Renjie Butalid

I know that it is only December, but I am looking forward to the next couple of months already. On a side note, is it just me or has time really flown by this year? I am thinking back to where I was this time last year and if I only knew then what I know now. But you know what they say…

How do you get good judgment? Experience.

How do you get experience? Bad judgment.

Either way, all I know is that this coming year presents an endless stream of possibilities once again. I am looking forward to having a bit of a break in the next couple of weeks. I know that as soon as I get back in the new year, work will begin to pile up.

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To briefly recap from this past Monday, the Social Innovation & Community Change Forum held at CIGI saw over 100 community members from across Waterloo Region gather to share stories, research and strategies on how to tackle the challenges of rapid change that are sure to be part of our future.

Audio recordings from the forum will be available online shortly as well as proceedings in written and visual format.

From the evaluations forms, it seems that there is certainly a market for creating a space for people to gather and discuss ideas and collaborate on projects designed for lasting impact within the community.

We are currently working on a follow-up event(s). Watch this space for more details.

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January 2009

Studio Earth takes place the second week of January, which means that as soon as I get back from the holidays, logistics and registering more students (and anyone else who would like to attend) will remain a top priority – that is, if we don’t sell out the event by the end of the month.

We’re currently working on a more interactive website for Studio Earth right now, we hope to launch it first week of January.

So far, things are looking good. Im really looking forward to hearing Severn Suzuki speak, as well as attending the workshops on social finance, social tech and policy advocacy.

February 2009

I plan on attending PodCamp Toronto in February (Feb 21-22, 2009 at the Rogers Communications Centre, Ryerson University, Toronto). This event is an “unconference” for all those interested in all things podcasting, blogging and new media.

The best part is that it is FREE to attend, but you have to register though.

Should be a great place to meet a lot of interesting people doing amazing things in the field of social media technology.

Anyone else plan on attending?

March 2009

And finally, Im planning a trip to Boston at the end of February/beginning of March, to visit some friends as well as to attend the upcoming Harvard Social Enterprise Conference 2009 hosted by the Harvard Business School and the JFK School of Government. It takes place on March 1, 2009.

There is no information on this year’s conference yet, but their registration page is up.

Jeff Henry and I with Stephen Lewis at the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference 2008.

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Yes, its looking like a great start to an amazing year already.

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Following my citizenship test yesterday morning, I spent most of the afternoon working on the December issue of SiG@Waterloo’s monthly e-newsletter which went out this morning.

(Click here to see archives of past issues. You can also subscribe to SiG@Waterloo’s monthly e-newsletter on the main page of our website)

For the Reflections piece this month, my colleague Sam Laban found a quote that I felt was appropriate to include given the upcoming Studio | Earth event that we will be hosting in mid-January 2009.

“Since any economy is a relationship between people and the earth, it is time to commit to learning to live like we plan on staying here.” - Stephen Huddart, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation

Across Canada and around the world, there is certainly a growing movement towards creating sustainable environmental change (see the video below as an example) and when Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google has this to say about the environment as recently as November:

“When you do the math you discover the right thing [for the environment] is [also] the right thing for business,”

you know that you are doing something right.

With Eric Schmidt now playing a role as a member of Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board, it will be interesting to see how much of Google’s Clean Energy 2030 plan will play in shaping US domestic policy on energy, the environment and the economy for the next four (perhaps eight?) years.

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Watch the video below on emerging thoughts on sustainability education in Canada produced by the J.W. McConnell Foundation.

As part of its continued support for sustainability education in Canada, the [J.W. McConnell| Foundation convened a meeting of field leaders in May 2008. Approximately fifty people from different organizations throughout Canada – representing education–sector organizations, teachers, youth-led non-governmental organizations, funders, academics, environmental activists and artists – came together to reflect on their own experiences and ideas surrounding the practice of Sustainability Education (SE).

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The Registered Disabilities Savings Plan is now available across Canada.

Canada is the first country in the world to have a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). The RDSP will present families with a way to provide for the future financial security of their loved ones with disabilities. An estimated 500,000 people across Canada will benefit from this initiative, and future impacts of the RDSP go well beyond a simple planning tool.

From what I understand, the RDSP is similar to the RRSP but designed specifically for families with members with a disability, a market potential of close to $80 billion.

Highlights of the RDSP include:

• Like Registered Education Savings Plans, the plan will allow funds to be invested tax‐free until withdrawal.
• Any individual that is eligible for the Disability Tax Credit may establish an RDSP
• In the case of a minor child, a parent or guardian can establish and direct the RDSP
• $200,000 lifetime contribution limit, but there is no annual limits on contributions
• Contributions permitted by the individual, any family member or friends
• Contributions grow on a tax deferred basis
• No restrictions on when the funds can be used or for what purpose
• Upon withdrawal, the income, the Grant, and the Bond are taxed in the hands of the beneficiary, and are likely to be taxed at a much lower rate.

A two-page fact sheet providing a general overview of the RDSP can be found here.

The PLAN Institute for Caring and Citizenship have been the main proponents of the RDSP.

Media coverage of the RDSP on CTV British Columbia

The PLAN Institute has also been in the news recently, with their Executive Director, Vickie Cammack, named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Women in the Champions category, by the Women’s Executive Network very recently.

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I wrote my citizenship test earlier this morning and somehow managed to get 20/20 questions on the test correct.

The first thing I said to the immigration officer after handing in my test paper and she was done marking… Bragging rights

Complete with a goofy smile on my face.

I now know a lot more random facts about Canada than I did before I read the study guide that was provided. (Did you know that Nunavut only officially became a Canadian territory on April 1, 1999? And no, it was not an April Fools joke)

My oath swearing ceremony will take place some time at the end of December/beginning of January, looking forward to it.

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Vision

When tackling the issues of poverty and homelessness, one begins to recognize immediately that the solutions to these problems are not always cut and dry.

An example of a simple approach would be to throw more funds/resources towards homeless shelters or similar-type organizations without really attempting to address the complexities surrounding the question:

“Why do we even have homeless shelters in the first place?”

This question extends far beyond the problem of a lack of housing for youth and people on the streets, and goes into questions regarding employment and job training programs, education, healthcare, family, mental health, drugs and crime to name a few.

Taken from this perspective and recognizing that a complex solution is certainly required to address a complex problem, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction aims to tackle the issue of poverty reduction by “making Hamilton the best place to raise a child.”

Think about it.

Instead of tackling the issues of poverty and homelessness in silos, individuals and organizations in Hamilton are working in a multi-collaborative approach (community, business, voluntary sector, government, education, health, etc.) in order to make Hamilton the best place in Canada to raise a child.

In other words, they are creating a movement towards reducing poverty within their city by working together and recognizing that each individual/organization has a role to play in creating change – they currently have more than 300 people on their leadership team and are working with more than 900 organizations and individuals on community solutions to reducing poverty.

More from the HRPR’s report to the community, dated June 5, 2008:

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Action

So what can you do within your community?

A great example of ‘action’ to raise awareness and empathy (in order to move towards reflective dialogue) that can easily be done at other schools and university campuses is Out in the Cold, an event held last Friday, November 21 2008, at the University of Waterloo campus for the third year in a row.

From the Waterloo Chronicle:

Now in its third year, the program hopes by simulating the conditions that the homeless face on the streets that more people will work to end poverty.

“The main part of the event is for people to stay outside overnight to experience what it might be like to be homeless during the cold winter months,” said the recent UW grad [Nick Petten]. “Of course, it doesn’t come close to it but people will understand how hard it is, and how cold it is.

“You can multiply that by 10 or 100 and that’s what it’s actually like. It’s a very sobering experience.” Petten said he started the Out in the Cold fundraiser to get students to understand issues surrounding homelessness and raise funds to tackle the growing problem. Students aren’t immune to homelessness either as there are various levels of it out there, including people who have to couch surf just to get by with rising tuition costs.

(News coverage on Out in the Cold from last year)

This year, funds raised went to ROOF which stands for Reaching our Outdoor Friends, a non-profit organization “committed to providing for the safety, support and overall well-being of homeless youth and youth-at-risk, age 12-25, in the Waterloo Region.”

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Voice

Matt Levicki from Elite Life Media, produced a short video on Out in the Cold, highlighting the event as well as ROOF.

Video after the jump.

(Note: I have a cameo in the video, thanking the Federation of Students for their support)

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