"The BVI is a great tool & process. We need to have more people working with CIEL's tools to further Community and Economic Development in Canada."
- Hélène Deslauriers
Director General, Réseau des SADC in Quebec (Alliance of 63 SADCs)
Canadian Representative on the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum on Partnerships
“Process was dynamic & engaged the community”
- Rami Rothkop
Harrop Procter Community Forest Co-op, BC
100 Mile Ideas Diet Brings 77 people to Oso Negro
NELSON- Judging from the 77 people who showed up to Oso Negro on March 20th for a conversation café on arts and economic development, the time is right for community-wide forums. Put on by the Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL) with the support from various community groups, the event was part of the 100 Mile Ideas Diet, a series of conversation cafés on community vitality. The café crowd engaged in meaningful discussion after speakers Marg Stacey, Geoff Burns and Allison Girvan shared their insights and burning questions. Feedback from the group was extremely positive. In the words of one audience member, Paula Kiss:
“I was impressed with the broad mix of people attending the Café and felt proud to be part of a community that can have such genuine dialogue. I liked seeing quality discussion between different community members because I think it does a lot to educate and inspire beneficial action.”
Some of the topics covered by the speakers included how imagination stimulates productivity, the community connection and well-being that art fosters, and the importance of ensuring youth participation in arts ventures. Following the brief presentations, the crowd split into small groups to discuss unserved niches in the arts scene, creative solutions to limited funding opportunities, and how to bring out-of-town artists to Nelson in order to enrich local artists. The event organizer, Anna Planedin, was pleased to see so much interest in community-wide dialogue:
“Since the event, many people have expressed their gratitude for the chance to interact with so many interesting, inspiring people. With a plentitude of amazing social entrepreneurs in our area, the connections formed will be a vital resource to this community.”
A prominent idea of the evening was the need for cohesion amongst groups in order to convey more powerful and creative messages to promote positive social transformation. An audience member explained that when environmental groups pair up with arts organizations or cultural groups (such as Touchstones, Oxygen or Kootenay Co-op Radio), their message reaches more people.
The next conversation café, 'Business Vitality: The Entrepreneurial Spirit in Harsh Economic Times' is slated for Thursday, April 16th at 7:00 pm. People are encouraged to come at 6:45 in order to secure seating and receive service at the coffee bar. Presenters Russell Precious, Zoe Creighton, Mike Stolte and Paul Edney will share ideas about business as a lifestyle in which people and the planet are of equal consideration to profit. Following their brief presentations, the café crowd will discuss questions generated by the presentations.
To learn more about the speaker series, contact Anna Planedin: aplanedin@theciel.com or (250) 352-9192 ext. 221. To learn more about the work CIEL does, visit www.theciel.com/
The One Hundred Mile Ideas Diet series has received generous support from the Nelson and District Credit Union, the Columbia Basin Trust, Kootenay Co-op Radio, the Nelson Daily News, Otter Books and Oso Negro.
For photos from the first session please visit:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/Stolte.CIEL/Spring2009SpeakerSeries1#
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CIEL is seeking a joint sponsor for a Community Entrepreneurship Award Program; if you are interested, please contact the CIEL office.
