CCEDNet Annual General Meeting Held in Winnipeg
On a bright and warm day in Winnipeg, the Canadian CED Network gathered for our annual general meeting. Held at the St. Matthew's Community Center, over thirty-five people attended, along with representatives from Newfoundland, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Calgary, Victoriaville, Montreal, and Quebec City, who were able to join virtually. CCEDNet President Caroline Lachance led the
meeting, and governance expert Yvon Poirier was on hand to present new by-laws. With formal business taken care of, substantive discussions on priorities and directions for the Network will be held at the Social Enterprise World Forum in Calgary from October 2-4. Time will be set aside for our members to get together to network, learn, and discuss ways to continue to build a strong national CED movement. We look forward to the opportunity to gather with a diverse group of members from all over Canada at this landmark event. Click below to read our annual report for 2012.
CCEDNet Webinar: Preview Groundbreaking Social Enterprise Research
Social Enterprise in Ontario: Research on the Size, Scope and Socioeconomic Impact of Nonprofit Social Enterprise will preview the key findings from the 2012 Social Enterprise Survey for Ontario. As the first research of its kind in the province, this webinar will offer significant insights into the burgeoning trend of social enterprise within Ontario’s nonprofit and charitable sector. The report will not be fully released until September, but we are offering this sneak peak to share some of the most relevant results. We invite practitioners, policymakers, and enthusiasts from across civic, public, and private sectors to take part in the webinar. The session begins June 26 at 12:00pm EST.
Meet the Alberta CreateAction Interns!
For over a month now, 2 CCEDNet member organizations have been working with an intern with funding provided through the CreateAction program. The program's aim is to offer a six month internship to young post-secondary graduates who are considering a career in CED. We aim to introduce you to these people with short bios that they have written themselves, and we hope that over time, they will meet some of you! Arni Hansen: Hello all! My name is Arni Hansen and I am the Community Development Intern at the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, in Alberta. My work-related interests are cross-cultural communication and community building, and as a result I hope to make a difference in the lives of new Canadians by working on community projects and youth programs that teach practical, applicable skills that can be used in Canadian society. I worked for Statistics Canada during the most recent census as an enumerator and work casually as a freelance translator from French and Spanish into English. My bachelor’s degree is actually in Molecular Genetics but I found myself drawn to social sciences, and I am currently working on completing my Masters in Applied Linguistics at the University of Alberta and was a teaching assistant in Spanish during the school year. Allison Smith: Allison has a passion for social innovation, community engagement and supporting Canadian entrepreneurs. Currently she is a Community Outreach Facilitator at Momentum & Thrive Calgary. She hopes to learn about and contribute to community economic development in the Calgary community. In addition, she is the volunteer Project Manager for 1000 Startups with Startup Canada. Together she aims to build an innovative, sustainable and thriving local economy. Allison brings with her a Master’s in Management from London Business School and a BScH (Biology, Psychology) from Queen’s University. She has experience working with a tele-health startup in the UK, a maternal health non-profit in India and the Kidney Foundation of Canada in Calgary. In all of these experiences she strived to build healthy individuals and strong communities.
Alberta CED News
Localize Your Grocery Shopping
Buying local food in Alberta has never been easier, thanks to an innovative and interactive new program. Localize works closely with with grocers to help them highlight the local and regional products on their store shelves with an easy-to-identify label. The bright orange Localize labels simplify the process of finding local food and learning about who produced it. This label can be found on products in 30 grocery stores throughout Alberta. Localize has also developed a scoring system, which grades the 'localness' of goods based on the four dimensions of the food business: production, ownership, ingredients, and sustainability. Shoppers simply scan a QR code on the product, which directs them to information on Localize's website.
CED Initiatives Building Community in Calgary
Thrive, a longtime CCEDNet member and partner recently profiled two exciting CED initiatives in Calgary. The first article profiles Goodlife Community Bike Shop, a non-profit bicycle store which doubles as a community meeting place. The Bike Shop has helped develop a strong biking community that supports eco-friendly businesses and transportation, and provides various community programming. Next, Thrive highlighted the SideWalk Citizen Bakery, which is living up to its name by supporting various community events and using locally-sourced ingredients in all of their delicious goods. Read more posts by Thrive by following the link below.
New Housing Co-op in Edmonton
A new co-operative residential development, Stage Pointe Greens, is in the planning stages. This vibrant, mixed-use community was initiated by the city of Edmonton and features CoopZone member Communitas as a partner. The development is planned to have more than two hundred units alongside commercial and retail space. In addition, there are some bold sustainability guidelines that the developers are looking to meet. There are high hopes for the project "because the co-ops are to function as a neighbourhood association and take responsibility for the common property and systems, [ensuring] the long-term viability of the community features". For more information, please follow this link. (via Co-opZone Newsletter)
National CED News
Canada on the Global Stage: Social Enterprise World Forum
CCEDNet is pleased to be a supporting partner in this year’s Social Enterprise World Forum. Registration is now open, and early-bird registration rates run until July 25. This world class event is not to be missed. The impressive roster of speakers include the leading thinkers and actors in the social enterprise sector from across the globe. Among the presenters are several CCEDNet members, including our own regional coordinator Brendan Reimer.
CCEDNet members are invited to a special gathering just prior to the Forum, on October 2, 1-4 :30pm. This session will look at CCEDNet’s strategic directions, inspired by new local economy initiatives internationally. So plan to come a bit early when you book your travel to the SEWF! For more information on this session, email Philippe at p.menard-cote@ccednet-rcdec.ca
Get Co-op Savvy with CoopZone Training Courses
The CoopZone Developers' Network is pleased to again be offering its co-op development training courses in 2013-14, starting in September. CoopZone is offering various levels of training: the Advanced Program (Years 1 and 2), the Foundation Program and the Basic Introduction to Co-op Development course. Each program is designed to accommodate people with different levels of experience and knowledge of co-operatives - from introductions to basic terms, to people seeking to provide full development services to co-ops. There will be free information webinar about the courses held on June 19th, 12 noon Eastern Time for 60-90 minutes. RSVP to Hazel Corcoran for more information about this webinar.
CED Book Club - Supply Shock: Economic Growth at the Crossroads
Supply Shock leaves no doubt that the biggest idea of the twentieth century—economic growth—has become the biggest problem of the twenty-first. Required reading for anyone concerned about the world our children and grandchildren will inherit, this landmark work lays a solid foundation for a new economic model, perhaps in time for preventing global catastrophes; certainly in time for lessening the damages. The book is the culmination of 13 years’ work by Brian Czech, the founding president of the Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.
British and Canadian Leaders in Social Enterprise Meet in Toronto
The British Council recently hosted a day of seminars on social-enterprise, bringing together some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field. The UK is often seen as being at the forefront of thinking on social enterprise. Enterprising Non-Profit's David LePage spoke at the event, emphasizing the strength of social enterprise is its social engagement, how it uses "business to create shared social value." The aim of the event was exploring ways in which the British Council could support Canadian initiatives by drawing on its global network of ideas, resources, and connections. The fundamental belief that drove the event was that social enterprises are growing, slowly beginning to offer solutions within, and alternatives to the faltering free-market capitalist system.
A Little Bird Told Us: Top Tweets of the Month
Here is a brief sampling of some of our most popular tweets from the past 30 days. Click here to follow us on Twitter.
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