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.

Join us on October 25, 2024 at Children of the Earth High School in Winnipeg!

For 22 years, Manitoba community builders have gathered every fall to learn from one another’s work, connect over a shared meal, 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.

Location and Date

Children of the Earth High School is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Ininew, Anihinew, Dene, and Dakota people, and the homeland of the Métis nation, on Treaty 1 territory. The school is located at 100 Salter Street in Winnipeg.

The Gathering will happen on Friday, October 25, 2024. Registration begins at 8:15 am. Check out our Program for the day’s schedule.

Check out the First Floor and Second Floor Maps of the school.


Theme for 2024: Growing & Harvesting Collective Action

Wheat symbol composed of hands, representing a diversity of people working together in community to grow and harvest the rewards of collective action.

Across Manitoba, people like you are working together to strengthen communities and build local economies that benefit everyone. With our strong sense of collaboration and our deep rooted networks, The Gathering is a day to better connect people and ideas for Collective Action to move forward together.

The learning opportunities of the 22nd edition of the Gathering that will explore collective action for Community Economic Development. Participants will benefit from peer learning, networking, and sharing successes and challenges of community building work. 

Together, we’ll explore important questions like: 

  • How do we work across differences to do collective change work?
  • How can we work collectively to witness true economic reconciliation? 
  • How do we better advocate for systemic change and government action?

Join us for the Gathering 2024 – Growing & Harvesting Collective Action a one-of-a-kind annual event for Manitoba community builders. 

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

CCEDNet Manitoba is grateful to the leaders from our network who have devoted their time and expertise in guiding the 2024 Gathering:

  • Krista Anderson, Clan Mothers Healing Village
  • Owen Campbell, Fort Whyte Farms
  • Madeline Dufresne, United Way of Winnipeg
  • Jess Klassen, Manitoba Research Alliance/Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – MB
  • Debby McLeod, Manitoba League for Persons with Disabilities (MLPD)
  • Laura Pelser, Fireweed Food Co-op
  • Brendan Reimer, Assiniboine Credit Union
  • Lindsay Smith, RRC Polytech
  • Hope Switzer, Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation
  • Mitch Tilk, Portage la Prairie Community Renewal Corporation
And thank you to our Funders and Partners for their contributions to this event!

The Gathering has been hosted for 22 years, originally a project of CCEDNet Manitoba and United Way Winnipeg. Now, CCEDNet Manitoba hosts the event with support from a group of fantastic community leaders from a variety of organizations.

The 2022 Gathering was the first in-person Gathering since the start of the pandemic, and our time together focused on the power of JOY – how we use it to connect to each other and strengthen our community building organizations and movements.

20th Anniversary of the Gathering video