The Gathering: Full Schedule

9:00am CST

Opening Plenary: Community Building in Times of Crisis & Change

We’re all deeply missing connection. While in the depths of Code Red, the need for collaboration in our communities is more urgent than ever.

At the same time, many of our communities are deeply practiced in resilience, solidarity, community building, and change through times of crisis.

Through the pandemic, we know you’re asking big questions: how to continue serving our communities when the reality of our work is constantly changing? How do we continue to weave our movements, and fight for a more equitable future on the many crises existing pre-pandemic? How do we envision a future when the present itself is overwhelming? Where does our economy and society go from here?

The Opening Plenary will ground us in considering these questions as we look ahead to a week of virtual programming. Traditional Indigenous ceremony and teachings will guide our opening, followed by words of wisdom in exploring the theme of Community Building in Times of Crisis & Change from keynote speaker Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair.

Speakers

Elder Mae Louise Campbell

Elder and Co-Founder, Clan Mothers Healing Village and Knowledge Centre

Elder Mae Louise Campbell is from the Ojibwa-Saulteaux Metis Nation. She has birthed five children and is a Grandmother to many. She grew up in the small Metis northern community of Kississing Lake-Cold Lake, Manitoba. Mae Louise’s commitment to the healing of Aboriginal Women has... Read More →

Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Associate Professor, University of Manitoba

Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is Anishinaabe (St. Peter’s/Little Peguis) and an Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba. He is an award-winning writer, editor and activist who was named one of Monocle Magazine‘s “Canada’s Top 20 Most Influential People” and he... Read More →

Tuesday December 1, 2020 9:00am - 10:00am CST

Plenary

11:00am CST

Beyond Solidarity Statements

The ongoing Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has ignited wide-spread conversations worldwide about racism, equity, and inclusion. Winnipeg saw likely the largest march and direct action since the 1919 General Strike on June 5, 2020 in support of BLM and police defunding. Many organizations and businesses shared information via social media platforms and launched solidarity statements with the BLM movement. The purpose of this session is to explore what community builders and organizations are doing (and can do) toward anti-racism internally and in community. What are strong examples of anti-racist practice and action that organizations have undertaken? What call ins/call outs are necessary to strengthen equity and inclusion in our movements and sector to help build the future we want?

Moderators

Angelina Pelletier

Systems Navigator and Program Manager, Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad

Born and raised in Treaty 1 territory, Angelina Pelletier is a passionate community advocate and specializes in educating and empowering young people with a focus on systemic discrimination. She is a Systems Navigator and Program Manager at an Indigenous youth-serving organization... Read More →

Speakers

Dorota Blumczynska

Executive Director, Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM)

Dorota Blumczynska is the executive director of IRCOM. Through her lived experience and in her work, she understands the power of education, self-determination, and the freedom to share our stories and be accepted as whole persons. This knowledge coupled with a deep sense of social... Read More →

Ella Taylor

Community Programs Assistant, Daniel McIntyre/St. Matthews Community Association

Ella Taylor (she/they) is a 21 year old Criminal Justice student and community organizer working in community development in the West End. She is passionate about social justice, music, and being an Aquarius ♒️!

Rhonda Thompson

Treasurer, Black History Month Celebration Committee, Congress of Black Women of Manitoba Inc.

As an avid community supporter, Rhonda has lent her insight and expertise in Community Relations and Finance to a number of organizations. She helps to facilitate community engagement opportunities and acts as a liaison between demographical groups to encourage knowledge transfer.Rhonda... Read More →

Elliot Walsh

Studio 393 Manager, Graffiti Art Programming Inc.

Tuesday December 1, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm CST

Panel Discussion/Peer Learning Session

1:00pm CST

Who forgot to add Pandemic to the Logic Model?

Best laid plans often go awry - including program evaluations in the time of COVID-19. As organizations shift or suspend programming, we have to adapt evaluation frameworks and methods, reconsider how we engage evaluation stakeholders, and be able to talk about the changes we’ve made to programs.

Speakers

Cassandra Montanino

Planning & Evaluation Facilitator, Health in Common

Cassandra Montanino is an evaluator, facilitator, and social worker (RSW) who leads planning and evaluation projects in the non-profit and public sectors. Cassandra has experience managing evaluation projects, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and collaborating with strategic... Read More →

Erin Huck

Planning & Evaluation Facilitator, Health in Common

Erin Huck is an evaluator and planner (MCIP, RPP) who’s worked with communities and organizations across Canada in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Erin knows that meaningful client and stakeholder relationships are crucial to gathering and understanding data. She... Read More →

Tuesday December 1, 2020 1:00pm - 2:00pm CST

Training Session

8:30am CST

Morning Smudge

Start your Gathering morning off in a good way. Join Jolene Wilson, Restoring the Balance Coordinator at West Central Women’s Resource Centre, for a morning virtual smudge on Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday.

Speakers

Jolene Wilson

Restoring the Balance Coordinator, West Central Women’s Resource Centre

Wednesday December 2, 2020 8:30am - 9:00am CST

Smudging Ceremony

9:00am CST

Resources for Community Building: Trends in Funding & Financing

Across Manitoba and further, government has started to interact with community builders to fund and finance your essential work in different ways. In this session, current trends in funding and financing will be unpacked and explored. This will be an opportunity for community builders to connect over some important questions such as: What arrangements with service providers or community-based organizations has the province made to do this work? What learnings can peers share to support each other? What cautions must be noted and shared?

Moderators

Dawn Sands

Executive Director, North End Community Renewal Corporation

Dawn Sands has 9 years of executive management experience specializing in the community economic development sector. Originally from Nipigon Ontario, she completed her education in Social Work and Human Resources Management at Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology in... Read More →

Speakers

Kim Hickes

Executive Director, YWCA Thompson

Kim Hickes was raised in Churchill, MB, a remote tundra-barren community of 800 people. In this environment she learned what it meant to be part of a community – in order to survive it was necessary to help each other, rely on your neighbours and to be creative with limited resources... Read More →

Glen Koroluk

Executive Director, Manitoba Eco-Network

Glen Koroluk has spent most of his working career in the non-profit and charitable sector as a community organizer and coordinator on issues and projects such as housing, food sovereignty, community development, and environmental protection.He is currently the executive director of... Read More →

Michael Redhead Champagne

Fearless R2W

Michael Redhead Champagne, born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, is an award-winning community organizer, public speaker, and a proud member of Shamattawa First Nation. Michael believes we all have a gift and shows youth the path to discover their own. He is solution oriented... Read More →

Wednesday December 2, 2020 9:00am - 10:00am CST

Panel Discussion/Peer Learning Session

11:00am CST

COVID-19 and Food Security: From Emergency to Equity

The pandemic has exacerbated existing rates of food insecurity across Manitoba. Government and community responses have largely focused on emergency food relief. However, this problem of insufficient and inadequate food is not about a lack of food but rather a problem of inequitable economic access. Let’s seize this moment of transition and temporary income support programs to advocate for long term systemic change – to reduce food insecurity beyond the pandemic.

Moderators

Beth Timmers

Acting Vice Chair, Food Matters Manitoba

Beth Timmers is an environmental social scientist and project manager with the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Beth has ten years of experience researching food and agricultural sustainability in tropical and equatorial regions and a PhD in environmental studies... Read More →

Speakers

Kirsten Bernas

Director of Housing, West Central Women’s Resource Centre

Kirsten Bernas is the Director of Housing at the West Central Women’s Resource Centre. She is also the chair of the Provincial Working Group of the Right to Housing Coalition and sits on the Steering Committee for Make Poverty History Manitoba.

Meaghan Erbus

Advocacy & Impact Manager, Winnipeg Harvest

Meaghan Erbus is the Advocacy and Impact Manager at Harvest. In her role, she is a community advocate, a liaison with all-levels of government and executes community- based research. Meaghan believes in the importance of amplifying the voices of those with lived experiences to help... Read More →

Demian Lawrenchuk

Northern Coordinator, Food Matters Manitoba

Demian is driven by the Inninwuk (Swampy Cree) teachings to provide for his community of Fox Lake. Learning all he can from the land and the Elders, he spends much of his time harvesting from the land as dictated by the seasons. Demian has been committed to passing on these lessons... Read More →

Wednesday December 2, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm CST

Panel Discussion/Peer Learning Session

1:00pm CST

Policy & Advocacy 101: Achieving the Province We Want

How do we work together to advocate for the province we want? Finding a common agenda, coalition building, and working with government are all essential parts of our efforts to achieve our economic, social, and environmental vision for Manitoba. This is an introductory learning opportunity to learn the ins and outs of policy, why it matters, and how to advocate for change.

Speakers

Raissa Marks

Government Relations Director, The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet)

Raissa grew up in rural Albert County, New Brunswick. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environment from McGill University in Montreal, and a Master of Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto, where she specialized in community building, citizen engagement, and education... Read More →

Michael Barkman

Manitoba Public Policy Coordinator, The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet)

Michael is a life-long Winnipegger, based in Treaty 1 Territory. Michael cares deeply about social, economic, and environmental justice, and believes in collective movements and solutions rooted in the knowledge of local communities. At CCEDNet, Michael’s role focuses on membership... Read More →

Wednesday December 2, 2020 1:00pm - 2:00pm CST

Training Session

4:00pm CST

Well, that didn’t work: Lessons and Screw Ups

Bring the beverage of your choice and your best-worst program or project tales. This work isn’t easy. We often have big ideas, take big risks, and they don’t always work out. This is a chance to trade battle tales and lessons learned with some of the people you met along the way.

Speakers

CCEDNet Manitoba Team

The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet)

Wednesday December 2, 2020 4:00pm - 5:00pm CST

Connecting Session

8:45am CST

Morning Smudge

Speakers

Jolene Wilson

Restoring the Balance Coordinator, West Central Women’s Resource Centre

Thursday December 3, 2020 8:45am - 9:00am CST

Smudging Ceremony

9:00am CST

The Transformative Potential of Finance

Community economic development is often explained through the concept of the ‘leaky bucket economy’ -- where wealth and resources are pouring through holes and cracks created by economic ownership far from communities, leaving many people and helpful organizations without everything they need. Finance is a really leaky bucket. And, the financial system including banks, investments, pensions & savings funds, philanthropic funds, and other tools can be contributors to inequality and discrimination. Social finance has recently taken center stage as an innovative way of tackling these challenges. But this conversation can get stuck on particular models, like social impact bonds. It often feels really remote and complicated or just impossible to engage in when we’re so busy working in community. This session is an opportunity to join folks involved in social finance and the federal Investment Readiness Program from various perspectives. We’ll explore the potential and pitfalls for big change if we can plug this leaky bucket with community-owned models and bold social finance ideas to pour finance back into our communities.

Moderators

Sarah Leeson-Klym

Regional Networks Director, The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet)

Sarah Leeson-Klym is the Regional Networks Director for the Canadian CED Network. In that role, she works with network leaders across Canada to create opportunities for learning, dialogue, and alignment across a variety of cross-cutting issues like social and community finance, social... Read More →

Speakers

Sagal Dualeh

Director, Investment Readiness Program, Canadian Women’s Foundation

Sagal Dualeh joined the Canadian Women’s Foundation as Director of Investment Readiness and has over ten years experience in the field working with non-profit organizations, charities, government, as well as with social enterprise and entrepreneurs. She’s worked in varying sectors... Read More →

Brendan Reimer

Strategic Partner, Values-Based Banking, Assiniboine Credit Union

Brendan Reimer is Assiniboine Credit Union’s Strategic Partner, Values-Based Banking. Brendan also currently provides leadership as the co-chair of the Canadian Credit Union Association’s Community Impact Committee, and volunteers as a board member with both SEED Winnipeg and... Read More →

Eden Yesh

Chair, BC Community Impact Investment Coalition

Eden Yesh is the Regional Manager of Community Economic Development at Kootenay Employment Services Society and has been with the organization for 10 years. For the past six years, Eden led the research, development and incorporation of three Community Investment Co-ops in the Kootenay-Boundary... Read More →

Thursday December 3, 2020 9:00am - 10:00am CST

Panel Discussion/Peer Learning Session

11:00am CST

Community-Led Safety & Alternatives to the Police

Calls to fund community-led safety solutions have been loud this year. There are strong examples of safety initiatives based in anti-oppression, equity, and CED in our community. This facilitated dialogue and training session will look at what community-based organizations have done to prioritize safety for community members and staff.

Speakers

West End 24 Hour Safe Space (WE24) staff

Spence Neighbourhood Association

The Spence Neighbourhood Association works with the people of Spence to revitalize and renew their community in the areas of Holistic Housing, Community Connecting, Community Economic Development, Environment and Open Spaces, and Youth & Families. The purpose of the Spence Neighbourhood... Read More →

Thursday December 3, 2020 11:00am - 12:00pm CST

Training Session

1:00pm CST

Linking the Climate Movement to Communities

This session will help link big conversations about a Green New Deal, a Just Transition, and Climate Justice, with community work. How does your work relate to big change needed to address climate change? How can community-based organizations and the climate movement work together? How to support and implement practical solutions in the here-and-now while also working for large-scale policy change?

Moderators

Hannah Muhajarine

Member, Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition

Hannah Muhajarine moved to Winnipeg in 2016, and is currently finishing a Masters in Natural Resource Management at the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba. Hannah has worked for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - MB, Wa Ni Ska Tan: An Alliance of... Read More →

Jessica da Silva

Director, Youth Agencies Alliance

Jessica da Silva has a Master’s in Political Science from University of Manitoba and Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Escola Superior de Administração e Marketing, Brazil. She has been volunteering and employed with the charitable and non-profit sector with a focus... Read More →

Speakers

Jessica Floresco

General Manager, Mother Earth Recycling

Jessica Floresco is the General Manager at Mother Earth Recycling. She is a proud member of the Metis community and has been working with the urban indigenous population and rural First Nations for the past ten years on environmental sustainability issues, land use, and governance... Read More →

Josep Seras Gubert

Sustainability Projects Coordinator, Green Action Centre

Josep is a multidisciplinary project manager focused on environmental education and sustainable design. He is an innovative and visionary team player with 25 years of experience ranging from product design to creativity in education and environmentalism. He is always keen to be involved... Read More →

Asha Nelson

Projects Coordinator, Fireweed Food Co-op

Asha Nelson has diverse experience working in community development and community-based research with a special focus in the food and farming sector. She graduated from the University of Manitoba with an advanced degree in Global Political Economy where she developed a passion for... Read More →

Anna Sigrithur

Food Hub Coordinator, Fireweed Food Co-op

Anna Sigrithur has worked in the food sector for more than a decade as a chef-entrepreneur, a food service worker, a journalist on food issues, and a participant in local food systems in Manitoba and elsewhere. For more than 8 years, she owned and operated a catering company specializing... Read More →

Thursday December 3, 2020 1:00pm - 2:00pm CST

Panel Discussion/Peer Learning Session

4:00pm CST

"Hey, You’re Doing Great": Sector Speed Sharing

The past year has been hard. Sometimes the thing you need to put a smile on your face is to hear someone say “Hey, You’re Doing Great”. And, sometimes the thing to turn that smile into a grin is to hear about all the great things going on in our communities over and over. This session will help you catch up on all those connecting times you missed at events and meetings over the past few months, focusing on the stories of hope, resilience, and innovation through crisis. Come to casually connect with others working to strengthen our communities, share stories, and see how you might get involved.

Speakers

CCEDNet Manitoba Team

The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet)

Thursday December 3, 2020 4:00pm - 5:00pm CST

Connecting Session

8:45am CST

Morning Smudge

Speakers

Jolene Wilson

Restoring the Balance Coordinator, West Central Women’s Resource Centre

Friday December 4, 2020 8:45am - 9:00am CST

Smudging Ceremony

9:00am CST

Screens of Change: Why Organizing Online Matters for our Movements (and how to do it the right way)

Drawing on current examples in our community and across the country, this session examines the role of online campaigning and digital organizing in effective change-making initiatives. It presents tools and approaches for engaging and mobilizing people around political issues and movements. Participants will develop their understanding of the principles and best practices that lead to effective online organizing and the incorporation of digital components into broader grassroots and community efforts.

Speakers

Joseph Wasylycia-Leis

Campus Sustainability Coordinator, University of Winnipeg

Joseph (or Joe) is an experienced activist and community organizer who has been advocating for social and environmental justice at the local and national level for many years. He graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Masters in Environment and Resource Studies. Since then... Read More →

Friday December 4, 2020 9:00am - 10:00am CST

Training Session

11:00am CST

Closing Plenary: Movement Weaving for Advocacy & Action

Through the past four days, community builders have come together, strengthening solidarity and belonging. Gathering learning and connecting sessions have helped deepen our ability to work collaboratively and sharpened our understanding of challenges, priorities, and vision for our community building work.

While 2021 will be challenging for our movements, both the need and opportunity for the work and the vision of community builders will be huge. The pandemic has exposed the deep inequities of our economy and society while giving urgency to the need to continue our work building local economies that strengthen communities and benefit everyone. Now is the time to make sure our movements are collaborating and working together.

During the Closing Plenary and final Connecting Session of the Gathering, we’ll hear reflections from community leaders and give space to individual reflection on learning from the past four days. We’ll look collectively ahead to 2021 while weaving people, ideas, and action together to continue to build community power into the next year.

Speakers

CCEDNet Manitoba Team

The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet)

Friday December 4, 2020 11:00am - 12:45pm CST

Plenary, Connecting Session