History
The idea behind Youth Fusion was conceived in February 2007 during a conference entitled “Youth Fusion: Creative Youth Empowerment” organised at Concordia University, in Montreal, in collaboration with Big Brother and Sisters of Greater Montreal, LOVE (Leave Out Violence) and Concordia’s Garnet Key society. The objectives of this event were to allow teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 to discover 13 youth-led organizations, to encourage youth to get involved in their communities, and to bring university and high school students together.
In 2008, Gabriel Bran Lopez, who was President of the Garnet Key Society at the time of the conference, founded and developed Youth Fusion as a non-profit organisation.
The idea behind Youth Fusion would then be proposed in May 2008 by Evelyne Abitbol, the former Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs at Concordia University, at the Social and Economic Forum of downtown Montreal, an event co-presided by Ms. Phyllis Lambert and Mr. Serge Lareault, and initiated by Mr. Benoit Labonté, Mayor of the Ville-Marie borough.
In October 2008, The Social Development Society of Ville-Marie (SDSVM), the organization born out of the Forum, collaborated with Youth Fusion and Concordia University in order to kick-off a pilot project in the Ville-Marie and St-Henri boroughs of Montreal.
