People who depend on trade for a living always have been part of Matthew Huebert’s world, whether he and they knew it or not.
He grew up in Lanigan, a town in central Saskatchewan, where local farmers and potash mine workers produced goods that made their way around the world.
“My dad was a teacher and the money they made from selling into trade paid the taxes that gave my dad a job,” said 23-year-old Huebert.
It took awhile for that reality to sink in, but now he’s on a mission to make sure other young people get the point as well.
Read Also
Saskatchewan dairy farm breeds international champion
A Saskatchewan bred cow made history at the 2025 World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, when she was named grand champion in the five-year-old Holstein class.
With partners Patrick Cuenco, 25, and Elissa Smith, 20, both of Ottawa, Huebert has created a project they call Youth Inside, a website that takes its audience inside World Trade Organization negotiations in Hong Kong through the eyes of three young keeners, where they discuss the issues, expose the characters and promote the importance of the event.
“We want to demystify the WTO and trade issues for youth,” Cuenco said in an interview last week at the WTO convention where the trio was registered as media but were given access to Canadian delegation events, duly reported on their website www.youthinside.org with photos, stories and audio interviews.
“Canada is a major trading nation and many youth don’t understand that or care. We would like to change that.”
The trio – two part-time students and Cuenco, a junior trade consultant with a well-connected Ottawa firm – were in Hong Kong courtesy of donations and support from universities, governments, companies and associations. The Youth Inside project was created on the fly after a Nov. 6 e-mail from Smith suggesting they use the WTO meeting a month hence as a hook for their oft-talked about dream of a project to educate, inspire and engage young people on trade matters.
The next month was a blur of fundraising and planning that got them into the centre of things in Hong Kong. The website is a work in progress.
When delegates left this Asian economic and trading hub after talks ended, the three were vowing to keep the project going with updates and ongoing features.
“I’m sure it will continue, though I’m not sure what direction it will take,” said Huebert.
Meanwhile, they have bold plans: proposals for on-line university courses on trade issues, a report to the WTO suggesting a youth component and a direct pitch to trade minister Jim Peterson to have the federal government support the idea of more youth involvement in trade policy planning.
Peterson said he was interested.
