Panniqtuuq (July 07/03) - A group of Iqaluit youth are heading to Panniqtuuq at the end of July to involve to community in production of a suicide prevention video.

The Iqaluit Youth Suicide Prevention Group began as a bunch of youth getting together to discuss their concerns. They found that suicide was an issue they had to deal with and formed the group with 20 members.

In April, the group launched its first suicide prevention video at the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention annual conference in Iqaluit.

"We wanted to talk about it from a young person's perspectives," said Qajaaq Ellsworth, regional youth co-ordinator for the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and chaperon for the trip to Panniqtuuq.

"The goal is to open up discussion on suicide and have the youth take ownership of the issue," he added.

He said that through the group, the youth in Iqaluit feel they are contributing to putting an end to the problem.

"It's not necessarily about preventing death, it's about celebrating life and helping others celebrate life," said Ellsworth.

To make the first video, the Iqaluit group worked with youth from Kimmirut. Once it was launched at the CASP conference, Ellsworth said the members of the group realized there was more interest in what they were doing than they expected.

"They've had a really great time and learned a lot of great skills," he said.

When they began the video project, they knew little about operating a camera and editing video. Now they can almost be called pros.

On the trip to Panniqtuuq, they will pass on video skills to youth in the community. They raised funds for the trip from local businesses and will rely on the RCMP for a plane ride.