December is the perfect time to reflect on the year and to look forward towhat can be built in the next year. In Vibrant Communities, 2019 was a year of growth and impact. We are excited to work with our member networks to build on our growth and impact in 2020.
In 2019, Cities Deepening Community took a huge step in its transition from momentum building to a movement of cities working to build community. We started our formal membership structure, which has grown to 16 members since June; we hosted a webinar with Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health about social isolation and the role of community building; grew our learning community to 6000 individuals; and…
At the same time, the Cities Reducing Poverty network continued to grow, while seeing the impact of its efforts. Cities Reducing Poverty reached 80 members working in more than 300 communities and cities. Working locally, Cities Reducing Poverty members are leading the way in poverty reduction in Canada. These local collectives are leading movements for affordable transit programs, living wage campaigns, volunteer tax clinics and meaningfully engaging individuals with lived/living experience of poverty as experts.
Most importantly, we are seeing real impacts on poverty in Canada. This year, Canada announced that poverty had dropped below 10% and that 825,000 few people were living in poverty; Alberta’s child poverty rate dropped by 50% in two years; and Hamilton reported that poverty had decreased locally from 21.9% to 16.6% from 1996 to 2016.
Vibrant Communities, Cities Deepening Community and Cities Reducing Poverty, are playing an important role. Our networks are having an impact and driving forward agendas that are reshaping their communities and shifting priorities for provinces and the federal government. In 2020, we will be working to strengthen our work, reflecting and reporting on the impact of our network, and building even greater momentum for deepening community and reducing poverty.
Things you can expect in 2020:
Additionally, we will continue to work with our members and learners to co-generate and share knowledge. You can expect 12 webinars; 20 publications (Tools, Guides and Case Studies), and the continuation of our Communities of Practice to support deeper learning.