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The CBC youth Council was a youth organization sponsored by the Montréal headquarters of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1959 to 1974. The Council was composed of final year of high school students who had shown an interest in broadcasting and media matters. The Council was one of the very few youth organizations in Montréal at the time which had representation from both English and French language, Protestant and Roman Catholic schools. Two grade 11 students, one male and one female, were nominated to represent each high school by the school principal. Selection was usually based on academic performance, and a short written submission describing the students interest, experience, and aspirations in the fields of media and communications. Starting with some 60 student counselors in 1959, the Council room to over 70 students representing 36 high schools in the greater Montréal area, 30 from the English school boards, and six from the French board.

Council members were not remunerated for their activities, unlike some of the student bodies associated with some of the major retail franchises. Counselors were given a blue blazer, with a Council pocket crests, and those who had to travel by bus to the conferences were refunded the cost of the tickets.

History
The Council was established in 1959 by Montréal CBC producer Larry Shapiro. As a leading proponent of youth programming, he had produced a number of very successful television programs targeting the younger viewing audience. These ranged from "the new generation", a CBMT music and entertainment show, to "reach for the top" a highly rated quiz show which tested the knowledge of teams from competing high schools. This show developed into a national competition, with programs in most of the major CBC television regions hosting local competitions to choose teams for a national final. Larry Shapiro persuaded the Montréal CBC executive of the desirability of establishing a formal liaison mechanism with younger viewers, and provide an opportunity for interested students to gain exposure to broadcast media and communications. The Council would be able to advise the CBC on youth programming, as well as increasing the exposure of the CBC in the local schools.

Larry Shapiro acted as the initial Council advisor and liaison with CBC management. He was followed in 1966 by Karl Renner, the supervisor of information services at CBC Montréal. Mr. Renner had extensive international broadcast experience, including working for the CBC wartime information board, political warfare committee, and the CBC international service. In addition to the Council advisor, several older University students acted as "Council chairman", helping to organize and coordinate the counsel conferences and activities. During the mid-1960s, Peter Thom, a McGill University student, and well-known local singer and band member acted as chairman. He subsequently went on to a successful musical career as a performer and composer, including performing on John Lennon’s  Give Peace A Chance, recorded in a Montréal hotel room.

Organization and Activities
The Council held bi-monthly Saturday morning "communications conferences" at the downtown Montréal CBC facilities. This caused some initial tension as the senior management were uneasy about having a large number of high school students "running around" the CBC offices and studios. While this is not a case, the Council eventually moved to a nearby off-site studio facility for its regular meetings. Each conference provided an exposure to various elements of broadcasting and communications, with many heads of the various CBC departments providing an introductory overview to their work. The counselors were exposed to program production, scriptwriting, publicity, and radio and TV drama production. Tours and visits were also arranged to the various radio and television broadcast facilities, including studios, control rooms, and newsrooms to see how the various productions were put together.

Counselors were given an opportunity to participate in the organization of some of the shows, including coordinating their school teams for Reach For The Top, and student audience participation on "teen 66", and other CBC youth music programs. In 1968 the Council was given the opportunity to organize and produce their own radio show, "Breakthrough" a 30 min. "news and views" program targeted specifically at Montréal high school students. In addition to covering local school news, the program had discussion panels covering issues such as; is college necessary?, Do you believe everything you read and hear?, And is censorship of school papers needed?". This program gave student counselors the opportunity to practice many of the skills they were exposed to during the "counsel conferences", as well as learning technical aspects of broadcast production, such as recording and editing. In addition to the counsel conferences, a major activity of the Council was to organize a media-based fundraising event for the Youth Council Scholarship Fund. This provided a substantial financial scholarship to a Council member each year, awarded on the basis of a major written essay an aspect of communications. In 1964 and 1965 the council organized a major talent and variety show held at Montréal's Place des Arts. The shows comprised a mix of local high school and university student as well as a number of professional performers.

In 1966, the Council took a different tack, and organized what were at that time two of the largest youth dances held at Montréal’s town and country hotel. Utilizing what they had learned during the counsel conferences, the student counsellors booked Montréal's most popular bands of the day including The Haunted, MG And The Escorts, The Strangers (canadian band), and The Double Checks. To ensure maximum exposure, they also hired Montréal's most popular radio DJ, Dean Hagopian, who publicized the event regularly on his radio show, ensuring a large turn out.

Discontinuation
In 1973, due to internal conflicts in the CBC, and the transfer of much of the English language production to Toronto, Larry Shapiro left the CBC, and without his involvement, support was discontinued, and the CBC youth Council was not renewed.