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Canadian Rural Partnership
Rural Youth Dialogue
Workbook
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Message from the Secretary of State
2003 National Rural Youth Conference Sponsors
The Workbook
Workbook
PDF format
Message from the Secretary of State
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2003 National Rural Youth Conference,
“Young Canadians, Leaders of Today and Tomorrow.”
I hope the knowledge you gain will be useful as you continue building
vibrant rural communities.
This conference is an important step in the evolution of the dialogue with youth from rural, remote
and northern communities. I was happy to participate in the Rural Youth Forum that was held in conjunction
with the 2002 National Rural Conference in Charlottetown, PEI. The enthusiasm and results from that session
demonstrated the need for a conference entirely dedicated to young people where participants could further
discuss how to effectively exercise leadership in their communities and be the leaders of today and tomorrow.
The 2003 National Rural Youth Conference will be an opportunity for you to connect with young people from
across the country. It will be a chance to gather information and tools, and gain skills that will help
you plan and implement your individual community project and work with your mentor. You will hear interesting
presentations, take part in animated discussions and reflect on how you can make a difference in your own community.
In April 2002, I had the privilege to announce the formation of a National Rural Youth Network (NRYN). I want to
congratulate all the NRYN members for their commitment and efforts to make this network not only a reality, but
indeed a success. I am sure the Network members will have some interesting proposals to expand this effort in the
year ahead. During this conference, you will choose your provincial or territorial representative on the Network’s
Council and have the opportunity to take part in planning its future direction.
I hope you will take the opportunity during the conference to visit our Exhibit Hall. In addition to information about
the Canadian Rural Partnership, a number of Government of Canada departments and other organizations will have displays
emphasizing their youth programming.
Over the next two days, I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you and hear your views on how we can continue
working together to build a strong and vibrant rural Canada.
Andy Mitchell
Secretary of State (Rural Development)
(Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)
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Top of page
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| The
Workbook
This workbook is meant as a multi-use tool. It is: a discussion guide
to prompt you to reflect about the Conference’s main topics; a tool
for organizing what you learn and applying it to your own community project;
a notebook; and a reference book.
This workbook is designed to support the presentations and discussions
at the three breakout sessions that you will attend over the course of
the first day of the Conference:
| A |
Innovation: A New Mind-Set |
| B |
Making a Difference in Your Communities as Leaders: Recognizing Your Assets |
| C |
You Are Not Alone: Building Partnerships and Teams |
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The text for each breakout session has a brief introduction followed by
questions. The questions are divided into two groups that:
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| I. |
Focus on the presentation and small group
discussions and are intended for use during the breakout session. The questions
are offered as a guide to thinking about the material presented.
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| II. |
Focus on your own community project proposal,
and are intended for use at leisure as you reflect on what you have learned in the
breakout session and how to apply this information in developing your own project.
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| At the breakout sessions, speakers will share their
experiences and lessons learned on each of the topics. A question
and answer period will follow offering you an opportunity to further
discuss the presentation points with the speaker and share your ideas
and personal experiences.
You will be able to apply the new information and knowledge you acquire to a concrete situation
by examining selected community project proposals as “case studies” during small group discussions.
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A. Innovation: A New Mind-Set
“Thinking outside the box”
What is innovation?
“Transformation into something better”
“Finding new ways to address old issues”
“Ability to be resourceful: identifying assets and using them”
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Innovation is not continuous change or improvement; it is a dissatisfaction with
the present, and an excitement about the future.
Steve Salmons,
Windsor Public Library
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Innovation, simply put, means “something new.” It is commonly linked to scientific and technological
developments, but also applies to social change. It can aim for large scale transformation or it can
introduce a new step into an existing initiative. It is about passion, purpose and profound results.
Innovation suggests the freedom to experiment. It draws on the ideas and achievements of others,
adapting and applying them in new ways. It is a tool for progress.
Fostering a climate for innovation is a priority for Canada as a nation. The key to our future success
in our communities and as a country is rooted in people’s skills, creativity, talents and knowledge.
You may or may not have thought about being an innovator. You may or may not have thought about the
community project you have proposed for this Conference as innovative. This session will give you an
opportunity to think about what innovation means and how it can be applied to ideas, communities,
projects and groups.
Consider this, your project may be innovative because:
- It adds a new element or dimension to other projects in the community.
For example, your school takes part in a poster campaign to raise awareness about the problems
of racism. Your goal is to take this a step farther by starting a dialogue among youth members
of various cultural organizations in the community to increase understanding and mutual respect
and eliminate the causes of racism.
- It is the first time the issue has been approached from a youth perspective in your community.
For example, other community groups are running various clubs to provide youth with recreational activities,
but your project is to start a youth centre that is entirely run by youth.
- It draws on the assets of the community in different ways.
For example, your project is to develop an apprenticeship program, and you approach professionals
in your community not just to join the program as employers, but as volunteers to help with
promotion, recruitment and mentorship.
- It involves new ways of working together.
For example, you want to start a composting program and you approach a local science teacher to
integrate your proposal into the curriculum and test your ideas through classwork.
Innovation is a challenging business and not without its risks. “Thinking outside the box” is the first step.
Gaining acceptance for creative ideas and finding the tools and resources for implementing them can present
untold opportunities for ingenuity and imagination!
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The world we have created today has problems that cannot be solved by thinking the
way we thought when we created them.
Albert Einstein
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Your Community Project
a) Is your project new to your community? Does it have a creative component and/or propose a new way of tackling a community issue?
b) Can you think of examples of innovative or creative projects and people within your own community? Can you draw ideas from them?
c) What challenges do you see in your own community to implementing your project?
d) What new ideas from the breakout session can you apply to your project?
e) How will you approach other community members to promote your creative ideas?
f) How can you foster a creative, innovative mind-set among your team members and partners?
Related Resources:
- Smart Communities Toolkit, http://198.103.246.211/toolkit/toolkit_e.asp
Smart Communities Directorate, Information Highway Applications Branch, Industry Canada, 2nd Floor, Section A, South Tower, Jean Edmonds Towers, 365 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C8, tel. 1-800-575-9200, fax (613) 941-8617
- Creativity, Innovation and Problem Solving: Some Guidelines with Linked
Historical Examples, Quantum Books, Four Cambridge Center, Cambridge,
MA 02142, tel. (617) 494-5042, fax (617) 577-7282
- Goal Setting can Empower your Creativity, Beverly K. Bachel,
http://www.creativityforlife.com/full_article.php?article_id=1
- CreativityForLife.com, http://www.creativityforlife.com/
Breakout Session
Presentation and Group Discussion
What does innovation mean to you and your community?
What are some of the challenges to innovation in rural, remote and northern communities?
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Case Study Discussion
1. What would be an innovative approach to the issue posed in the case study?
2. What could be the benefits and challenges of an innovative approach?
3. How could these challenges be overcome in a creative way?
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B. Making a Difference in Your Communities as Leaders: Recognizing Your Assets
What is the role of a leader?
To initiate and inspire while providing others opportunities and resources to be involved and,
in turn, inspire others. To lead is to spread innovation and action like a wildfire.
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Leaders, it has been said, are dealers in hope.
Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development
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As the initiator of the community project proposal you have submitted for the 2003
National Rural Youth Conference, you are, by definition, its leader, or one of its leaders.
As a leader, you will have a vision of your project—what it will accomplish, and how it will
fit in with other initiatives that are out there in your community. Part of your role as leader
will be to initiate and follow up certain processes:
- to set, share and build upon your goals with others.
- to find team members and partners.
- to identify and make use of existing assets (people, relationships, physical and financial resources).
- to create community ownership.
- to keep yourself and the team motivated.
- to deal with group dynamics.
- to keep the “big picture” in view—evaluate as you go along and respond to what you observe.
Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, and use a wide variety of approaches and techniques.
The most essential qualities for successful leadership are:
- understanding one’s own strengths and challenges.
- willingness to work with and value others.
- recognizing the assets and challenges of others, and of the community, and making the most of them.
- willingness to learn and to seek help and/or information when it is needed.
Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time.
Vision with action can change the world.
Joel Arthur Baker, author
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Your Community Project
a) What is your overall vision for the community project outlined in your proposal?
b) By agreeing to initiate and carry out a community project, you are taking on a leadership role. What leadership skills do you have? Give examples of times when you have exercised leadership qualities.
c) What other skills, personal qualities and experience can you contribute to the project? What can you gain from it?
d) What are your strengths and challenges in a group situation in: - communication / problem solving / managing conflict / teamwork and team building
e) How can you handle it if someone challenges your ideas, plans, activities or abilities?
f) How can your mentor support you in being a good leader?
g) What are the tools and resources you need to get your project rolling,
including: - human resources / physical resources / financial resources?
h) How do you plan to find the tools and resources?
i) How will you promote your project in order to find community volunteers?
j) How will you build trust and foster a spirit of cooperation among your project team members?
Related Resources:
- The Community Development Handbook, Flo Frank and
Anne Smith for Human Resources Development Canada,
http://www.sdc.gc.ca/asp/gateway.asp?hr=en/epb/sid/cia/comm_deve/handbook.shtml&hs;=cyd, Canadian Government Publishing,
Communication Canada, Ottawa, ON,
K1A 0S9 fax: 1-800-565-7757
- The Leadership Network website, http://leadership.gc.ca
- The Leadership Guide, Donald Clark,
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leader.html
- Leadership and Learning Guide: Teams Handbook, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ldr/tc_e.html, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Terrasses de la Chaudière, 10 Wellington, North Tower, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H4, tel. (819) 997-0380
Breakout Session
Presentation and Group Discussion
What are the qualities of a good community leader?
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Case Study Discussion
1. What skills, experience and other personal qualities will be required to get the project started?
2. How should the leader approach decision making?
3. Do you foresee particular challenges in terms of team building for this project? What would be the best ways of handling them?
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C. You Are Not Alone:
Building Partnerships and Teams
What is partnership?
“Working with others, including businesses and non-profit and community organizations,
as well as individuals who have a stake in the outcome of the partnership, and play an active role
in the process whether that is donating volunteer time, in-kind support, or cash.”
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The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.
Bertrand Russell
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YOU ARE NOT ALONE. In your community project proposal, you were asked to identify a
mentor, to name three people and/or organizations in your community who have the potential
to help you with this project, and to identify three ways that you plan to get the community involved.
This can be the starting point for a team and a network of partnerships from which you draw many
different forms of support and to which you give from your own strengths and energy. After all, two
(or more) heads, hearts, and wallets are better than one.
There are many different levels of partnership and team building:
- You can work one-on-one with your mentor and draw on the skills, experience, energy and wisdom of each other.
- You can connect with other groups or individuals who are working on related issues and can gain from joining forces with you.
- You may form partnerships with people or organizations (anyone from relatives to institutions) who can provide funds or other physical resources and who benefit from contributing to the community through your project.
- You can work closely with others including volunteers who share your objectives and are willing to put time and energy into making them happen.
- You may count on people who give you creative and moral support although they are not directly involved in your project. This could include people you meet at the Conference.
- You may link with groups or organizations outside the community who have expertise, tools and resources to share.
Think about how you can benefit from working with other people and/or organizations
and about how they can benefit from working with you. Partnerships and teams depend on
sharing assets, challenges and results. They can expand opportunities and enable
innovative thinking.
Mentoring is a brain to pick, a shoulder to cry on, and a kick in the pants.
John C. Crosby, The Uncommon Individual Foundation
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Your Community Project
a) What form of support are you looking for from your mentor? What are his/her responsibilities, and what are yours? Have you discussed this with him/her? How will you work to make the most of this relationship?
b) What are some of the ways that others can participate in your project? Who are your potential partners/supporters?
c) How will you work to promote understanding and support for your project in the community?
d) What will be the roles and responsibilities of you, your mentor, volunteers, and collaborating groups/individuals in the project?
e) How will you and your partners make decisions? How will you resolve differences or conflicts?
f) What are the benefits of the partnership to the various groups/individuals involved?
g) How will you keep the community informed about the activities of the partnership?
Related Resources:
- The Partnership Handbook, Flo Frank and Anne Smith for Human Resources
Development Canada,
http://www.sdc.gc.ca/en/epb/sid/cia/partnership
/handbook.shtml, Canadian Government Publishing,
Communication Canada, Ottawa, ON,
K1A 0S9 fax: 1-800-565-7757
- MENTORS Peer Resources, www.mentors.ca
- The Partnership Toolkit: Tools for Building and Sustaining Partnerships,
www.mosaicbc.com/partnership_toolkit.pdf
- Youth Works! Creating and developing youth-led volunteer projects,
http://www.volunteer.ca/volcan/eng/content/
vol-management/resources.php?display=3,0,3#youthled,
Volunteer Canada, 330 Gilmour Street, Second Floor, Ottawa, ON, K2P 0P6, 1-800-670-0401
| To keep in touch with other young people from rural, remote and
northern communities across the country, to inspire each other, get
support from others, and share experiences and information regarding
your community project and issues that are important for you, join
the National Rural Youth Network and the Rural Youth Online Discussion
Group sponsored by the Rural Secretariat at: www.rural.gc.ca/dialogue/youth/listserv_e.phtml.
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Breakout Session
Presentation and Group Discussion
How can you get support for your project in the community?
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Case Study Discussion
1. What do you think are the aspects of the case study project that will attract others to help make it happen?
2. Who would benefit from this project and could become a partner? What would motivate them? Are there new connections that could be made among people and organizations?
3. What organizations/groups/individuals might be good sources of resources (information, expertise, in-kind donations) and funds for this project?
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Date Modified: 2004-08-24
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