FEBRUARY 25, 2012

UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX AUDITORIUM, 1625 MONTREAL STREET, REGINA SK.

BY Christine Lwanga,

Conference Rapporteur

A Community ~Planning Forward

Conference:What, Why and How?(CONFERENCE GOALS PLUS LOGISTICS)

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Why a Community Planning Conference ? Because we want and need to a better future.

UCAS has been in existence for over 20 years; through this Conference we want to celebrate each and every one person attending, our families and communities; we also want to celebrate and share UCAS and its vision (refer to UCAS brochure).

Through this conference we encourage you to reflect on our legacy and the Canadian values –how they have brought us to where we are; And most importantly – should contribute to where we are going?

What this conference is about ?

The Conference is about reflecting on the good and also the bad pastand choosing a brighter future in Canada and beyond

It is about sharing, discussing, identifying and building on key family and community values

It is about learning and choosing to Respect Diversity, CommunityParticipation, Inter-cultural Collaboration and building “Social Capital”

Finally, its about inviting others to come and share in our future- to immigrate, settle and succeed in Saskatchewan/Canada

 

WE WANT YOU TO SHARE WITH US YOUR IDEAS, YOUR HOPES, AND YOUR DREAMS

FOR

OUR COLLECTIVE FUTURE- YOU WILL DO THIS THROUGH Q & A

TIME AND WORKSHOPS

How can each one of us be part of the CHANGE this

conference seeks to encourage

Have made friends and collaborations along the way, have worked with both public and private organizations - including Federal and Provincial Govt. Departments, Cultural / Community organizations –like Ukrainian Canadian Congress,The Multicultural Council of SaskatchewanWe have shared/ required us to incorporate/ learn Canadian ideal values:- Equality of human dignity, Democracy, Respecting / celebrating diversity and inter-cultural collaborationThe values of this conference- and we wish to acknowledge and thank all our funders and collaborators. It was hard and persistent work …we are grateful it has been honoured …and our goal is to share this opportunity with all…

A Snap-shot on UCAS: How did we get here? And who has helped us.

Our journey over the last 20 years? What are the challenges?

Building community in this new country has not been a natural thing nor has it been an easy thing- it took deliberate and concerted effort….We have travelled over this road and have gained a new understanding of ourselves and Canada. We have learned from our mistakes and know that all of this has come about because we did plan and work hard to achieve our vision …we know that to establish a strong community in this new homeland, we may need to learn things over many times and that that learning and perseverance are the keys to community success.

We also have a sense of stagnation and lack of growth. This conference is an opportunity to reflect as a community and chose to do things differently. It’s an opportunity to learn from those communities that have succeeded in establishing a vibrant legacy – in SK, and Canada

Check list of what we want to talk about today

Youth Engagement,Inter-cultural and building collaboration, Mentorships at individual, family and community

levelSupporting immigration from our country (ies) …so

that our family members/ countrymen can have access –and do not have to go through dangerous routes to find opportunity and live their life dreams

Learning and practicing democratic principles within our home and communities and learning governance so that all can grow and access resources

And much more

Why Change is important:

Great lies that hold us back from living a fuller life in our homes, jobs, communities etc. Lonergan, a philosopher.

We are permanently stuck in our current situation because of some incident, circumstance, social standing, education or some other seemingly over powering event, fact or belief.

Seeing is believing.

There is nothing more persistent than change…

How you can be part of this vision / change---

We need your best thoughts,

your brightest dreams and

your deepest hopes

Conference Format & Goals/ Outcomes

Panel presenters and Open Question & Answer Morning Session Morning

Panel presenters, Workshops and Plenary Session in the afternoon

Personal / Family Goals

Goals at groups and community (ies) levels towards a vibrant Saskatchewan/

Canadian legacy