Change begins with the personal steps we take to learn from one another, how we honour our histories, our relations, and the lands. We start here. We bring ourselves to the hard work of changing the systems around us to become receptive to initiatives, policies, and mindsets that put people and planet first. To do this we need each other. The SI Practitioners Circle is a diverse cross-section of professionals who have expressed initial interest in creating an accessible social innovation ecosystem in Ontario and across Indigenous territories in the region. Our first Circle of 23 amazing social innovators gathered at the beautiful Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning on…
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A Season of Six Degrees of Social Innovation in Toronto
Once a month social innovators from across the city of Toronto gather for an informal meet up after work and exploration of a social innovation topic. Our purpose is to have some fun, build connections and get engaged with social innovation. From September to June 2018 we partnered with social innovators to animate and engage a crowd ready to connect and learn. Here are the topics and guest presenters. Circular and Sharing Economy with Fashion Takes Action Brave Soles, and Fresh Rents Civic Innovation with Civic Tech Toronto FinTech for Good with Claro Partners and ImpaK Finance Connections Networks and Communities with CSI’s Community Membership Social Innovation Challenge with Dejardins…
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Webinaire gratuit offert par le Cercle des praticiennes et des praticiens en innovation sociale au Canada
Webinaire gratuit offert par le Cercle des praticiennes et des praticiens en innovation sociale au Canada. 25 juin 2019, 11h30 à 13h Développement d’entreprises féministes et innovation de genre Pour présenter le développement d’entreprises féministes et innovation de genre, la référente et entrepreneure sociale, Ethel Côté parlera d’abord de l’économie féministe et de l’Économie Sociale et Solidaire porteuse d’égalité. Par la suite, elle dévoilera une démarche collective internationale de co-construction d’outils en entrepreneuriat avec perspective de genre intégrant des valeurs et des pratiques solidaires visant l’égalité à toutes les étapes de création et de gestion des entreprises. Pour s’inscrire : cliquez ici. Conférencière : Ethel Côté Impliquée activement en économie sociale et solidaire,…
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A Social Innovation Practitioners Circle for Ontario and the Indigenous Territories
Why a Social Innovation Practitioners Circle? We all know people in communities and across traditional territories who are working to initiate or grow a product or a process for positive social and environmental change. Whether that is an edible forest project or a universal housing development. These ideas are often generated by a few people who want to see positive change happen in their community. Many of these initiatives are reaching into our “systems”, such as food systems, health care, education, or our justice systems. It takes a lot of effort and dedication by these people to create the change that will benefit us all over the long term. We…
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SI Canada’s Manitoba Hub Partners with Red River College’s Indigenous Social Innovation Program to Support Indigenous-led Two Day Gathering
On April 25th and 26th, Social Innovation Canada’s Manitoba Hub partnered with Red River College’s Indigenous Social Innovation program to support an Indigenous-led two day gathering, titled “Pathways to Economic Reconciliation: Is Social Entrepreneurship a step forward?” Over 80 people attending, including Indigenous high school students from both urban and Northern Indigenous communities, student’s of Red River College’s Indigenous Social Innovation program, social economy leaders and government for a full day of ceremony followed by a one-day social hack-a-thon to answer some of today’s most pressing issues in indigenous communities. Conversations focused on four key areas: How can we make housing more affordable and sustainable in our communities? How can…
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This Changes Everything
There’s a collective buzz building across Atlantic Canada. Voices from the margins are successfully calling out for a new form of collaboration between all four Atlantic provinces. There is a sense of readiness, rooted in our shared history of successful self-organization and cooperatives, and a proven resilience in this region that bodes well for a great transition. A range of activities that have sprouted in the last year alone indicates a broader social movement gaining strength across the region. These include: Linking Arms, a peer-to-peer support network of changemakers from NS and NB that are seeking to create “an economy that works for all” How We Thrive, a gathering held…
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CSI’s Jo Reynolds Makes Social Innovation Personal
Social innovation can be hard to get a handle on until we notice it around us. Maybe that is because it take time for social innovations to really create long lasting change. That is how it should be. Change begins with the personal steps we take to learn from one another, how we honour our histories, our relations, and the lands. We start here. We bring ourselves to the hard work of changing the systems around us to become receptive to initiatives, policies, and mindsets that put people and planet first. For me, social innovation sparks an intention to make a positive and sustained difference. It starts with people…
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Budget 2019: Social Innovation and Social Finance Excerpts
Many Canadians face persistent and complex social challenges that make it difficult for them to succeed and reach their full potential. In the 2018 Fall Economic Statement, the Government proposed to make available up to $755 million on a cash basis over 10 years to establish a Social Finance Fund. The Fund will help charitable, non-profit and other social purpose organizations access financing for projects that will have a positive social impact, such as reducing poverty, expanding employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, or building more affordable housing. How the Social Finance Fund Will Work: Funding will be managed through professional investment managers with expertise in social impact reporting and a…
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Getting Past “What?”: A Journey Into Social Innovation
Back in 2012 I was trying to find workspace for a small non-profit, social finance organization I had founded. After searching all over the city for affordable commercial space, one of my board members had an idea: “There’s a coworking space on the floor above us that’s just for nonprofits.” he said, “They keep destroying my keyboards.” He was wrong about Toronto’s Centre for Social Innovation being just for nonprofits (they curate an intentional mix of organization types), but he was right about all of those dead keyboards. Apparently, this coworking space kept glass bottles of milk, designated for member’s coffee, in a bar fridge on the floor. People there…
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A February Social Inspiration Roundup
Do you to want to know what good ideas are solving problems around the world? Audra Williams curates some inspiring news from February! Peace by Chocolate pledges to hire 50 refugees, mentor 10 refugee startups A chocolate company founded by a family who fled violence in Syria is now pledging to work with 50 refugees and mentor 10 Canadian startups run by refugees over the next few years. Tareq Hadhad, who works as CEO of his family’s business Peace by Chocolate, said he wants to share with newcomers what he’s learned about the logistics of getting a business off the ground — from registration and marketing to sales and distribution.…
