The Canadian CED Network and the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC), are inviting workshop proposals for Canada’s leading national community economic development conference.
| Date: | May 18-20, 2016 |
| Location: | Hotel Bonaventure, Montréal, QC |
| Participants Expected: | 400 |
| Profile of Participants: | CED and social economy practitioners, representatives from community, business, government, charitable and education sectors and academics |
| Deadline for Proposals: | December 4, 2015 |
This year, conference organizers are inviting proposals specifically for three conference streams: Workforce Development, Community-Based Enterprises, and Community Development.
Within those three streams, sessions that address the following cross-cutting themes are also encouraged: Finance, Policy, Youth, Diversity & Inclusion, Arts & Culture, Technology, Climate Justice and the Environment, Rural and Remote Realities, Evaluating Impact and Complexity and Systems Thinking for Communities.
Workshop presenters will receive 50% off full registration to ECONOUS2016 or a free registration for the day of their session.
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: DECEMBER 4, 2015
Please complete the on-line proposal
Background to the 2016 National CED Conference
ECONOUS2016 builds on the long history of successful national CED conferences organized by CCEDNet and partners across the country between 2001 and 2010.
The conference will feature leading speakers, engaging sessions and tailored networking opportunities on the latest innovations in community enterprise, workforce development, and local economies that are creating sustainable prosperity for all.
In particular, ECONOUS2016 will:
- Create new and strengthens existing relationships among community leaders who share similar challenges, concerns, goals and values;
- Promote new ideas, resources and strategies to strengthen CED efforts
- Contribute to skills development, capacity building, networking and information sharing among CED practitioners and stakeholders;
- Attract new people to the movement and reinforces the commitment of existing members to the approaches and values promoted by CED
- Provide opportunities for learning and dialogue on the diversity of approaches and models led by urban, rural, aboriginal, linguistic and cultural minorities, and northern communities to meet their needs;
- Advance a pan-Canadian policy agenda to strengthen communities by support to and investment in CED;
This is an opportunity for people to connect, learn, and celebrate together. More than 3200 people have attended this event over the past 13 years in 7 conferences. This year, we expect to have 400 attendees from across the country including CED and social economy practitioners, representatives from community, business, government, charitable and education sectors and academics. There will be a wide range of workshops, optional site visits, networking opportunities, and social activities. All plenary sessions and keynote addresses will have simultaneous translation into French and English, as well selected workshops in each time slot. Additional workshops will be offered in both official languages.
We hope that you can join us in beautiful Montréal!
About the Call for Proposals
The call for proposals is structured based on the program and streams being offered. There are 3 workshop streams that will be filled through this call for proposals. Proposals for topics outside of these streams will also be considered.
Streams that will be filled through the Call for Proposals:
- Workforce Development: To ensure that Quebec and Canada has the necessary talent and capacity in place to thrive and prosper, now more then ever strategic partnerships are being forged between communities, government, educational insitutions and service providers to address workforce development issues and opportunities. Connecting local people to employment opportunities and providing required supports for labour market success is key to inclusive development. What innovative practices can help meet Canada’s labour market needs and connect job seekers to employment while ensuring they have the skills required to get and keep their jobs? Topics of interest include workforce development planning, labour mobility, seasonal workers, mature workers, skills mismatch, workplace and essential skills and linguistic minority communities and disadvantaged groups.
- Community-Based Enterprises: Locally-rooted businesses are essential to a thriving community economy. What kind of business development support, finance capital, and demand strategies can help businesses to flourish? What are the challenges faced by collective and blended-value enterprises (such as co-ops and social enterprises), and how can these be solved?
- Community Development: The starting and end point of CED is the well-being of people in a place. The dynamic process of community engagement, capacity building, learning and renewal is constantly evolving. The role of governments in supporting community efforts is also shifting. From the tried-and-true basics to the latest thinking, what strategies and approaches are creating vibrant and prosperous communities today?
Cross-Cutting Themes and Session Format
Within those three streams, sessions that address the following cross-cutting themes are also encouraged: Finance, Policy, Youth, Diversity & Inclusion, Arts & Culture, Technology, Climate Justice and the Environment, Rural and Remote Realities, Evaluating Impact and Complexity and Systems Thinking for Communities.
Workshops must include participatory design elements, using formats such as small group discussion, simulations, practice sessions, tool application, case studies, or success/failure stories among participants. Presenters will be asked to identify the level of their workshops as introductory, intermediate or advanced to help participants select appropriate workshop levels according to their needs. All workshops are 1.5 hours (90 minutes) long.
Diverse voices: ECONOUS2016 encourages proposals from diverse groups including (but not limited to) Indigenous peoples, youth (up to 30 years old), visible and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees.
Selection of Proposals
Proposals will be reviewed by a Program Committee which will make recommendations based on the topic’s relevance, results being achieved, diversity of presenters, and attention to learning styles in workshop structure The final program selection will be made by the National Conference Planning Committee. A final program that offers a balance of formats, diverse representation and topics will be sought.
Please note: Even though a workshop proposal may satisfy conference criteria, it may not be selected due to the limited number of scheduled workshops.
If you have any questions about your proposal, you can contact Matthew Thompson, CCEDNet’s Communications Manager, at mthompson at ccednet-rcdec.ca
