Highlights from CCPH 2014: From Rhetoric to Reality (Conference Program)
Personal Context: Director of the Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning- a not for profit organization partnering with Carleton University in a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funded research grant. First time attendee of CPPH I thank the organizers and presenters for providing an excellent opportunity to learn and network. See you at C2UExpo 2015, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, May 25-29, 2015.
Highlights:
It Shoulda Been Me- Site Visit to eta Creative Arts Foundation
- Gut-wrenching tear inducing, and a powerful vehicle for making a difference by using theatre arts for behavioural health interventions.
- Site visit to participate in a theatre production delving into the issues of living in the midst of street violence, family violence, survivor guilt, gender issues, and seeking help to find a way out of the cycles of violence.
- A powerful play, made more so by the sharing by the audience afterwards of their stories. The play touches the heart and the mind.
- They shared a bit of their world by sharing one way of finding solutions by reaching youth.
Achieving the Anchor Promise
The Democracy Collaborative, Great Cities Institute
- Focused on the role of educational institutions’ role in community and economic development. Institutional hiring practices, spending decisions, and mission to contribute to the economic and social well-being of their community were explored.
- Something for Canadian communities and educational institutions to explore more fully- Community engagement is broader than teaching and research activities.
Asking Permission to Come Ashore
A community builds on the metaphor of the healing journey by canoe to create culturally grounded interventions. http://healingofthecanoe.org/about/ Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFJVOoN2yE0
It’s All About Relationships (check out photos from the conference )
University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg Boldness Project
- A demonstration of how powerful community can be when community organizations work together to define their agenda and engage with academic institutions to share resources.
- Winnipeg inner city organizations in collaboration with their educational institutions tackle multiple issues.
- Research project is different in that the applicant for the SSHRC grant is a not for profit organization
This is a Very Unusual Circumstance and any Future Requests Would Have to Be Pre-approved.
Pictou Landing Native Women’s Association, Dalhousie University
A deeply moving sharing of personal stories of involvement in a research project initiated by the Women’s Council on a reserve to address concerns of pollution impacts from a local paper mill.
A small Canadian rebellion–What do the words mean and other conversations?
Spent time with the Canadian group digging deeper on what we really mean when we use words like: community, engagement, respect, partnership, trust and others. Also reflected on the various networks for community engagement and their role in supporting community engagement, what changes do we want to see, and what are some things to do to get there.
New words and phrases:
Cultural Humility replaces Cultural Competence
Theatre of the Oppressed http://www.theatreoftheoppressed.org/en/index.php?useFlash=0
Pimping their pain- pseudo change rather than systemic change.