Waterloo Community Action Forum to Focus on Inclusion

Waterloo - Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran in partnership with the Social Planning Council of Kitchener Waterloo will be hosting a one day forum geared at enhancing the City’s focus on inclusion.

The event, which takes place on Friday, April 18, will bring together individuals from throughout the community to identify and talk about priorities and actions that would help create an even more inclusive community.

“Waterloo is a community blessed with a diverse population,” explains Halloran. “As a community, our obligation is to ensure that everything we do is accessible to and inclusive of that diverse population. In organizing this day, we are looking for suggestions and actions that will help us focus on what we are currently doing to engage our community and to look for ways to improve it.”

Explains Trudy Beaulne, Executive Director of the Social Planning Council of Kitchener Waterloo, “An inclusive community is one in which people feel a sense of belonging in the economic, social, political and cultural dimensions of that community. Waterloo is doing a good job. We believe that by bringing people together from all sectors of the community to think and act collaboratively, we can identify actions that will further reduce barriers that may keep people from feeling they truly belong.”

In Waterloo, there are numerous individuals who may not feel included for a variety of reasons, says Beaulne. Newcomers, individuals with disabilities, chronic health issues, mental health or addictions, lower or fixed income earners, the unemployed, those with less education, non-literate or technically challenged, individuals who are gay, bisexual or transgender, as well as members of different age groups may all feel a sense of being disconnected or not included.

“This forum is open to anyone from the community,” says Beaulne. “The purpose of the day is to provide an opportunity for voices from all corners of our community to be heard, and where dialogue leads to shared responsibility to take action.”

To encourage that, the forum will use a unique approach called open space technology. Rather than following a set agenda, through the open space approach, every single issue that anyone in the room cares enough about to raise will be open for discussion. The meeting will begin with participants sitting in circle. From that circle, individuals with issues of concern are invited to write the issue on a flip chart and share it with the group. These issues then become the focal point of break out discussions that take place in separate rooms throughout the day. Those attending the meeting are invited to join discussions that are of interest to them.

“The City isn’t coming to this meeting with a set agenda and a panel of experts who can talk about the answers to being a more inclusive community,” explains Halloran. “In fact, we’re going into the room with an open mind and an open slate and look forward to the dialogue and the actions that will come out of the day.”

Anyone is welcome to attend and participate this day

Date: Friday, April 18
Location: The Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology, Accelerator Centre, Research and Technology Park, University of Waterloo, 295 Hagey Blvd., Suite 240
Registration 8:30 a.m., Forum 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (lunch provided)

There is no cost for this event. RSVP by April 14 online

This event is being organized by the City of Waterloo and the Social Planning Council of Kitchener Waterloo, with sponsorship from the Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology. The Social Planning Council of Kitchener Waterloo is focused on cultivating community knowledge to advance social justice in Waterloo Region.

The Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (CBET) was created to support, build on, and expand the entrepreneurial initiatives at the University Waterloo. The university's reputation for encouraging and spinning off successful entrepreneurial ventures is unmatched in Canada. The Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) is the first graduate business program of its kind. Offered by CBET, at the University of Waterloo, MBET is specifically designed to address Canada’s pressing need for more successful innovators. The program provides the critical business skills needed to guide innovative ideas along the road to commercial success.