Community-based ventures have been a strong part of the Canadian economy for more than a century and recent innovative practices have made the social enterprise sector a hot topic in national and international vistas.  The conference brings together practitioners, researchers, and community organizations, from home and afar, to discuss current practices, challenges, and innovations in advancing social entrepreneurship, economic development and community livelihoods.  

Directors of community organizations, social entrepreneurs, researchers, public policy makers, and people interested in community-based development, innovation, and entrepreneurship attend this popular biennial conference. As a conference attendee, you will hear from practitioners and researchers on community innovation, social enterprise, place-based development, and their effect on community health and economic development.

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“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”
-- Origin unknown (and subject of much debate!)

The above quote makes for a good embroidery project or café chalkboard message, but what does it really mean?  

We can’t always do it alone and, in fact, our voices are louder when in a chorus.  Finding a common agenda and building partnerships are key elements of an effective advocacy campaign.  

Why should we work with others on advocacy campaigns?  What are the critical aspects of a strong partnership?  What key characteristics make a good collaborator?  Join us to explore these questions and learn about the power – and potential pitfalls – of partnerships.  

Guest Speakers:
Raissa Marks, Canadian Community Economic Development Network
Kumsa Baker, Toronto Community Benefits Network
Courtney Mo, Momentum
Kirsten Bernas, West Central Women's Resource Centre

Resources:

PowerPoint Presentation

Mark your calendars for CHRA’s first-ever virtual Congress on Housing and Homelessness happening from April 27 to 29, 2021! Get ready for three days of learning, networking and engaging with leaders from across the Canadian community housing sector to have your say on key issues, learn about the latest sector developments, make connections across the country, and get inspired!

This year’s virtual format will:

• Present over a dozen concurrent information sessions and workshops
• Feature presentations from leaders in the Canadian housing sector
• Recognize and celebrate excellence in the sector with CHRA’s National Awards
• Tackle the key issues facing urban, rural and, northern Indigenous housing by participating in CHRA’s Indigenous Caucus
• Highlight innovations and transformations in the sector
• Offer plenty of networking opportunities
• Host a virtual tradeshow
• Offer a chance to win prizes and more!

Register for the National Congress on Housing and Homelessness

Learn more about the National Congress on Housing and Homelessness

9:00am to 2:00pm Pacific / 12:00pm - 5:00pm Eastern

Join the Buy Social Canada Symposium to connect with leading social purchasers and suppliers, learn from industry experts, and celebrate the Social Procurement Champion Awards

On April 26 2021, Buy Social Canada and SEWF will host a pan-Canadian Symposium to connect, inspire and engage as we bring communities together to grow social procurement. The program will feature keynotes, panel discussions and breakout sessions on key topics: Social Procurement Today and Tomorrow, Construction and Infrastructure, Myths and Facts, Leading Municipalities, and the Social Procurement Champion Awards. There will be opportunities to network and engage with others who are helping to shape the social value marketplace.

Learn more and register for the Buy Social Canada Symposium

12:00pm to 1:00pm Eastern Time

Black diaspora women are leading in solidarity economics through a specific form of mutual aid–formally referred to as Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs)–to meet their livelihood and social needs and those of others. These women call themselves the Banker Ladies, and the ROSCAs they run are rooted in mutual aid and self-help. Members decide on the rules and processes to make regular contributions to a fund that is given in whole or in part to each member in turn. Based on a decade of research with hundreds of Black women who draw on ancient African traditions of Tontines and Susu and prioritize the collective, this work shows that Black women hold the key to making the economy serve the needs of everyone and that we need to listen to them. 

This event takes place in English with French simultaneous interpretation.

Learn more and register for Canada’s hidden cooperative system

Biography 

Dr. Caroline Shenaz Hossein is Associate Professor of Business & Society in the Department of Social Science at York University in Toronto, Canada and founder of the Diverse Solidarity Economies Collective. She is author of the award-winning Politicized Microfinance: Money, power and violence in the Black Americas (University of Toronto Press, 2016); co-author of Business & Society: A Critical Introduction (Zed, 2017); editor of The Black Social Economy in the Americas: Exploring Diverse Community-Based Alternative Markets (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) and co-editor of the forthcoming Community Economies in the Global South (Oxford University Press 2021). Dr. Hossein holds an Ontario Early Researcher Award (2018-2023) and her project “African origins in the Social Economy” is funded by the SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2017-20). First in her family to attend university, Dr. Hossein holds a PhD in Political Science (University of Toronto), an MPA (Cornell University), an LL.B (University of Kent at Canterbury) and BA (Saint Mary's University, Halifax). Prior to becoming an academic scholar, Dr. Hossein worked in global non-profits for a decade including managing a community bank in Niger, West Africa.

A series of 3 independent discovery workshops that are designed to reveal opportunities for social innovation, people who are interested in engaging in this work and ways to support their initiatives, with a particular focus on women.

Attend one or all of the workshops:

• March 2:  Social Innovation and Community Development
• March 3:  Inspiration for Social Innovation
• March 4:  Activating Ideas

Register for Leading into the Future

This workshop series is part of the Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network (WOSEN) programming, a partnership which includes NORDIK Institute, Social Enterprise Evolution (SEE),  Pillar Nonprofit Network, the Centre for Social Innovation, and SVX, with support by Lean4Flourishing. WOSEN is funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Learn more about Leading into the Future