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Sustainable Rural Community Development: A Comparative Study of Canada and Australia

Free Webinar
Monday April 1, 2013 

Canadian and Australian rural communities have much in common. They are located in federations similar in structure and function with provinces / states having considerable authority over rural places. Governments are often challenged to provide equitable services to all places, especially in rural communities. Yet these communities continue to survive often facing the most challenging demographic, economic and environmental circumstances. In a comparative research study, Professor John Martin (Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities, La Trobe University), will ask what is it about these places, people and institutions that sustain them over time. 

— PRESENTER — 

John Martin has a strong interest in the institutions and processes that create sustainable communities. He is trained in ecology and natural resource management, sociology and has a PhD in public policy. Professor Martin provides a multidisciplinary view on sustainable development. John just completed a pan Canadian research tour for nearly six months on a bike. He will report his findings and observations from his up close and personal experiences with local leaders via live webinar. 

More info:

When: Monday, April 1, 2013
(please RSVP by March 27)
 
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (CDT)
 
For more information or to register contact Rural Development Institute at:
204-571-8550 / 204-571-8515
 
 

Podcasting: How to Get Started

 

 
Podcasting is great. You can listen to podcasts on a variety of topics easily through one of a multitude of devices. They are easily accessible and with data being more common everywhere, can be listened to anywhere. They can be a great way to get your message out to people. When they're busy, they can bring your podcast with them to listen to while driving to meetings or while they work. Join us for a conversation with Doug Tilley (an avid cinema podcaster) and find out what you need to get started! 
 
This session will take place on Wednesday March 27, 2013 at 2:00 pm EDT.

[REGISTER HERE]

 

This webinar is being hosted by TechTogether.ca, a partnership of non-profit networks including the Canadian CED Network, Green Communities Canada, and Community Literacy Ontario.

 

Food and Shelter: Scaling Innovation in Community Land Trusts

2pm-4pm Pacific, 5pm-7pm Eastern

You are invited to join us for an upcoming presentation in our new SIS Project Webinar Series! 

Discussing: How do we successfully diffuse and scale what is working for other contexts into our own?

Across the globe, community land access models for food production and housing have been described as a "proven innovations" to overcome challenges to individual and market-led access to these essential resources.
 
This session will describe how the community land trust (CLT) model can be used as an example of "scaling up innovation" where lessons learned from distinct farmland and housing access models can be shared across sectors and contexts.

[REGISTER HERE]

Highlights:

  • Key principles and components of the CLT model
  • Experiences and examples from farmland and community housing trusts in British Columbia 
  • Stakeholder engagement in the community land trust model: identifying issues, opportunities, and barriers to project establishment and implementation
  • Featured Presenters

Presenters:

Hannah Wittman is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia.  She conducts research on land trusts and farmland access with the Community Farms Program in British Columbia and the Landless Rural Workers Movement in Brazil.
 
Michelle Colussi - for over 20 years Michelle's work with the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal (CCCR) has included community development, research, strategic planning, facilitation and training related to community based development and resilience.  She was a member of the team that created the Community Resilience Manual and led CCCRs comittment to the delivery of Transition Town Training in Canada.  She is a co-founder of Transition Victoria and the Resilient Neighbourhoods pilot there. She is learning about Community Land Trusts as she accompanies Mike Lewis in the  community animation and engagement process.

[MORE INFO]

2013 Communities Collaborating Institute: Accelerating Impact

Join Adam Kahane, Tom Kelly, Stephen Huddart, Ratna Omidvar, Catherine Twinn along with Liz Weaver, Mark Cabaj, and me for an unprecedented leadership event designed for those who desire new ways to lead, engage and transform their communities and accelerate their collective impact by linking local efforts to provincial, state and national agendas.  
Inspired by the insights and perspectives of celebrated thought-leaders, it is an opportunity to rejuvenate and strengthen your ability to engage and mobilize across sectors to advance a common community agenda for transformation.
Learn More: download the event brochure and visit the website.
Tamarack’s Communities Collaborating Institute is Canada’s signature, learning event for collective impact professionals.  The 2013 CCI: Accelerating Impact is geared specifically for those wanting to strengthen their capacity to create large-scale, community-wide impact – linked to provincial/state or national agendas.
Registration officially opens today, Tuesday March 19th, 2013.  This email offers you a first look at the event and provides an early opportunity to confirm your participation. This event has been over-subscribed each of the past six years and we expect the same this year in Edmonton, Alberta.
  • Date: October 7 - 11, 2013
  • Location: Edmonton, Alberta
  • Venue: Radisson Edmonton South Hotel
  • More information & registration: www.tamarackcommunity.ca/

ABOUT THE 2013 CCI

Cities and communities achieving large-scale social change and working at the provincial, state and national levels to connect, learn, advocate and transform federal agendas.  The 2013 CCI: Accelerating Impact promises to be a dynamic peer learning opportunity with a special focus on transformative techniques for uniting diverse opinions into a common agenda for social change.
Change leaders need both ideas and techniques.  The 2013 CCI promises a special focus on transformative techniques for uniting diverse opinions into a common agenda for social change. These include: Scenario Planning, Change Labs, Working Effectively with Complexity, Developmental Evaluation, Collaborative Governance, Community Conversations and more. Click here to view the event’s evolving Learning Agenda.

DYNAMIC THOUGHT-LEADERS

The Thought-Leaders already confirmed to join Tamarack at this dynamic event include:
  • Adam Kahane is a leading organizer, designer and facilitator of processes through which business, government and civil society leaders to work together to address their toughest, most complex challenges.  An author of four books – including Transformative Scenario Planning: Working Together to Change the Future – Adam is a partner in Reos Partners and an Associate Fellow of the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society at the University of Oxford's Said Business School.
  • Tom Kelly is on the cutting edge of evaluation. We know him as one of the founders and key promoters of the Theory of Change Methodology - a process we consider to be one of the most significant to understanding large scale collaboration. A graduate of Harvard University he is an evaluation trainer, coach, coordinator, facilitator, investor, and more often translator and broker between foundation program officers and evaluators. He Vice President - Knowledge, Evaluation and Learning at Hawaii Community Foundation and prior to that managed evaluation investments and capacity-building at The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
  • Other dynamic Thought-Leaders who will join the Learning Community at the 2013 CCI: Accelerating Impact include: Ratna Omidvar, president of Maytree; Stephen Huddart, President and CEO of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation; Catherine Twinn, Assistant Deputy Minister, Aboriginal Engagement and Strategy Division, Alberta Human Services; and,  Liz Weaver, Vice-President of Tamarack and lead for Vibrant Communities Canada -Cities Reducing Poverty. Visit us online here to learn more about our evolving list of Thought-Leaders and Facilitators.

REGISTER EARLY TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT

We understand that you may need organizational approval before your attendance can be confirmed, however, if you are interested, we encourage you to register now in order to reserve your seat. Online registration is available now on the Tamarack website here. Our team at Tamarack is happy to work with you to firm up the details of your participation.

REDUCED RATES FOR TWO OR MORE

Special reduced rates are available for two or more participants from a community, organization or network who agree to attend together. For more details, visit us online here.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!

Help us spread the word about this event to colleagues and community partners by using this link.

Leadership in Integrated Sustainability

Leadership in Integrated Sustainability 

May 30th - 6:00 - 9:00 pm

The Community Showcase is part of the three day Pathways 2 Sustainability conference happening at the end of this month. Our Community Showcase event is free and open to the public. All are welcome to attend! You must register in advance here.

Open to the Public (FREE EVENT) Register TODAY! 

 

The event answers and offers the following:

  • What does environmental, social, cultural, and economic sustainability look like in action?
  • Who is demonstrating courage, and innovation in this area?
  • 10 PechaKucha* style presenters will speak to the theme of “Thrive”
  • Food, beverage, and networking opportunities

Agenda
6-6:50pm – Networking
7-7:50pm – Program
7:50 – 8:05 – Break
8:05 – 8:45 – Program
8:45 – 9pm – Q&A with presenters and networking

The presenters were crowd sourced and crowd chosen. They are your top 10! Learn about them here and register to attend.

*PechaKucha is a style of presentation that is rapid and concise, with 20 slides, 20 seconds each. Learn more about PechaKucha nights in Calgary here.

Learn more about the Pathways 2 Sustainability conference here.

Thank you to our partners:

 

The ICA Principles in Large Co-ops | Free Webinar

 

The ICA Principles in Large Co-ops:  "Just for show" or integral to success?

April 25
12:30 - 1:30pm

Through adherence to the seven ICA principles, small community-based co-operatives can enhance their members’ experiences of empowerment in running their business.  For example, according to Principle 2 – Democratic Member Control, each member should be active in setting the co-op’s policies, and making important decisions.    

[REGISTER HERE]

When a co-op becomes very large however, are these principles difficult to follow? For instance, what happens when a co-operative becomes so large that the vast majority of members don't exercise their voting rights? Is the principle of Democratic Member Control still relevant? 
 
In this webinar, Ghislain Paradis of IRECUS (s.coop/1fdz9), and formerly of Desjardins, argues that some ICA principles are based on idealism rather than realism; he suggests that large co-operatives cannot effectively adopt these principles in a way that would allow them to meet their needs in the global marketplace.
 
In response, we will hear from the MCDRN’s own Sonja Novkovic, of the Sobey of School Business at Saint Mary's Univeristy, whose research involves working with worker co-ops to improve their ability to operationalize the ICA principles and values.  Dr. Novkovic will argue that the ICA Principles remain just as valuable and relevant as co-ops grow.
 
After we hear from Ghislain and Sonja, two respondents will give their own input on the debate:
  • Carol Hunter from The Co-operators.
  • John Restakis on his research on large consumer co-ops in BC.
 
Note: All participants should be prepared to phone in as well as join online (for the visuals). Please prepare to join online 10-15 minutes before the webinar starts in order to allow the driver to load.

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