the number of Black students on one hand and we all had to crowd fund in order to get there. Being part of those kinds of activities, you are being exposed to policy influencers, careers and opportunities that set you up for a lifetime of success from a very early age. In Black communities, we learn about these opportunities late in life. When I returned home from Latvia, I told myself I had to do something in Canada because there was no visible pathway for Black youth to get into that profession.”
Kotchapaw started Developing Young Leaders of Tomorrow, Today (DYLOTT) that offers experiential learning opportunities for Black youths.
“My intersectional identity as a Black woman stereotypically marginalized led me to create this organization that is a career-focused leadership incubator geared towards changing the socio-economic trajectory for Black youth and young professionals,” she said.
In February 2021, DYLOTT launched the Black Diplomats Academy (BDA) that provides Black youths and young professionals between ages 14 and 35 across the globe with access to specialized training and experiential learning opportunities to prepare them for a career in international diplomacy and the broader public service.
The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization), Global Affairs Canada, the Global Diplomatic Forum and other national and international agencies deliver the program.
“Creating this academy was a way for me to ensure that our community is not being left behind or be further marginalized in the diplomacy space,” said Kotchapaw who is DYLOTT’s Executive Director. “It was also timely because during this time, there are a lot of issues surrounding climate change and the diversity of voices that have influence in climate decisions as well as environmental, social and legislative justice who are the people that are lobbying governments and talking about the issues that are impacting communities.”
Of the 35 applicants for the first cohort, a total of 25 were accepted and 20 completed the intense 10-month program last November. Six were from Ontario, three from Quebec and one from Nova Scotia.
Jamaica, Nigeria, Germany, South Africa, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Kenya were also represented.
“We were looking first and foremost for a diversity of educational backgrounds,” said the married mother of two children who also oversees #LeadLikeAGirl that’s an 11-month leadership program for females between the ages of eight and 17. “That means young people with an interest in international development, but have some experience in other facets of education.”
In the first five months, the participants met virtually with ambassadors, high commissioners and consuls general representing Caribbean, African and European countries. Some were offered internships.
They also received mentorship for 12 weeks and took part in a four-day Black Diplomacy Summit.
Two fellows, Danisha Decius and Kiana Bonnick, attended the 26th United Nations Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow last year.
Danisha Decius (Photo contributed)
A Junior Committee Co-ordinating Officer with the Ministry of the Economic Development & Innovation in Quebec, Decius learnt about the BDA through a friend who knew she had an interest in diplomacy and international relations.
“When I looked at what the program offers, it seemed perfect for me,” she said. “I knew what I wanted as a career, but I didn’t see or know anyone that looked like me who was in that profession. Everything worked out well and I got exactly what I was looking for from this program.”
American-born Decius, who moved to Canada at age five, recently graduated from Concordia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Her minor was Modern Chinese Language & Culture.
Admitted to a dual Master of Public Policy for Sustainable Development Goals program in China, she plans to pursue a career with Global Affairs Canada.
David Nyarko didn’t know what to expect when he joined the BDA.
“I came out with a better sense of what it is I would like to get out a career in diplomacy and really understanding things from a Canadian and international perspective,” he said. “I was part of a team that prepared a working paper focussed on discussions about access to justice for Black Canadians and I gleaned a lot from some of the discussions on climate change, national security, bilateral relations and public policy
David Nyarko (Photo contributed)
Graduating this year with an honours Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Ottawa, Nyarko will begin law studies later this year.
Kotchapaw’s commitment to helping people started in Jamaica where she spent her first 14 years before migrating with her sister and their mother, Valrie James.
“From about the age of five, I really saw the impact of poverty and how that impacts people’s outcomes,” she said. “Our neighbours were impoverished and I would share my lunch and dinner with the young people who were the same age as me.”
After finishing high school at the defunct Vaughan Road Academy that award-winning singer Drake attended at the same time, Kotchapaw completed the three-year Child & Youth Work program at George Brown College and spent three years at the Child Development Institute and five years at Community Head Injury Resource Services before returning to school to complete undergraduate studies in Social Work at York University.
She graduated in 2015 and went straight into the Master’s program.
As a creator of new pathways for the next generation, Kotchapaw has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women and among the Top 25 Women of Influence by Women of Influence Global.
