3:30pm Eastern Time

Learn to facilitate effective and transparent decision-making, while supporting equal voice in ANY organization. 

In the first 30 min of this free webinar, Sociocracy For All will present, then all participants will be able to ask questions about facilitation. This webinar requires basic knowledge of sociocracy. Both dates cover the same content so pick one! 

RSVP by email: info at sociocracyforall.org

If you can't make it on August 17th attend the free webinar on August 20th at 10am

Learn about the Global Social Economy Forum happening September 7-9, 2016 in Montréal, Canada - and why your organization should attend! 

All over North America community-based initiatives are taking place to ensure more inclusive and sustainable cities that meet the needs and aspirations of their citizens, from housing and access to local products and services, to ensuring decent jobs and fostering socially cohesive communities. More and more local governments have understood that by recognizing and encouraging these efforts they can support the economic and social development of their cities and oftentimes their environmental and/or cultural development as well. In many places in the world, these practices have been defined as “social and social economy initiatives” and in some cases national, regional or local legislation has been passed to ensure their development

The 2016 Global Social Economy Forum – GSEF2016 aims to highlight best practices of collaboration between these community-based initiatives and local governments that foster more equitable, sustainable and smarter cities taking place all over the world.

As members of the Honorary Committee of GSEF2016, CCEDNet and the New Economy Coalition invite you to listen to this introductory webinar on GSEF2016 to:

• learn more about what is meant by the term “social and solidarity economy”
• discover some of the initiatives that will be presented at GSEF2016
• discuss how applicable these are in a North American context
• learn more about the format of the forum and the ways to get involved

Some information on the 2016 Global Social Economy Forum:

The Global Social Economy Forum -GSEF2016 is the third edition of the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF), a large international gathering that was initiated by the City of Seoul, South Korea in 2013, in collaboration with its local social economy partners. The 2014 edition, held once again in the South Korean capital, culminated in the founding of the GSEF as a permanent international association uniting local governments and civil society stakeholders that recognize the social and solidarity economy (SSE) as a key factor in local economic development.

Initiatives presented at GSEF2016 include:

• Different approaches that have contributed to the revitalisation and social cohesion of cities such as Cleveland, Seoul, Barcelona and Bamako
• Successful and innovative community-based approaches such as Mondragon, today the largest federation of worker cooperatives in the world, or the Greenbelt Foundation, which protects agricultural land and support the Local Food Economy in Ontario. 
• New ways governments are working with the social economy, including social procurement, co-development of new services operated by collective enterprises in municipal spaces, and supporting the commercialisation of local products and services developed by the community.
• Important ways to reinforce the visibility and growth of the social and solidarity economy such as effective public policy implemented at the local and regional level, financial tools to enable the creation of new enterprises and coalition-building at the local, regional, national and international level.

Public officials from over 50 cities have confirmed their presence including Mayors or elected officials of cities such as Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Bamako (Mali), Barcelona (Spain), Bilbao (Spain), Götebord (Sweden), Lille (France), Montreal (Canada), Paris (France), Seoul (South Korea). In all, 2,000 participants from local governments, SSE enterprises and networks, researchers as well as committed citizens from all over the world are expected to attend.

For more information on the program of GSEF2016 and to register, visit www.gsef2016.org. 

Additional Information

US initiatives being presented at GSEF2016:

• Cleveland
• Madison
• Reading

Canadian initiatives being presented at GSEF2016:

• Manitoba
• Ontario
• Toronto
• Toronto again
• Quebec

Complexity has invaded many different fields. We are now faced with rapidly changing circumstances almost wherever we look.

Social labs represent a powerful, innovative and strategic response to complex social challenges.

You are responsible for coming up with a strategic response to a challenge as complex as climate change, child poverty or any change where there needs to be a fundamental change of mind-set.

You may be working in the public, private or non-profit sector. You may be a civil servant or an entrepreneur or work in corporate social responsibility.

Over three days participants will deepen their understanding of both the strategic and the tactical aspects of setting up social labs. This will include framing the business case for labs, setting the challenge, the relationship of scale to the overall strategy of the lab, practical details on the design of social labs, what a “minimal viable social lab” looks like, and more.

At the end of three days, participants will leave with a clear idea of what it takes to design a social lab and how to go about this task. The course will consist of a combination of small group and plenary work, with many opportunities for peer learning. Participants will work in small groups to apply learning to their own challenges. This course is particularly suited to teams who are seeking a strategy for addressing a real-world problem that they are currently working on.

Register for How to Design a Social Lab

What will you learn?

• An in-depth explanation of what social labs are
• How to get a social lab off the ground
• How to make the business case for social labs
• How to put in place pre-conditions for success
• How to correctly frame the challenge you want to address
• How best to constitute a lab team
• What core capacities or "muscles" are required to run a Lab
• How to design a lab process
• What a “minimum viable” social lab looks like
• How to design labs for multiple scales (from mini-labs to mega-labs)
• How to create the right structures to support your lab 
• An understanding of the top ten most common errors in setting up labs

Details

Small org (1-10 Employees) registration - $1,149 per person
Large org (11+ Employees) - $1,649 per person

Room & Board NOT Included (this is not a residential course)

Please note, the course duration is 3 days, and price is per person.

Day 1 - 28th July: 0900 - 1730
Day 2 - 29th July: 0900 - 1730
Day 3 - TBD (Delivered via webinar)

Facilitated by Zaid Hassan in collaboration with .commUNITY

Zaid is a strategist, writer and facilitator.

Zaid is the co-founder of Reos Partners, where he served as Managing Partner of the Oxford office from 2007-2014. Reos Partners is a social innovation consultancy that addresses complex, high-stakes challenges around the world. Reos helps teams of stakeholders work together on their toughest challenges.

Zaid has over a decade of experience in developing strategic responses to complex social challenges, including community development, climate change, child malnutrition, employment, energy, financial systems, global food systems, and security issues. His clients have included organisations as diverse as The World Bank, The UN Foundation, various governments, as well as Oxfam, WWF and many more...

12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern Time

This is an information webinar for those who are thinking about taking one of the courses through the CoopZone On-line Training Program. This webinar is open to anyone. 

Please RSVP to Hazel Corcoran (hazel at canadianworker.coop) by the day prior. You will receive the dial-in information by the start of the day of the call. (If you do not receive it by then, please write again at that time.) 

CoopZone offers various levels of training:

• The Introduction to Co-op Development course is appropriate for people interested in understanding the types and roles of co-ops and the basic co-op development process but who will not be active developers; it lasts half as many weeks as Foundations, and it runs from late October through March; 
• The Foundations Program course lasts for one year (mid-October - May).  This level is designed for individuals who are in the position of advising groups interested in exploring the creation of a co-operative enterprise;
• The Advanced Program lasts for two years and both years will be offered each year if there is sufficient demand. This level is designed for people who seek to provide full development services to co-operatives.

All of these on-line courses are designed to fit around a full-time job (a few hours per week). There is a new Course Director, Eric Tusz-King. Experienced co-op developers provide mentoring to students.

To learn more about this course and obtain the application form, please go to: www.coopzone.coop/courses or write to Eric Tusz-King at: CoopZoneTraining at gmail.com.

Download the Introductory Course Brochure

Here's what some of the students have had to say:

"The course is concise, informative and interactive. Mentors and course director are very knowledgeable, skilled, experienced, approachable and helpful. The readings and tools were very useful."   Billy Granger, SEED Winnipeg

"I would absolutely recommend the CoopZone program to anybody interested. The course is pretty amazing in the way that it creates a common community amongst us aspiring co-op developers and several fully established and tremendously experienced ones. The instructors are great, and the mentoring system gives me the chance to have hours of one-on-one time with an expert in my desired field."  Joel Ratcliffe, Ontario

"After working and consulting with non-profits for over 20 years, Co-op Zone training has given me the understanding and tools to finally be able to work with co-ops. During the course I had 4  groups engage me to help start or transition their co-op, and my assigned mentor as well as the CoopZone network helped guide me through it. Thank you!"  Rick Juliusson, FreeRange Consulting, BC

"What I like about the program:

• The webinars and online presentations, and the opportunity to connect with others across the country involved in the same work.
• The mentor element is great it’s been wonderful to have access to (my mentor’s) wealth of knowledge and perspectives.
• Access to the CoopZone listserv & tele-learning sessions has been good, too.
• The wonderfully curated and assembled reading materials.
• Learning together with great people–the director, cohort and mentors.”  Zoë Creighton, Upper Columbia Co-op Council​, BC

12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern Time

This is an information webinar for those who are thinking about taking one of the courses through the CoopZone On-line Training Program. This webinar is open to anyone. 

Please RSVP to Hazel Corcoran (hazel at canadianworker.coop) by the day prior. You will receive the dial-in information by the start of the day of the call. (If you do not receive it by then, please write again at that time.) 

CoopZone offers various levels of training:

• The Introduction to Co-op Development course is appropriate for people interested in understanding the types and roles of co-ops and the basic co-op development process but who will not be active developers; it lasts half as many weeks as Foundations, and it runs from late October through March; 
• The Foundations Program course lasts for one year (mid-October - May).  This level is designed for individuals who are in the position of advising groups interested in exploring the creation of a co-operative enterprise;
• The Advanced Program lasts for two years and both years will be offered each year if there is sufficient demand. This level is designed for people who seek to provide full development services to co-operatives.

All of these on-line courses are designed to fit around a full-time job (a few hours per week). There is a new Course Director, Eric Tusz-King. Experienced co-op developers provide mentoring to students.

To learn more about this course and obtain the application form, please go to: www.coopzone.coop/courses or write to Eric Tusz-King at: CoopZoneTraining at gmail.com.

Download the Introductory Course Brochure

Here's what some of the students have had to say:

"The course is concise, informative and interactive. Mentors and course director are very knowledgeable, skilled, experienced, approachable and helpful. The readings and tools were very useful."   Billy Granger, SEED Winnipeg

"I would absolutely recommend the CoopZone program to anybody interested. The course is pretty amazing in the way that it creates a common community amongst us aspiring co-op developers and several fully established and tremendously experienced ones. The instructors are great, and the mentoring system gives me the chance to have hours of one-on-one time with an expert in my desired field."  Joel Ratcliffe, Ontario

"After working and consulting with non-profits for over 20 years, Co-op Zone training has given me the understanding and tools to finally be able to work with co-ops. During the course I had 4  groups engage me to help start or transition their co-op, and my assigned mentor as well as the CoopZone network helped guide me through it. Thank you!"  Rick Juliusson, FreeRange Consulting, BC

"What I like about the program:

• The webinars and online presentations, and the opportunity to connect with others across the country involved in the same work.
• The mentor element is great it’s been wonderful to have access to (my mentor’s) wealth of knowledge and perspectives.
• Access to the CoopZone listserv & tele-learning sessions has been good, too.
• The wonderfully curated and assembled reading materials.
• Learning together with great people–the director, cohort and mentors.”  Zoë Creighton, Upper Columbia Co-op Council​, BC

10:00am to 11:00am Eastern Time

Good, affordable housing is a critical first step to successful refugee reception, settlement, and integration. In today’s urban migration context, that means cities are under increasing pressure to provide affordable and dignified housing options. Getting housing right also promotes urban resilience in times of shock or crisis.

In the city of Cleveland, welcoming refugees may also be the solution to the problem of vacant homes in a sagging rust-belt economy. Danielle Drake of US Together will discuss how Cleveland is re-thinking its social housing model for refugees as part of a larger strategy to re-vitalize local neighbourhoods and improve living conditions for all residents.

Fifteen years ago, the city of Münster rejected typical temporary, camp-like refugee housing models and embraced a humanitarian strategy which improves living standards, while helping normailize the settlement experience for everyone, turning strangers into neighbours. Today, that foresight is helping cities like Münster accommodate an unprecedented wave of Syrian refugees to Germany. Jochen Köhnke joins the conversation to share challenges and successes from Münster’s refugee housing model.

Register for Breaking Ground

Speakers:

Danielle Drake, Community Relations Manager, US Together, Cleveland (United States)
Jochen Köhnke, Councillor for Migration and Intercultural Affairs, City of Münster (Germany)

Technical Requirements:

No cost to participate. You will need a computer with internet access and speakers. Pre-test System Requirements. Adobe Connect requires the Flash Player plugin, download version 11.9 or above to run. Unable to attend? Register now and receive an email notification when archived presentations are online. Questions? Contact gdx at ryerson.ca.