See and learn firsthand how co-operatives drive innovation and foster resiliency in Calgary.  This tour will feature stops at different co-operatives ranging in size and focus, and will also provide an opportunity to get to know the city better.

This walking tour will be hosted by staff from the Alberta Community and Co-operative Association and feature presentations from co-op employees. The various stops will include: MEC, Alberta Community Energy, Grain Exchange, First Calgary Financial, Last Best Brewery, Servus Credit Union, and YYC Growers and Distributors.

Participants will learn about the daily workings of our co-op sector, and be able to discuss topics relevant to their work.

**No lunch served. Participants will be taken on a walking tour leaving and returning from Hotel Arts.

Can business create a positive social impact and make a profit? Come discover the heart of CMNGD (pronounced COMMONGOOD), a social enterprise, providing on the job experience and mentoring, at a living wage, to people living in our homeless shelter (The Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre) through a linen laundry service tailored to the hospitality industry.  Join the Founders and employees of CMNGD for an interactive tour of the first Solar Thermal Commercial Laundry Plant in Canada, designed by Eclipse Sustainability Projects, as we discuss how to do business differently by positively impacting people, planet, profit and purpose in business. CMNGD is not only creating a positive social impact but they’ve financed their business using ATB BoostR. ATB BoostR has been used by multiple Alberta businesses to crowdfund their business using reward based incentives. Learn more about rewards based crowdfunding and how social businesses like CMNGD and others are using it to fund their businesses.

**Participants will be taken by bus leaving and returning from Hotel Arts.

Celebrate and connect with fellow community leaders from across Canada at the opening reception for EconoUs2017. Hear from Chief Dr. Robert Joseph from Reconciliation Canada and Shaun Loney, social entrepreneur, on reconciliation in the context of creating shared prosperity for all.

Location: Calgary Public Library, John Dutton Theatre

The opening reception is being held at the John Dutton Theatre on the second floor of the Central Library. The reception will kick off at 3:00pm with light food and refreshments while mingling with friends new and old from across Canada. At 3:30 sharp we’ll move into the theatre to hear from our MCs and speakers. Please don’t be late!

Getting there:

• Meet at Hotel Arts between 2:30 – 3:00 and enjoy a guided walk with Calgary Economic Development to the John Dutton Theatre.
• Arrive via public transit using the LRT City Hall C-Train Station
• Park your bike on the east side of the Central Library
• Park your car in the City Hall Parkade at 322 9 Ave SE or in the Impark lot at 332 6 Ave SE

Speakers

• 

  Chief Dr. Robert Joseph

  Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada
  

  Keynote
• 

  Shaun Loney

  Author and Social Enterprise Developer
  

  Keynote

(a workshop organized in partnership with the LEED Programme of the OECD) – presented by Sylvain Giguère from the OECD

In many OECD countries (including Canada, the United States, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand), there is a gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people on a range of critical socio-economic outcomes, including unemployment, educational attainment, and overall well-being. Well designed and targeted policies can assist indigenous peoples in developing skills to find long-term employment, while also contributing to broader economic development objectives and inclusive growth. This workshop will explore the role of federal, provincial and local policies in better preparing indigenous peoples for the labour markets of today and tomorrow. The workshop will focus on policy innovations in Canada and internationally that have positively contributed to the local employment and economic development outcomes of indigenous peoples. Discussions from this session will feed into an OECD report that will be published in December 2017.

Location: Hotel Arts – Spectrum 1/2

Speakers

• 

  Sylvain Giguère

  OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions, and Cities
  

  Speaker

Food For Thought is a feast for the senses! Enjoy 20+ local food and beverage sampling stations where you’ll savour Calgary’s finest ingredients while mingling with chefs and farmers. Learn why sustainable growing practices make a difference to your health, the planet and the local economy. Each ticket sold will provide a meal to someone in need through Mealshare. Proudly hosted by REAP Business Association in partnership with Hotel Arts.

Location: Hotel Arts

This gathering is designed to help us build relationships amongst Alberta CED stakeholders and inspire a sense of possibility for the future of CED in the province. We’ll dialogue about what’s possible for CED in Alberta and how we can move opportunities forward

If you would like to participate please contact: Sarah Leeson-Klym  or 204-218-1355

Hear how community leaders from across Canada are using grassroots engagement to change lives and overcome challenges to build Thriving Communities.

• Diane Hodgins, Shorefast Foundation
• Beatrice Alain, Le Chantier de l’économie sociale
• Frederic Khonje (Affinity Credit Union)
• Wayne Chiu (Trico Homes)
• Moderated by Nadia Kidwai, Journalist and Radio host

Location: Hotel Arts

**Breakfast will be served in the lobby between 7:30 – 8:00am.

Speakers

• 

  Diane Hodgins

  Shorefast Foundation
  Chief Financial Officer

  Keynote
• 

  Béatrice Alain

  Chantier de l'économie sociale
  Directrice générale

  Keynote
• 

  Nadia Kidwai

  Journalist and Radio Host, CBC Manitoba
  

  Speaker

**(Please note that the Community Wise venue is inaccessible via wheelchair)

**(Please note that the Community Wise venue is inaccessible via wheelchair)

**(Please note that the Community Wise venue is inaccessible via wheelchair)

Craft brewing is on the rise across Canada. Alberta has grown from 19 breweries in 2014 to 51 today, with a new brewery opening every month. New local breweries bring more options for consumers, more tourism to the province, and most importantly, they create jobs in communities in every part of Alberta. Our craft brewers are an important component of the local food movement reconnecting people to the land, to those that make their food and to the community.

Terry Rock, Executive Director of Alberta Small Brewers Association will be our guide. We will travel to Calgary’s Northeast to visit three local brewers. Toolshed had humble beginnings in a backyard toolshed. Don’t be fooled by their name and roots, they are the fastest growing brewery in Calgary. We’ll cap the tour stopping by Common Crown whose goal is to bring people together through music, the arts, and beer.

By the end of this tour, we promise you’ll have fallen in love with our brewers, our beer, and our city.

Breweries included:

• Tool Shed
• Common Crown
• Zero Issue Brewing

 **Participants will be taken by bus leaving and returning from Hotel Arts.

TOUR THE UPS AND DOWNS OF HUMAN INGENUITY!

one of Beakerhead’s enthusiastic Curiosity Rovers take you on a tour of some of the 2017 Beakerhead installations. You’ll get a dose of delight — and science! — on this 60-minute walking tour. Beakerhead is a smash-up of art, science, and engineering that runs from September 13 – 17, 2017. This year, the major installations create a larger-than-life story of Snakes and Ladders, highlighting the ups and downs of invention and innovation. The tour will take you through multiple experiences that are vastly different but share a common theme of celebrating human potential and imagination.  Join us for an exploration of the game-changing characteristic of people who have stood here since the beginning of human history to today. The installations are approximately 15 minutes apart, so wear your walking shoes.

** Participants will be taken on a walking tour leaving and returning from Hotel Arts.

Join us as we escort you to the Alastair Ross Technology Centre, one of the city’s largest innovation hubs, for TechStock 2017. This year, we explore how technology and social innovations are making a profound impact on our society and driving change in areas such as sustainability, health, education, gender equality, and more. Walk through our exhibition halls and visit 30+ companies and organizations that are driving change for an afternoon of energy, interactive technology and displays, food trucks and more.

This annual event, presented by Innovate Calgary, runs as part of Beakerhead, a week-long smash up of art, science, and engineering.

**Participants will be taken by city transit (accompanied by volunteers) leaving and returning from Hotel Arts.

Join Trico Charitable Foundation for the Social EnterPrize, where two Canadian social enterprises will receive $100,000 each for demonstrating best practices, impact and innovation in Doing Business Differently.

These recipients will then be joined by two past recipients – Potluck Café and Catering and Mission Possible – for a panel conversation about alignment, the ‘secret sauce’ behind their success. The discussion will highlight the power of aligning the three EconoUs2017 themes, and aligning concepts that are too often thought of as mutually exclusive: using strong business models while also strategically utilizing grants, being a lead organization while also embracing community partnerships, and addressing the immediate needs of those in poverty while also seeking systemic change.

• Dan Overall (Executive Director, Trico Charitable Foundation)
• Colin Stanfield (Executive Director, Potluck Café Society)
• Matthew Smedley (Executive Director and CEO, Mission Possible)

2017 Social EnterPrize Recipients:

• Dan Kershaw  (Executive Director, Furniture Bank)
• Diane Hodgins (CFO, Shorefast Foundation)

 Location: Hotel Arts

**The evening will kick-off in the lobby of Hotel Arts at 6:00pm with exhibits and mingling with social entrepreneurs and community leaders that are innovation for shared prosperity. At 7:15pm we’ll move into the ballroom for dinner and the Trico Social EnterPrize Awards Ceremony.

Individual tickets are available for this event only here.

Raising the Democratic Stakes:
Community Economic Development Strategies for Polarized Times

Looking to the end of this decade, we can see community economic developers are up against rising inequality, disruptive technology and polarizing politics. The good jobs that were the foundation of shared prosperity are disappearing. Citizens have been reduced to stakeholders in a local economic development process that too often acknowledges their interests but not their democratic power. It’s a time of experimentation with bold strategies to “raise the stakes” — to build power among residents and workers for decent work and equitable economic growth. It’s also an era of unprecedented collaboration in workplaces, neighbourhoods and cities everywhere.  Panelists will discuss their current strategies and collaborative efforts, and challenge participants to reflect on what we can do to create sustainable livelihoods for all in the 21st century.

This plenary will explore how we as community leaders can unify and strengthen our vision to create good jobs and shared prosperity for all.

Panelits: 

• Colette Murphy (Executive Director, Atkinson Foundation)
• Sylvain Giguere (Head, Local Economic & Employment Division (LEED), OECD)
• Alejandra Bravo (Director of Leadership and Training at the Broadbent Institute)
• Jessica Bonanno (Chief Financial Officer & Director, Employee Ownership Program (Democracy Collaborative)

Location: Hotel Arts

**Breakfast will be served in the lobby between 7:30 – 8:00am.

Speakers

• 

  Colette Murphy

  Atkinson Foundation
  Executive Director

  Keynote
• 

  Sylvain Giguère

  OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions, and Cities
  

  Speaker
• 

  Alejandra Bravo

  Power Lab
  Director

  Keynote Speaker

What if we could leverage the collective talent and ideas of attendees at EconoUs2017 to create, improve, and work on actual projects in actual communities across Canada? What if you could bring the idea you’ve been working on and get focused coaching from the brilliant minds who will be at the conference?  What if you came to a learning conference and left with concrete action steps informed by that learning?

This year we will spend our final plenary session moving from learning to action through a rapid design and peer coaching process that helps accelerate ideas using the talent that’s in the room. Up to a quarter of the participants at EconoUs2017 will have an opportunity to work on their projects in a collaborative and dynamic process.  Think about the work you are doing, questions you have and places you are stuck. Gain the insight of a small group of peer coaches who will help bring fresh perspective and new ideas to your work. As a peer coach, you will gain inspiration and exposure to ideas that relate to work you’re doing while being part of helping bring great ideas to life.

What if we could leverage the collective talent and ideas of attendees at EconoUs2017 to create, improve, and work on actual projects in actual communities across Canada? What if you could bring the idea you’ve been working on and get focused coaching from the brilliant minds who will be at the conference?  What if you came to a learning conference and left with concrete action steps informed by that learning?

This year we will spend our final plenary session moving from learning to action through a rapid design and peer coaching process that helps accelerate ideas using the talent that’s in the room. Up to a quarter of the participants at EconoUs2017 will have an opportunity to work on their projects in a collaborative and dynamic process.  Think about the work you are doing, questions you have and places you are stuck. Gain the insight of a small group of peer coaches who will help bring fresh perspective and new ideas to your work. As a peer coach, you will gain inspiration and exposure to ideas that relate to work you’re doing while being part of helping bring great ideas to life.

Facilitated by: Chris Corrigan (Process Artist, a Teacher and a Facilitator of Social Technologies)

Location: Hotel Arts

Speakers

• 

  Chris Corrigan

  a Teacher and a Facilitator of Social Technologies
  Process Artist

  Speaker

Lunch will be served while we, as a delegation, continue to consider ways to advance innovations for shared prosperity on a national scale. In a ‘fireside chat’ and interview style setting we’ll hear from ATB CEO and community leader Dave Mowat in regards to how we can take bold new steps towards building thriving communities, creating good jobs and doing business differently. You will leave EconoUs2017 with what you came for (and more): new ideas, reflections, insights and a feeling of being part of a larger movement with others across the country.

Location: Hotel Arts

Speakers

• 

  Dave Mowat

  ATB Financial
  President and CEO

  Speaker