Take a Step Towards Justice
Take your first step.  From charity to justice.  We’ll show you how.

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Canada Without Poverty would like to invite you to join us this November for a four-week Economic and Social Rights Education online course. As part of our human rights program, the course will give you an opportunity to learn about the UN human rights system and how to apply a human rights framework to social justice work in Canada.

Ending poverty is about justice, not just charity and economic and social rights are the foundation.  Canada has international obligations regarding the human right to food, adequate housing and an adequate standard of living.  This course will walk you through the meaning of economic and social rights in Canada; where they have been applied, what has been successful, and why it is important to recognize  human rights are at the root of addressing social challenges. Leading human rights experts will help you walk through the materials and discussions.

CWP's online course will introduce you to a new world. One where human rights are the foundation of social change.

Ending poverty.  Ending homelessness.  Ensuring equality.  Respecting dignity.

What you GET:  

• a 4-week online course on human rights and poverty…and so much more!
• Information, advice and practical tips from human rights experts
• CWP course materials on poverty, homelessness, food insecurity and women’s rights (not available elsewhere)
• An interactive community of social justice advocates from across the country
• And most importantly – the tools to MAKE CHANGE in your community

What you GIVE:

• Just 5-7 hours per week for 4-weeks
• Join us from Monday, November 11 until Sunday, December 8 in our online classroom.  Participate on your own time (weekdays, evenings or weekends! The classroom is open 24/7).
• Cost - $95.00  Registration is happening NOW!  Don’t miss out!

Registration closes November 8th

 *Course will not run without full participation

Want to build community?

Tired of the commercialization of the holidays?

Organize an Alternative Gift Fair in your town! Join this webinar to learn how.

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2013
Time: 1:00-2:00pm EST (10:00-11:00am PST)
Cost: Free

Alternative Gift Fairs are a way to promote the gift-giving tradition of the holiday season without the wastefulness and commercialization of conventional shopping.

Alternative gifts prioritize meaning over materials — they may include charitable donations, gently used secondhand items, help for a community project, and more. Whether for a few dozen or a few hundred people, Alternative Gift Fairs are a fun and inspiring way to celebrate the holidays.

Join New Dream on November 7, 2013 for a free webinar about how to organize an Alternative Gift Fair in your community. Dovetailing with New Dream's Guide to Holding An Alternative Gift Fair, the webinar will cover topics such as how to get started, obtaining funding and participants, and advice on how to publicize your event.

Get inspired and hear directly from the organizers of successful and established Alternative Gift Fairs. Register now!

[ REGISTER HERE ]

Guest Speakers:

Jeff Golden has spent the last 25 years in politics, broadcasting and editorial journalism, and organizational consulting. He is the founder and organizer behind the Abundance Swap in Ashland, OR, which is in its 12th year. The Abundance Swap is a community gathering where participants trade secondhand, useful items as an alternative to holiday shopping. Last year's event attracted over 400 people.

Jim Groves has worked at the National Education Association as a Senior Benefits Specialist for 13 years. For the past five years, he has run the NEA Alternative Gift Fair in Washington, DC — an event where shoppers have the opportunity to support charities in honor of family members and friends in lieu of consumer gifts during the holidays. Last year the NEA Alternative Gift Fair raised nearly $3,000 for charitable organizations.
 

Lunch & Learn Webinar Series:

Learn the essential steps to becoming an Entrepreneur.

If you're going into entrepreneurship and still holding on to the belief that it's the same as being employed (except without benefits and job "security") - you will find yourself in a very limiting position. When you have your own business you will have to develop traits to successfully transition from employee to CEO.

Here's what you'll take away from this webinar:

• Why your "story" about what's possible for you can stop you from having a profitable business - and how to clear out beliefs that stand in your way
• Why the employee to entrepreneur transition has challenges that won't be found in a business plan - and how to head them off by trusting your inner voice
• Why failure is an option - and how to use it to build a stronger business
• Why old fears can stop you from making decisions - and how to make fear your ally
• Why entrepreneurship is more about "being" and less about "doing" - and how you can become the entrepreneur you want to be.

[ REGISTER NOW ]

Webinar Format:

12:00 - 12:45 pm | Welcome/Presentation
12:45 - 01:00 pm | Question Period/ Wrap-up

Webinar participation is FREE, but registration is required.

Guest Speaker:

Byron Biggs
Chief Executive Officer
Mayday Global Solutions
Information Technology and Services

Byron's 14 years of experience in the Information Technology industry has led Byron to conduct successful business activities in Canada, United States, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Austria, Switzerland and Russia. His career began as a marketing specialist in an e-learning firm followed by a nomination to become the International Marketing Director and to develop a new market in Latin America, generating unprecedented revenues. Byron was also successful in promoting elearning courses in 6 different languages, around 166 different countries, using Internet Marketing strategies and Change Management tactics

For more information:

Mary Sicoli, Webinar Coordinator
CEDEC
(514) 903-3753 (est. 221)
mary.sicoli@cedec.ca

 

The CEDEC Small Business Support Network is an initiative of the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC).

Check out this exclusive discussion brought to you by Emerging Leaders, The Canadian CED Network's standing youth committee.

You hardly need to do a quick web search to understand that real and imposing challenges exist for youth wanting to break into the Canadian job market. In some cases you may be told you don’t have enough experience despite years of educational training. In other cases you might be told that you are over-educated for the position. In many cases you may find there just aren’t jobs available in your field of study or practice, despite being told that if you ‘follow your passion’ things would work out. Whatever the reason, many youth, along with other marginalized segments of our population, are being left out of the Canadian economy.

BACKGROUND

In this age of growing concern for social and environmental conditions, youth are increasingly looking for purpose driven employment opportunities in the hopes of developing mission-related careers. Canada’s employment statistics also reveal an aging workforce, much of which is nearing retirement. Employers understand that youth engagement is essential for creating substantive and lasting change and is integral to organizational succession planning for. All of this seems to bode well for youth participation in the Social Economy of Canada. But many organizations have limited hiring power and, in some cases limited experience in effective youth engagement, and so are struggling to provide the work experience and longer-term employment opportunities needed to attract a new generation of workers to the Social Economy.

This session introduces some examples of how youth can take charge of their own careers within the Social Economy, both by creating your own initiatives and by finding ways to integrate yourself into existing programs and projects.

PRESENTERS

• Sandra Badcock is Housing & Tenant Relations Specialist with Stella’s Circle, a social services agency in St. John's, Newfoundland providing programs for adults who have faced challenge in the community, including personal or family breakdown, homelessness, mental health issues, addictions, abuse, illiteracy and the lack of education as well as poverty. Sandi entered the world of CED as a CreateAction intern in 2010 and has never turned back. Working for various organizations for youth, including FINALY!, Service Canada Centre for Youth, and Student Affairs and Services, Sandi has been active in youth advocacy, issues, and engagement. She is the current chair of Emerging Leaders.
   
• Stefan Epp-Koop is Program Director of Food Matters Manitoba. Previously, Stefan has coordinated research, evaluation, and policy analysis at Food Matters and was also Project Coordinator for the Manitoba Alternative Food Research Alliance.  Stefan holds an MA in History from Queen's University.  Stefan became interested in food for many reasons – growing up in rural Alberta, involvement in international development work, and an interest in policy issues, to name a few, not to mention the joy of getting his hands in the garden dirt.
   
• Marianne Jurzyniec is currently employed with Affinity Credit Union as a Community Development Manager in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. In 2011 she joined Emerging Leaders and has enjoyed the experience of meeting other people who share the same goals and interests as she does including her passion for co-operatives, the environment, and her community. Her current role in Community Development allows her to feed these passions by working with micro-enterprise, co-op development, financial literacy, affordable housing, social enterprise, and environmental initiatives.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• CCEDNet’s webpage with many more youth resources
• DreamNow
• Canadian Youth Business Foundation
• The Students Commission

Over the years as Fair Trade Manitoba has been working to engage Manitobans in fair trade, one of the most successful (and fun) tools we have used to promote awareness has been the One-Month Challenge. A simple, but effective challenge, where participants make a point to purchase and use fair trade coffee, tea, and chocolate for 30 days. Prizes, contests, a chance to try something new OR to be supported in something you believe strongly in…..not to mention, you are encouraged to eat ethical chocolate for an entire month! Our success has seen nearly 10 000 registrants over the years, with consistent interest from both fair trade enthusiasts and newbies. In the interest of maintaining such success while still growing and keeping dynamic, Fair Trade Manitoba is pleased to present: The Fair Trade Challenge.

A new name, with new timing, and new challenges, the Fair Trade Challenge is going to be a blast! Beginning on Hallowe’en (Oct. 31) and concluding on Buy Nothing Day (Nov. 29), the Fair Trade Challenge still promotes consumer choice and inspires ethical purchasing. The build-up and promotion of this campaign will encourage participants to consider the producer behind their Hallowe’en treats while the early holiday shoppers will have some food for thought. This year’s participants will not only be challenged not to give in to those temptations but will be asked to be creative with how to effectively confront normative purchasing practices.

The core challenge will remain the same: consume Fair Trade tea, coffee, and chocolate for 30 days. However, along with the new timing and name, we will offer our participants the opportunity to find the right “challenge” for each individual or group. This year Fair Trade Manitoba will be featuring different types of alternative challenges.

• Sign up before October 30th to be eligible for the first Challenge prize draw.
• Attend the launch for the Challenge at Menno Simons to see a screening of "The Dark Side of Chocolate"; details can be found here.
• Keep an eye on our FaceBook page for an online quiz during Week 1 of the Challenge.
• Save the date for a Nov. 21st webinar, "Fair Trade Impact and Feedback from Producers".
• Click here to see a video on the new Challenge and to sign up now!