the gathering text logo with two overlapping chat bubbles floating overhead

About the Gathering

The Gathering is an annual pay-what-you-can event where Manitoba’s community builders connect, learn, and celebrate success. It is open to all from staff of community organizations, to students, funders, civil servants, academics, or anyone interested in community development and community economic development.

Untangling Our Roots logo

For 19 years, Manitoba community builders have gathered every fall to connect over a shared meal, to learn from one another’s work, and to celebrate the challenging but necessary practice of building stronger communities.

In community work, we are called to collaborate: with our colleagues, stakeholders, funders, community members, or across movements. The Gathering helps to facilitate, solidify, and forge greater collaboration between and among community builders.

It has been a privilege for us at the Canadian CED Network to host this event, and to hold the stories and history of our community sector. Thank you to every single person who has participated, volunteered, coordinated, presented, worked, sponsored, provided feedback or contributed energy to this event. It continues to exist because of you.

CCEDNet Manitoba is grateful to the leaders from our network who have devoted their time and expertise in guiding the Gathering:

Committee / Team

  • Annetta Armstrong, Indigenous Women’s Healing Centre
  • Rosalie Best, Manitoba League for Persons with Disabilities
  • Dana Connolly, Ka Ni Kanichihk
  • Katie Daman, Community Futures Manitoba
  • Jessica da Silva, Youth Agencies Alliance
  • Andrée Forest, Manitoba Research Alliance/Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – MB
  • Naomi Gichungu, United Way of Winnipeg
  • Vera Goussaert, Manitoba Cooperative Association
  • Matt Grills, Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation
  • Chantel Henderson, Green Action Centre
  • Denise MacDonald, West Central Women’s Resource Centre
  • Jennifer Mousseau, Ka Ni Kanichihk
  • Corinne Napper, Volunteer Manitoba
  • Angelina Pelletier, Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre
  • Brendan Reimer, Assiniboine Credit Union
  • Justine Trinh, Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations
Canadian CED Network

NETWORK & INFORMATION SHARING: connecting community builders to share our stories and foster partnerships

MENTORSHIP & PEER LEARNING:
community-led learning focused on practices and strategies to build more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable communities and economies

ACTION & INNOVATION: creating a space for sharing successes, challenges, and questions for community building work

AGENDA SETTING: reinvigorating efforts for change in our communities organizations

Accessibility

Our vision of a future where there is “enough, for all, forever” really does mean for all. Increasing ease of access for people of every identity and ability and aligning our work with our values and vision of the future is at the heart of transforming our economy, systems, and practices. We acknowledge this is a practice we have to keep working at, so we might not get it all right, but at the Gathering, this is how we worked to support accessibility and align with our values.

  • Offering a pay-what-you-can fee so financial access is less of a concern
  • Providing lists of spaces with free wifi for individuals without a secure internet connection, upon request and availability subject to COVID restrictions.
  • Access to technical equipment (computers, headphones, speakers, etc) for the duration of the conference
  • How-to guides for participants and presenters
  • Closed captioning during the plenary and panel discussions1
  • American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters during the plenary and panel discussions2
  • Enabling the universal keyboard function on Zoom
  • Acknowledgement of the ongoing need for consent in a digital space. Our guiding document for digital consent can be found here.
  • In every decision possible, we purchase and contract with local suppliers, focusing on social enterprises and cooperatives creating job opportunities for local people.
  1. Captioning in Real Time (CART) is available for all plenary and panel discussions. Workshops running concurrently will have closed captioning via the Zoom auto-generated captioning.
  2. American Sign Language (ASL) will be available for all plenary and panel discussions. Workshops running concurrently will not feature ASL. If you require ASL translation for any Gathering workshop we’d be happy to accommodate! Please reach out to Genevieve Dack-Tittley before November 30th, 2021 at .