I recently read an article about effective note-taking at events and conferences. The author suggested that attendees keep two types of notes: wisdom (inspiration you pick up) and action (best practices). This brought a smile to my face, because this is how I’ve structured Roadmap: 2030 this year.
If you haven’t seen the killer line-up on sessions and speakers, go visit http://www.roadmap2030.com then go register at http://roadmap2030.eventbrite.com. It’s ok; I’ll wait.
Welcome back! Isn’t it awesome?! I’m confident that you’re as jazzed about it as I am.
When building the schedule, I followed a motto I ripped off a friend “inspiration must precede action” and built October 25th to be a day of understanding, wisdom and inspiration. Diversity isn’t easy; it poses challenges and opportunities we didn’t have to think about 5 or 15 or 25 years ago. For example, I never thought the issue of prayer in public school would rear its head again, once the Lord’s Prayer was banned from schools in the late 80s. And yet, here I sit, as a debate rages about a school in Don Mills offering space for prayer sessions to students during class time. I used to think of accessibility in terms of ramps, braille and big door-opening buttons, but now I see it as an issue that affects TV reporting (describing the visuals) and technology (website accessibility) and will grow as the Boomers age. These are only two examples… there are so many more issues that crop up as an increasingly diverse population live, work and grow together, and try to figure out how to involve everyone and make room for differences. On October 25th Roadmap: 2030 will dive right into the heart of the opportunities and challenges that diversity brings, and will try to impart a bit of wisdom about how to navigate through these issues. Thank God that it’s not a dinner party, because we’re covering rights, faith and politics in one day!
Having spent one day focused on understanding the issues, gaining wisdom and inspiration, we move to action. October 26th will focus on best practices from a range of perspectives, organizations and sectors that will help your diversity and community engagement practice. From ways to support young leaders to tips on using social and online communications to reach and engage communities to identifying thought-leaders and influencers and navigating the rocky terrain of competing views and agendas, Roadmap: 2030 will present innovative ideas and practices from people who are doing it. This isn’t theory — this is the knowledge you only get by doing it.
October 26th will also pull back the curtain on two recent highly successful community engagement initiatives: CBC Radio will share their insight into working with communities around tough, “dirty laundry” types of issues. In their case, the issue of family violence in Toronto’s South Asian communities from their recent Town Hall program on the issue. We will also have the people behind Ontario’s Accessibility Standards Act – the Minister who introduced the bill, the Asst. Deputy Minister who runs the file, the chair of the community advisory council who had to advise the government while balancing competing and sometimes contradictory views from disability communities, and a university who has implemented the Customer Service Standard early and is living the “how policy becomes practice” story.
By the end of the two days, participants will have a greater understanding of the complex issues at play, and the tools needed to bring their community engagement and diversity work up to a new level.
I hope you’ll join us.
