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Ignite Waterloo

Last Wednesday, we hosted the first-ever Ignite Waterloo at the Waterloo Regional Children's Museum in downtown Kitchener. It was certainly a great night, and from the numerous tweets, photos and blog posts that emerged following the event, it seems to have gone over well with the community in attendance.

For those of you who missed it, we've put together a three-minute video (see above) that I hope captures the spirit of Ignite Waterloo.

A slide deck of all the Ignite Waterloo presentations can be found below.

Ignite! Waterloo
View more documents from Ignite Waterloo.
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Community-University Partnerships

In a (very early stage) planning meeting for a major Canadian conference around community-university partnerships, set to take place in Waterloo Region in May 2011. The theme of the conference is "Bringing Global Perspectives to Local Action". More information can be found at www.cuexpo2011.ca

The last CUExpo took place in Victoria, BC in 2008.

(download)

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Do you have a vision for this building?

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I had a lunch meeting with a rather remarkable person this past week, Graham Whiting, an architect who graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture several years ago. Graham runs a small design firm focused on sustainable design, and together with a business partner named Jeff, they also own and operate a number of business development properties in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

What is remarkable about these two individuals is their approach to business property development in the local community. They have recently purchased a building in a prime location in uptown Waterloo (right across the street from Waterloo Town Square) and rather than renting out the 5,000 sq. ft. building to another business owner for commercial development, they are asking members of the community for their vision for the building. I believe they are going to be hosting an open design meeting this coming September, will post details once they are available.

This approach in itself presents a number of game-changing opportunities, and they have already received a number of ideas with an accompanying business plan, ranging from an artists co-op to a net-zero homeless shelter. 

Imagine what other possibilities might emerge if every property developer took this approach as well.

Co-Location, Co-Work Space in Waterloo Region?

As for a compelling idea that I had in mind, one enterprise that I would really like to see emerge in the Waterloo area, is a co-location, co-working space for social entrepreneurs and their respective projects and startup organizations. This would be similar to the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto; or The Hub, with locations in Halifax, Toronto and numerous cities around the world. Other examples can be found in Citizen Space in San Francisco, as well as Treehouse and New Work City, both of which are located in New York City.

If you do have an idea or a vision, I am sure that Graham and Jeff would love to hear from you. You can get in touch with them via email at info@whitingdesign.ca

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(photos taken with my iPhone 3G)
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Looking ahead to early 2009

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.

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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?

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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.

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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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