Yellowknife (Jun 02/06) - Trips to New York are one thing, but going to make a presentation to a United Nations (UN) delegation is quite another.

Tawna Brown, Yellowknife resident and chair of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation (ACYF), visited the UN to help present issues affecting Northern youth to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on May 22.

The forum is a body that discusses economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health and human rights concerning indigenous peoples for 10 days each year.

"ACYF looks at health and wellness issues and suicide prevention," said Brown.

The organization is dedicated to youth populations in Northern Quebec, the Yukon and NWT, as well as Nunavut.

Originally supposed to be a fundraising opportunity, the ACYF was planning on having a benefit concert featuring fellow board member and singer Susan Aglukark. But because the UN doesn't allow fundraising efforts during forums like this one, said Brown, the ACYF board had to change its plans.

"We had Susan do a presentation on children and youth issues and sing her new songs," said Brown.

The trip gave the ACYF a lot of good exposure, she said.

The presentation also led to the unveiling of a new directive Brown is hoping to integrate into the ACYF's plans for communities.

She said building up social capital - a term meaning the groups, clubs, and organizations dedicated to building trust in communities - like sewing clubs can really help a community deal with other problems like substance abuse.

"Social capital is the adhesive glue of societies," said Brown.

A program helping communities build these support networks is critical in the North, said Brown, as indicated by a needs assessment ACYF did for three Northern hamlets including Tuktoyaktuk.

Common issues from its report include widespread addictions, children not attending or dropping out of school, and difficulties setting up community groups. The organization is funded by Health Canada and Justice Canada.