On March 27, 2019, the Carleton Community Engaged Pedagogy group (with support from CFICE and others) held their 5th annual Carleton U Community Connections networking event meant to help community members, faculty, staff and students network for future community-campus engagement opportunities. The event was a big success, bringing together 140 people to Carleton University’s MacOdrum Library.
An excerpt from a recent article published about the event is below. Check out the full article here.
Community Engagement and Connection in Support of Research and Innovation
By Joseph Mathieu
Photos by Maddie McCrady
The Carleton U Community Connections event’s genial atmosphere began with a land acknowledgement from Mohawk Traditional Teacher Paul Skanks.
Between morning coffee and collaborative workshops, the Mohawk elder and member of the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition gave thanks to all things that allow people to thrive in communities, and encouraged every attendee to greet and welcome their neighbours with a hug or handshake.
“He set a tone that gave life to the whole morning,” said organizer and Political Science Prof. Peter Andrée.
The fifth annual networking event on March 27, 2019 brought together 140 people to Carleton University’s MacOdrum Library. Staff, students and faculty intermingled with representatives from community-based organizations that included Bruyère Continuing Care, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, Impact Hub Ottawa and the Ottawa Mission.
“Ultimately this whole event is intended to allow you to connect with one another, to meet somebody new and to think what might come of that,” said Andrée, who also chairs Carleton’s Committee on Community Engaged Pedagogy (CCEP). This event helps advance research and support innovation and community development according to Andrée, while also creating learning opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students.
“This is an important event,” said Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon. “Carleton was founded in 1942 by the community, for the community, and this is part of our DNA.”
An Unintended Form of Networking
The diversity of students, faculty and staff from a wide range of Carleton departments also created an unintended form of networking. “It was great to see them connecting with community members,” said Andrée, “but it was neat just to see them connecting with one another around the topic of how to undertake effective and meaningful community partnerships.”
Participants spread out into themed workshops that explored the trials and triumphs of community engagement projects. A forthcoming CCEP report will encapsulate the lessons learned and best practices discussed in the workshops that covered topics like health promotion, safety and reducing crime, social justice, Indigenous partnerships, accessibility, and food systems.
At the lunch break, Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Jerry Tomberlin awarded a $500 prize to Victoria Bond, the winner of a student video competition on her and her health sciences classmates community engagement activities.