City Hall was abuzz with more than 160 participants at this year’s CDF Learning Forum on the evening of May 25th 2017. People from across Ottawa attended in celebration of a City where we all belong.
The 9th annual CDF Learning Forum opened with the Peace Flame Drumming Circle, grounding us on unceded Algonquin land. The lively event had an array of activities including kiosks showcasing neighbourhood initiatives across Ottawa. Resident-led conversation circles engaged participants in dynamic conversations around four community success stories including: Engaging newcomer women through the Parkwood Hill Women’s Crafting group; Fostering the entrepreneurial skills of women through a new Street Food Collective; Creating the Equipass; and Growing their community at Albion-Heatherington. The live music performance by MASC – OTTR youth was also big hit. Another exciting event at this year’s event was the Art Cube, an expressive communal art on “belonging” organized courtesy of artists from House of Paint (see photos).
Below are some common themes that emerged out of feedback received from event participants:
- Informative and helpful knowledge acquired. Participants appreciated learning more about the various community initiatives in Ottawa and said that the event helped them with new ideas to implement in their neighbourhoods and also introduced them to new people, resources and networks.
- Belonging and participating in community building. Participants had time to reflect on what it means to belong and appreciated the coming together of people from different communities in Ottawa.
- Understanding and celebrating our diverse cultures. Participants appreciated the multicultural nature of the event and the cross-cultural/cross-community connections.
- Inspiration and future Involvement. Participants were inspired by the shared resident stories, ideas and “great connections” were made.
Some of the comments made by participants, when asked what they learned or thought about the Learning forum included:
“Amazing event”; “Pretty hard to beat such a well thought out and executed event”
“Very informative on what is happening in the community”
“Got useful leads and ideas that apply directly to our organization’s mandate”
“ to help my community, volunteer and build myself strongly, to improve my community and neighbourhood”
“how to live better with other people in the community”
“We all feel separate from each other, and we should all be inclusive”
If you wish to share any comments and/or questions, we would love to hear them! Take the time to check out the photos from the event!
Contact t.corner@pqchc.on.ca