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

12:00pm to 4:00pm
Metro Hall, 200 Wellington St. W

The annual YIMBY Festival provides an inclusive space for people and groups involved in grassroots community development to gather; exchange ideas, skills and strategies; and collectively imagine our future city. Last year’s festival featured over 100 community-based groups, free, interactive workshops and activities, and opening remarks from Mayor Tory.

This year's theme is Massively Open. We’ll be focusing in on inclusivity and accessibility, practicing empathy and vulnerability, sharing connections, expertise, data and more. Through the festival, we will be exploring how being open can support us in realizing our collective hopes for a better Toronto.

YIMBY 2016 is presented by Shape My City, in collaboration with ThinkFresh Group.

This year's YIMBY Festival will be hosted at the Metro Hall Rotunda at 55 John Street on Saturday, September 24th.

The tentative schedule is as follows TBD: 

• 11:00 am - 12:00 pm - Table and workshop set up
• 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Festival open to public
• 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Post-festival food and networking for tablers

The core of the YIMBY Festival Programming is an interactive information fair where community groups set up table displays and connect with the public. There will also be opportunities to go beyond hosting a shared table by hosting an interactive experience for attendees in addition to hosting a table! Some examples of interactive experiences include hosting a workshop, curating an art installation, demonstrating a tool or skill, etc.

Details about programming will be available to registrants in the coming month.

WHO SHOULD REGISTER?

Grassroots and community-based organizations of all shapes and sizes who are actively working to build a better Toronto are invited to register for YIMBY.

Taking part in YIMBY is a great way to promote your work to a wide and engaged audience, build connections with other groups who are working on similar issues, and to participate in an annual celebration of Toronto’s community initiatives.

Register your organization today

Deadline to register is August 27th

Social Enterprise Branch Director Katie Gibson

Webinar Q & A
August 3, 12:00 -1:00pm (English)
August 4, 12:00 -1:00pm (en français)

The webinar included a presentation on the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth’s Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2021, its development and plans moving forward. This was followed by responses to questions submitted ahead of time and finally a period of open questions from participants.

Download the Slides here

This OSER event was co-sponsored by the Canadian CED Network and Conseil de la coopération de l'Ontario

The Harwood Institute’s highly-acclaimed Public Innovators Lab is coming to Canada with Canadian trainers and Canadian content. The Lab will immerse you in applied learning, real-life scenarios of how this work has been used and how to take action using a rigorous framework rooted in 30 years of community change work.

WHAT IS THE PUBLIC INNOVATORS LAB?

The Harwood Public Innovators Lab is an intensive 2.5-day training opportunity during which you will learn how to Turn Outward and make more intentional choices in your work to create greater impact in your community. In the Lab, you will learn how to:

• Understand the underlying conditions of change and build the Public Capital that creates and sustains change in communities.
• Engage community members and grass roots organizations – differently from the very beginning.
• Assess the stages of community life and match strategies to the community’s stage.
• Ask the right questions and listen to the community in a deeper way.
• Identify and match your sphere of influence to what matters to the community – i.e. action that creates impact and momentum.

Register for the Event here

WHAT DO YOU GO HOME WITH?

• A Community Conversation Guide to help you lead Community Conversations in your community.
• A Public Innovator Toolkit ready for you to use with your staff and partners.
• A library of videos that you can use to spread what it means to Turn Outward with staff and partners.
• Access to more than 2,000 public innovators worldwide through Harwood’s Public Innovators Listserv.
• Three months of weekly tools, real world case studies, and tips on using what you’ve learned plus a monthly newsletter and Rich Harwood’s blog.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• People who play a key role in driving the execution of programs or initiatives that address community challenges.
• Senior staff that lead programmatic areas or are responsible for coordinating community initiatives.
• CEOs of organizations that are directly engaged in ensuring that community work gets done.
• People responsible for community impact, outreach, volunteer engagement, donor engagement or other areas around strengthening support of the community.
• Organizations and staff focused on community capacity building/development

Registration includes training, all learning resources and material plus 3 continental breakfasts, 2 lunches and nutrition breaks.

Follow-up dates on Twitter @harwoodcoachsusan

Register early! Space is limited.

TESTIMONIALS ON USING THE HARWOOD APPROACH IN CANADA

The Harwood approach has a long history of success in achieving impact in hundreds of communities in the United States and, more recently, in Australia. In Canada, those who have learned and applied it have found the Harwood approach “emphasizes deep community knowledge, consistent scrutiny of organizational motivations and practices, and realistic incremental changes.”

Testimonials from early adopters in Canada:

In 2013 my library made a commitment to connecting more deeply with our community. We wanted to know that we were doing work that really mattered, but we didn’t know how to move beyond our usual strategies for engagement. We needed help and guidance. 

When we encountered the work of the Harwood Institute, we immediately recognized its authenticity, its groundedness, and its human-centred approach. The Harwood method offers both a guiding philosophy, and a very concrete set of tools. It emphasizes the development of deep community knowledge, consistent scrutiny of organizational motivations and practices, and realistic, incremental change. 

I was lucky enough to be sent to the first Harwood Innovator Lab for librarians, and what I learned there launched the most challenging and satisfying work of my career. The work that began here at North Vancouver City Library has evolved into a multi-city, multi-year project, involving numerous community-serving organizations. This process has pushed us to think beyond programs and services, to what connects us as humans - and what we as individuals and organizations need to do to honour and nourish those connections. It has created profound changes in the way we approach our work in community – and we KNOW that it matters.

- Cara Pryor, Head of Community, Program and Service Development at North Vancouver City Library. June, 2016

In 2012 the United Ways of Leeds and Grenville, Northumberland, Oxford and Sault Ste Marie received an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to aid each of us on our journey to community impact. We had all had the opportunity to hear Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation at a recent United Ways of Ontario meeting and were interested in using his approach in our joint project that we named “Action for Community Change”.  

We were fortunate to get 2 of the 4 trained Harwood Coaches in Canada, Joanne Linzey and Susan Taylor Simpson and we were thrilled when they came on board as our Project Facilitators. The Harwood approach is so different than any other we had utilized for gaining insight into our communities. It taught us the importance of “turning outward” and really listening to the community through grassroots conversations. As we listened we learned about the communities “aspirations, their challenges and what needed to change in the community to reach those aspirations” It was a whole new way of connecting with our communities and it totally has changed our way of thinking and doing business at our United Way. We have received high praise from the media, and our local community stakeholders for utilizing the Harwood approach. It provided the tools we required to aid us on our journey to community impact and to gain deep insight into our communities.
 

- Lynda Kay, CEO, Northumberland United Way. June, 2016