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Building Democracy “with” Community

Posted by Heather Keam on March 29, 2021

Over the past three decades there has been a fundamental shift in informal social ties, tolerance and trust, political and civic engagement in our communities. Evidence shows that our actual experiences of being involved in a community has been steadily declining since the 1960s. This decline is evident if we look at the Canadian voting rates. We have an average of 63% of Canadians voting in the last 4 elections and in Ontario an average of 52%. Why are 40-50% of the population not voting? Is it lack of trust? Do people feel like they cannot make a difference?

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Pivoting Towards Authentic Virtual Engagement: A Greenway-Chaplin Community Centre Story

Posted by Dan Ritchie on March 23, 2021

In May 2020, the Cities Deepening Community network welcomed Greenway-Chaplin Community Centre as a member. For over 30 years this organization, based in Cambridge Ontario, has been connecting community members to recreational, educational, supportive programs and volunteer opportunities. With the disruption of regularly scheduled programs due to COVID-19, they have responded by joining a collective of learners from across the country to reimagine their purpose.

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Block Connector programs: Learning from our members

Posted by Christine Hadekel on March 19, 2021

Have you ever needed to borrow a cup of sugar? Or wanted advice about your garden? Or needed someone to house sit while you were away? For these situations and so many others, your neighbours might your answer!

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Fostering an age-friendly community on the East shore of Kootenay Lake

Posted by Christine Hadekel on February 17, 2021

The world’s population is rapidly aging, and the population in BC is no exception. Within the next 10 years, it is expected that a quarter of the population in the province will be over the age of 65. Through the Age-friendly BC initiative, the province is working with local governments and community stakeholders to ensure that older adults can continue to live active, socially engaged and independent lives in their communities. The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) is providing funding to support age-friendly community planning and projects across the province.

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The Power of Possibilities: Deepening Community Stories

Posted by Heather Keam on January 20, 2021

We are reflecting on 2020, looking back on how communities were able to continue their programs while also wondering how they will keep them going. One of the common themes was the power of possibilities especially centered around this question - “how might we?” Communities asked how might wes as they navigated the changing landscape of COVID, for example; How might we continue to engage community virtually? How might we get more responses to our survey? How might we bring hope to our community?

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How my service club can put youth at the center of our work

Posted by Penny Collins on January 4, 2021

As a long-time volunteer with my local Optimist Club, I have been trying to find out how we can shift the way we include more voices in deciding our programing. On Dec 3rd 2020, I attended a workshop that was hosted by the Cities Deepening Community team at Tamarack Institute called A Professional’s Guide to Working with Young People in Citizen Space. This workshop was facilitated by Cormac Russell and used Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) as a way to put youth at the centre of our work. I went to this workshop with the perspective of an elected President of our local Optimist Club. We work closely with youth in our community and try to build events and donate to existing sports/service clubs that are for the youth in Baden.

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