The Building Vibrant Rural Futures: Mobilizing Knowledge and Informing Policy conference invites presentations on how community organizations, policymakers, and researchers are mobilizing knowledge to inform policy and build vibrant rural futures.

The Building Vibrant Rural Futures: Mobilizing Knowledge and Informing Policy conference will serve as a critical platform to explore a number of subthemes including:

Conference Themes

• The Building Vibrant Rural Futures
• Local and regional economic development
• Labour force development and training
• Climate change and the impacts on rural communities infrastructure, economies, and lifestyles
• Rural data, information, and harnessing digital data
• Aboriginal transformations/issues

Within each subtheme, we encourage presenters to discuss opportunities for knowledge mobilization and how their ideas can inform rural policy and practice.

Register for Building Vibrant Rural Futures

Keynote Speakers

Erlend Moster Knudsen
Deputy Director, Pole to Paris
Keynote Presentation Title: Climate Scientists: Searching the Golden Mean Between Pencil Pushers and Activists

Andrée Cazabon
Filmmaker, Cazabon Productions
Keynote Presentation Title: Lessons Learned in a Remote First Nation Community During a Unique Reconciliation Trip in Their Homes

Keith Roulston
Journalist, Newspaper Owner, Theatre General Manager
Keynote Presentation: Talking to ourselves: Why rural people need to communicate within and between their communities and how the system is breaking down

8:00am to 9:00am
CSI Spadina

Join the Sustainability Network on March 9th to hear TD Bank’s Chief Environment Officer Karen Clarke-Whistler’s perspectives on the green economy.

2016 is signaling a shift in tone and rhetoric towards the green economy. Following the Paris Agreement, where 195 countries at COP21 sought to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C, the Canadian Government has announced plans for a Pan-Canadian framework for combatting climate change to hit our own 2030 targets, and provincial and municipal governments are putting plans into action to further this goal, including carbon pricing. Despite this momentum, sizable gaps exist between targets set and the pace and scale of tangible efforts underway. The behaviours and outputs of Canada’s private sector will play a key role in moving the green economy forward and closing this gap. What needs to happen to ensure that businesses and industries make the necessary shift towards sustainability while ensuring our economic prosperity? What challenges will we face and what opportunities must be seized in order for Canada’s private sector to thrive in the emerging green economy?

Join a candid conversation between TD Bank’s Chief Environment Officer Karen-Clarke-Whistler and Mike Morrice, Executive Director of Sustainability CoLab, where Karen will offer her personal insights as one of Canada’s sustainability thought-leaders operating within the financial sector, exploring how she reconciles the urgency to change business as usual with the often opposing forces of the market.

Register for Shifting The Market

About the Speakers

Karen Clarke-Whistler has been TD’s Chief Environment Officer since 2008, responsible for developing and leading the bank’s environmental strategy, which has been key to its rise to the top of the league tables for environmental performance in the North American banking sector. Under Karen’s leadership, TD became the first North American-based bank to be carbon neutral, and has leveraged insights into the low carbon economy to generate more than $7Billion in green financing. An environmental scientist who is widely recognized as a thought leader, Karen has been named one of Canada’s Clean16 for her outstanding contribution to clean capitalism.

Mike Morrice has spent his career galvanizing community-led transitions to a greener economy. He founded Sustainable Waterloo Region in 2008 and then Sustainability CoLab, which he now leads, in 2012. Sustainability CoLab is building the low-carbon economy in cities across Ontario.

Paul Bubelis is Executive Director of the Sustainability Network which hosts the series and he will MC.

Green Economy Perspectives is part of the Economic Literacy Project which offers training and outreach to ENGOs to help Canadians transition toward a green economy. The Economic Literacy Project is supported by a grant from the Ivey Foundation.

12pm to 4pm Eastern Time
Timmins Native Friendship

Timmins Changemakers Ignite: Social Entrepreneurship Pop-Up Lab Series

Discover new ways to create positive impact using business strategies

Uncover social entrepreneurship initiatives and funding streams in Northern Ontario. With interactive workshops from regional organizations that support local social enterprises, including SEE, SENO CoStarter for Change and Urban Indigenous Youth for Change.

Who should attend?

ALL WELCOME - particularly those interested in starting and supporting social enterprises, community organizations, students, service providers and entrepreneurial individuals!

What's on?

• Urban Indigenous Youth For Change Sharing Circle - Saturday March 19, 12-4pm, at Timmins Native Friendship Centre. Learn more about the social economy with interactive land-based activities
• Attendance is FREE but registration is required.
• Lunch will be provided. Space is limited.

Register for the Urban Indigenous Youth For Change Sharing Circle

For more information, please contact Mélanie Watson at 705-360-5800 ext. 226 or melanie.watson at algomau.ca

About Social Entrepreneurship Evolution (SEE):

Social Entrepreneurship Evolution (SEE) is an emergent pan-northern collaborative whose focus is to support the infrastructure for Youth Social Entrepreneurship (YSE) with an emphasis on collaboration, shared measurement and collective impact.

About SENO CoStarter for Change:

Social Enterprise for Northern Ontario (SENO) CoStarter for Change supports the development of early-stage, high-growth social enterprises in Northern Ontario by offering social entrepreneurs access to capital, educational and support programs, workspace, and other services to help launch and grow their non-profit and for-profit ventures.

About Urban Indigenous Youth for Change (UIYFC):

The Urban Indigenous Youth for Change (UIYFC) pilot project will provide an in-depth opportunity to teach and learn from urban Indigenous youth how to incorporate cultural and land based learning with different types of entrepreneurship education, leading to increased and diverse participation in the social economy.

12pm to 4pm Eastern Time
Northern College (Library)

Timmins Changemakers Ignite: Social Entrepreneurship Pop-Up Lab Series

Discover new ways to create positive impact using business strategies

Uncover social entrepreneurship initiatives and funding streams in Northern Ontario. With interactive workshops from regional organizations that support local social enterprises, including SEE, SENO CoStarter for Change and Urban Indigenous Youth for Change.

Who should attend?

ALL WELCOME - particularly those interested in starting and supporting social enterprises, community organizations, students, service providers and entrepreneurial individuals!

What's on?

• SENO CoStarter for Change Workshop - Saturday March 19, 12-4pm, at Northern College (Library) Generate and discuss ideas to develop your social enterprise and learn how to access this program's funding 
• Attendance is FREE but registration is required.
• Lunch will be provided. Space is limited.

Register for the SENO CoStarter for Change Workshop

For more information, please contact Mélanie Watson at 705-360-5800 ext. 226 or melanie.watson at algomau.ca

About Social Entrepreneurship Evolution (SEE):

Social Entrepreneurship Evolution (SEE) is an emergent pan-northern collaborative whose focus is to support the infrastructure for Youth Social Entrepreneurship (YSE) with an emphasis on collaboration, shared measurement and collective impact.

About SENO CoStarter for Change:

Social Enterprise for Northern Ontario (SENO) CoStarter for Change supports the development of early-stage, high-growth social enterprises in Northern Ontario by offering social entrepreneurs access to capital, educational and support programs, workspace, and other services to help launch and grow their non-profit and for-profit ventures.

About Urban Indigenous Youth for Change (UIYFC):

The Urban Indigenous Youth for Change (UIYFC) pilot project will provide an in-depth opportunity to teach and learn from urban Indigenous youth how to incorporate cultural and land based learning with different types of entrepreneurship education, leading to increased and diverse participation in the social economy.