Join us on Wednesday, May 27th as the AVA Webinar Series presents The SPARX Program: Promoting Healthy Relationships and Preventing Dating Violence by Raising Awareness Among Youth, Caregivers, and Professionals, featuring Pénélope Allard-Cobetto and Émilie Marien from SPARX for Positive Romantic and Intimate Relationships.
Wednesday, May 27th, 2026
12 – 1:30pm MST
The SPARX Program is a comprehensive prevention initiative designed to promote healthy intimate relationships among youth and to prevent dating violence. The program includes several components tailored to key audiences. Two components are directed specifically at youth: a youth ambassador committee, created by and for teenagers, and interactive sexuality education workshops that focus on defining healthy relationships and preventing dating violence. Another component supports caregivers by providing practical tools and resources to help them confidently discuss healthy relationships and dating violence with the young people in their care. The final component focuses on professionals working with youth, offering training to strengthen their sense of self efficacy in addressing these topics, facilitating workshops, and responding appropriately to disclosures of violence. This webinar will provide an overview of the four components of the SPARX program and share key findings from their evaluation.
About the Speakers
Pénélope Allard‑Cobetto holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a master’s degree in sexology. For the past three years, she has worked with the Canada Research Chair in Interpersonal Traumas and Resilience as the coordinator of the SPARX Project. In this role, she collaborates with adolescents, caregivers, and professionals to assess their needs, develops tools based on their input, implements targeted initiatives, and gathers feedback to continuously improve the program, with the goal of identifying effective ways to promote healthy relationships and prevent dating violence.
Émilie Marien holds a bachelor’s degree in science high school teaching and a bachelor’s degree in sexology. Dedicated to promoting sex education among youth, she now works as a research support agent for the Canada Research Chair in Interpersonal Traumas and Resilience. She offers trainings to facilitate the SPARX program, supports the youth ambassador component and plays a key role in the social media campaign. Driven by the mission of making dating violence prevention and healthy relationships promotion tools as accessible as possible, she is committed to ensuring they meet the real needs of parents, youth workers, and young people themselves.