The 2006-2009 Youth Action Strategy, renewed for 2009-2014, states: "We want community involvement to be contagious, which is why the government will act to recognize and promote committed citizens, and to create forums for discussion." It also recognizes the importance of encouraging youth involvement in the community. The Ministère therefore undertook to prepare "a reference framework aimed at recognizing students' volunteer involvement in sporting, cultural, political and community activities."

The purpose of this document is to help schools to improve or introduce methods of recognizing student volunteer involvement, since recognition stimulates involvement, promotes student retention and helps students to develop a sense of belonging and a desire to work hard. The document begins by defining "involvement," sets out the reasons why involvement should be recognized from the preschool level onwards, and goes on to present some of the elements on which recognition can be based, proposing a variety of methods and explaining why it is up to schools to encourage volunteer involvement by providing recognition. It ends by proposing a series of steps that will help preschool, elementary-level and secondary-level institutions to review their recognition methods.