SAVE THE DATE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019

We are shifting the intention and structure of the Gathering. 

For 18 years, Manitoba community builders have gathered every October 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. 

It has been a privilege to host this container, 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. 

We know, as a network, that we have a responsibility to grow with, and adapt alongside, our members. With that in mind, we’ve been asking ourselves: does the Gathering, in its current form, still respond to the most pressing issues facing our sector? Does our learning model address the skills and practices most relevant to our work? 

We’ve also been listening. In community work, we are called to collaborate: with our colleagues, stakeholders, funders, community members, or across movements. We hear how challenging it can be to work together in collaborative arrangements or across issues, even though most people believe that solidarity and joint action would benefit us, particularly in the current political environment. 

As we consider how to work more deeply, we realize The Gathering is one logical thing we can offer to this challenge. For this reason, we are embarking on a new vision for The 2019 Gathering: an entire day focussed on building skills around collaboration across issues to explore how various movements could work together better. 

It will be an experiment and a risk, as all worthwhile work requires. Above all, we are excited to explore something new together, in hopes of weaving our movements towards stronger collective power. 

to learn more, visit the Gathering home page