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Edmonton Trip - CLC Canada
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Creating Local Connections (CLC) Canada - Edmonton Trip – Jan 29 – Feb 1st ‘08


The last few days of my trip were spent in Edmonton with the CLC’s Alberta Youth Engagement Coordinator, Jessie-Lee Langille. It was really a pleasure to see Jessie-Lee in action, and have greater insight into the time commitment that coordinators put into organizing each of their events! Jessie-Lee had organized 5 CLC-related activities in the course of one week, and I was able to attend 4 of them:


1) Address Global Challenges – Open Forum on arts-based activism, held during International Development Week (IDW) at UAlberta.


With the aim of exhibiting artwork from the global gallery, Jessie-Lee ran a global gallery contest with Laura’s help. The theme was Addressing Global Challenges (which was also the overriding theme of IDW at UAlberta), using art to showcase what young people were doing worldwide to address global challenges. She then exhibited the contest submissions along with other global gallery submissions, and results of a local MDG mural project from 2007 that TakingITGlobal partnered on (you can find this collection on the global gallery). It was really great to see the brilliance of the global gallery in print! Participants were asked to take part in a draw by selecting their favourite art which motivated people to critically look at each piece. Jessie-Lee started the open forum with a powerpoint introducing TakingITGlobal and the role of the global gallery in engaging youth in social activism.


2) Networking meeting


One of the aims of the CLC Canada program is to support existing networks by introducing the TIG tools and providing the necessary training. Furthermore, in communities where there are no existing networks, some coordinators are holding meetings to bring groups together and encourage collaboration and sharing of best practices.





Jessie-Lee held her first networking meeting, having realized that no real coalition or network exists in Edmonton. It was a great turnout with members from 8 community groups present. It was amazing to see how many groups were environmentally-focused, but were seeking opportunities to connect with other non-enviro-related groups in the social and/or youth sector.


There was even a foundation at the table (who showed up unexpectedly) wishing to identify groups who were seeking funding for their youth and eco-focused programming. All members were open to sharing resources with one another, and the representative from a government-offered anti-violence program has followed up with me regarding the LVVL program. Jessie-Lee and I spoke about the TIG tools that other networks are using to strengthen their communications and as a ongoing platform for resource sharing. They was definitely a lot of interest in finding ways to integrate local sites with TIG’s to allow for events sharing and so on. So that’s something I will follow up with mike on. Jessie-Lee did a fantastic job of facilitating the meeting, and is very keen on helping with the establishment of a permanent network in Edmonton.


3) NGO Fair – We manned a TakingITGlobal booth at a NGO fair at UAlberta, during which I was able to meet with all the other participating groups and inform them of TIG and particularly the Browse Resources section where they could promote their organization and opportunities. Furthermore, I met one young lady at our booth who had so many questions around how to connect with specific groups who were working in Kashmir, and how to become more active in her community. Turns out she is moving to Toronto at the end of February and plans to come visit us at the TakingITGlobal office!


4) !TIG Training with newly formed student coalition at UAlberta!

Jessie-Lee joined a new student coalition group that was very keen on developing a strong communications strategy. Naturally, they were very intrigued to hear about the tools offered on TIG and were committed to using our platform for their communications. So, we scheduled a training during my visit where coalition members were given a brief orientation on the site and the keys tools that were relevant to their coalition: TIG profiles, TIG groups, project pages, and organizational profiles. Though it takes quite some time to establish a network on the TIG site, let alone building a good comprehension of how to navigate TIG, the coalition members were patient and understood the long term benefits of “institutionalizing” TIG at the onset.




The important part of the trip was having a chance to sit down with Jessie-Lee and hear her reflections on both what she has been able to accomplish and gained on a professional level since joining CLC, as well as the various challenges she has faced carrying out her role. We outlined several ideas for strategic developments for year 3, as well as more immediate steps that could be taken to better support the coordinators. I am truly grateful to have such a dedicated staff on the CLC team, and I want to recognize the fact that Jessie-Lee has taken certain steps in her position that will have a broad impact on the CLC program. For example, she has developed a facilitator’s guides for the Climate Change Guide To Action that includes a powerpoint and student worksheets, all of which can be adopted by the other coordinators. involvement of university interns (working with CLC for credit) and approach to partnership his was developed with host organization, Alberta YouthVOLUNTEER!, the ED having had teaching experience. Furthermore, she has made an agreement with the Global Education Network at UAlberta to take on a few university interns who will be facilitating CLC workshops for school credit! Thank you for taking so much initiative and representing us so well  You rock! Check her out at http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/jesslangille. Oh, and she was recently interviewed by the Centre for Health Promotion at the University of Alberta. Click here to read the story!




Country Fun!
My three week trip ended fabulously at a cowboy-style dance club in Edmonton. I was joined by my two favorite people in town, Gus (Year 1 Alberta Coordinator) and Jessie-Lee (his successor). We had a lot of fun and I have to say, I really dig the line dancing. Woohoo!


February 15, 2008 | 8:00 PM Comments  0 comments

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