Communities Building Youth Futures (CBYF) is a five-year pan-Canadian project to work with up to 13 communities to develop system-wide solutions for supporting youth as they build and act upon plans for their future. Working in partnership with the Government of Canada, through the Goal Getters program, Tamarack Institute is committed to improving outcomes for youth who face barriers as they pursue their education and transition to employment and understands that this work requires collaborative, community-championed solutions with youth leadership and youth engagement.

Features of the Learning Agenda

• Building Youth Futures is a critical step in Ending Poverty in Canada – Investing in and supporting young people through their education to employment journey includes building youth resiliency, youth voice, and youth leadership. Creating communities which meaningfully engage young people is essential to ending poverty in Canada.    The May 6th plenary will be held jointly with Tamarack's Cities Reducing Poverty practice area
• Renowned Keynote Speakers – featuring Melody Barnes, who worked directly with President Barack Obama, who will share her expertise with an emphasis on Ending Youth Poverty and Building Youth Futures
• Creating Space for Youth as Change Makers – Change is already happening.  Across Canada, 13 communities are focused on amplifying youth voices.  These youth have something to say and through youth-focused CBYF workshops they will share their progress, lessons learned and advice
• Community-Developed Projects that Build Pathways to Education & Employment – Innovation is at the forefront of Communities Building Youth Futures.  Communities will be showcasing emergent and innovative practices developed through their work. 
• Learning that is Emerging through the Work of Supporting Youth – highlighting the work and stories of communities, youth and partners as they build youth resilience and engagement, community mobilization, social innovation, bridging the digital divide, and collective impact
• Daily Small Group Discussions creating space for networking, discussion, brainstorming and troubleshooting amongst event registrants
• Inspiring Workshops building foundations and allowing learners to dive deeper into the latest thinking and practice around youth engagement, collaborative leadership, community engagement:
  • Collaborative Leadership for Systems Change
  • Evaluation – how developing our meaning of evaluation can increase the benefits
  • Developing Meaningful Youth Engagement
  • Engagement in a Virtual World
  • and more …

Learn more

A growing network of Canadian organizations and professionals are exploring Social Acquisitions for Business Recovery (SABR), a strategy that sees conventional enterprises transition into social purpose enterprising forms (like a co-op, a social enterprise, a charity, a non-profit, or any combination of the same).

This burgeoning community was inspired and supported by the Government of Canada's Investment Readiness program ecosystem-mobilizer partner, Legacy Leadership Lab. Since September of 2019 we have convened, formed, and sustained an evolving and rapidly-mobilizing collection of stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines to pursue the social acquisition solution as a succession and recovery strategy for Canada's small businesses and a tool for sustainable economic vitality and inclusion for the under-serviced and under-represented within our country.

L3 welcomes you for a final semi-interactive 90-minute webinar with simultaneous English-French translation as we conclude our government-funded efforts and look to the future of the movement.

Learn more and register

Social Finance: Ethical, Environmental & Everyone is back to share innovations in impact investing and social finance worldwide.

Each week, experts in impact investing, social finance, social entrepreneurship and innovations in finance from around the world will share their work. Discussions will include new models of investing for social purpose, projects on the forefront of social and environmental change, stories from the field and best practices for the future of food, people and the planet.

Session #5: Wednesday, March 31 at 12:00pm EST

Fairtrade Canada | Eugene Ellman, Chair

Eugene Ellmen serves as Chair of the board of Fairtrade Canada, the Canadian branch of Fairtrade International, which is working to secure better prices, working conditions and fair trade for farmers and workers in developing countries.

Le FIRA | Paul Lecomte agr., directeur général

FIRA is a private company that supports the next generation in their access to agriculture. The fund was established the Government of Québec , the Solidarity Fund QFL and Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins . They joined forces to create, in 2011, the Investment Fund for Agricultural Succession (FIRA). Through their respective contribution of $ 25 million to this fund, these partners support the development of agriculture in Quebec by helping to support the sustainability of our agricultural businesses and by encouraging the new generation to take over.

Register

Social Finance: Ethical, Environmental & Everyone is back to share innovations in impact investing and social finance worldwide.

Each week, experts in impact investing, social finance, social entrepreneurship and innovations in finance from around the world will share their work. Discussions will include new models of investing for social purpose, projects on the forefront of social and environmental change, stories from the field and best practices for the future of food, people and the planet.

Session #4: Wednesday, March 24 at 12:00pm EST

Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT | David E. Miller, Co-founder & CEO

Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT is an organic farmland finance company that provides farmer-friendly leases and mortgages to the next generation of organic farmers. Since their founding in 2007, they have directed $50 million in investments in organic agriculture.

KOIS | Serena Guarnaschelli, Partner & Roman Kovac, Associate

KOIS was a pioneer in the impact investment industry when they developed the first Social Impact Bond in continental Europe in 2014, and continued to lead the way by developing in 2017 the first-ever Humanitarian Impact Bond with the ICRC.​

Register

10:00am - 11:00am Pacific

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“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”

It’s a quote we often hear, but it’s easier said than done! 

Whether with people we know or people we don’t know – or, perhaps more importantly, whether with people we like or people we don’t like – working with others is an important aspect of policy & advocacy work.  Successful collaborative relationships can bring fresh ideas, expand our reach, and lead to new opportunities.  But, getting to successful collaborative relationships is not always easy.

Have you been involved in a coalition that was a resounding success?  What about ones that went wrong?  What did you take away from those experiences? 

This campfire chat will provide you with an opportunity to share your own experience in coalitions and partnerships and learn from others’ stories in an informal peer-to-peer learning environment.  If you’re a novice, no worries, your stories are just as valuable!

Please join us on April 8!

Register for Campfire Chat: Building Effective Coalitions and Partnerships

The Strengthening Community Economies Series is designed to build skills, provide support, and strengthen a culture of political action among CCEDNet members. To join CCEDNet or to find out more about our barrier-free membership policy, click here.

CCEDNet's 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on...

June 11, 2021
10am Pacific Time, 11am Mountain, 12pm Central, 1pm Eastern, 2pm Atlantic, 2:30pm Newfoundland

This year's AGM repeats the success of the last six years by being entirely virtual and bilingual. Members are able to make motions, vote and comment in English or French, all from the comfort of their computer. 

Access documents, resolutions, and board nominations

Register