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About the EpisodeIn our first, and maybe only, B side episode, ABSI Connect and AB Seed staff/members discuss what the social economy and social innovation is and how they go together like peanut butter and jelly. You’ll hear a bit about both the organizations as a whole, what their individual fields look like, and where the overlap and connection points are between the two of them. About AB SeedAB Seed (Alberta Social Economy Ecosystem Development) is a collaborative of social enterprise and social finance leaders seeking to develop a strong social economic ecosystem in Alberta.Resource LinksAB Seed: https://www.ab-seed.ca/ 

About the EpisodeBringing yet another new flavour to this season of Pause, this episode features Matthew Taylor, manager of Communities United (at United Way), who shares two stories with us. The first about the inception of Communities United and the second about how running a small pop-up market in the dead of winter with a sky dancer bloomed into their program Market Ready. With both stories taking the arch of fizzle (or rather starting as a small sizzle) to a full blown sizzle. About Communities UnitedCommunities United is a collaborative initiative in five Edmonton Neighbourhoods that is building connections and activities to strengthen the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Resource LinksCommunities United website: ​​https://cuyeg.org/About their Market Ready program: https://cuyeg.org/local-economic-development/new-market-ready-business-program-stirs-up-excitement-for-local-entrepreneurs/.

About the Episode Bringing a new flavour to this season of Pause, this episode features Miki Stricker-Talbot, an intrapreneur with the City of Edmonton, who shares two warm-up techniques from her facilitation practices. With more of a tutorial style ‘how to’ episode, her and I walk through both techniques talking about what they are, demonstrating examples of how you can use them in your own practice and the impact and importance of them both. The first technique is a way to really check in with each other and see how we’re actually doing. It allows folks the opportunity give a surface answer if they don’t feel like sharing, but also space for a deeper answer if people are wanting to share. The second technique was created in collaboration with her daughter. This technique helps people recognize that we are physical beings and brings people into a different way of being together. Both allow a space for connection, camaraderie, humanness, and curiosity.   Resource Links Check out this blog post from Miki Stricker-Talbot that she previously wrote for ABSI Connect https://www.absiconnect.ca/news/2018/12/12/unicorns-in-government?rq=miki  

About the Episode We tried something new with this episode and Brandy and Michelle were true innovators stepping into uncharted territory. Brandy Old is the Manager of Agility at the University of Lethbridge, and a few years ago embarked on the journey of Indigenizing the campus grounds at U of L: now known as the Iniskim Campus Ecology Project. The goal of the project was to revitalize campus grounds with traditional Indigenous plants while creating a space for the community to learn about Blackfoot culture, traditions, and land practices. She graciously shares the stumbles she had along the way and the learnings that came from them. Michelle Hogue is Cree Metis from Saskatchewan and she is an Associate Professor and the Coordinator of Indigenous Student Success cohort program at U of L. Her work is about enabling indigenous academic success in the space of bridging cultures both in Canada and Australia. She listened to Brandy’s story and shared her perspective on it as well as other thoughts pertaining to the subject.

About the Episode What a treat it was to have James Stauch, a phenomenal storyteller, on this episode of Pause. James is the Director of the Institute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University. The Institute runs co-curricular and community focused learning programs primarily to connect students to broader community and social change initiatives. The story he shared takes us back 12 years or so and into the northern parts of Canada. He was a part of a group that noticed a gap in the education system, that being there were few opportunities for advanced post-secondary education in the north which resulted in many students having to travel south for many years to access that level of education, and in a way that was not either culturally resonant or directly applicable to a northern context. They undertook research, system mapping, and communicating with the people who lived in northern communities. When it came time to “pass the project off” or let it start rolling into this grassroots movement, the boat hit some rocky waters. The realization at this point became “How much change can an external change agent really drive before it becomes inauthentic?”   Resource Links Is it time for a northern university? Article from Northern Public Affairs: http://www.northernpublicaffairs.ca/index/archives-volume-1-issue-1/education-is-it-time-for-a-northern-university/ Momentum Builds for an Inuit University: https://www.uarctic.org/news/2015/5/momentum-builds-for-inuit-university-in-nunavut/ Yukon College is now Yukon University: https://www.yukonu.ca/news/202005/yukon-college-now-yukon-university

In this episode, Diane chats about The Winnipeg Boldness Project, how their theory of change guides the way they serve the community, and shares the story of one of their prototypes.

About the Episode It was incredible to connect with Anita Kemp and Dr. Amanda Williams to chat about the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH). During our conversation they also pointed out that it was just in time for International Women’s Day on March 8, 2021. How fitting! WEKH is an organization that is challenging the stereotypes of women entrepreneurs through many different initiatives including: Sharing the stories of successful women owned businesses Mapping the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem Sharing resources widely on their website Collecting and sharing data Identifying who’s doing what, what’s working, and what are some of the promising practices. In this episode they chat about the research they’ve conducted on women’s entrepreneurship in Alberta along with the intricate stories that were woven within the data about women entrepreneurs. About the Guests Anita Kemp is the Alberta program lead for the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub. She is an entrepreneur and life long learner at heart who quit her job in the corporate world of finance to start her own business. Dr. Amanda Williams is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University. She is a key faculty member involved in the Alberta hub of WEKH. She has her toes in many pockets of research around women’s entrepreneurship both locally and globally. She is a member of the Canadian Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) team and a research fellow for the Centre for Innovation Studies. She has published many reports on the state of entrepreneurship that can be found at www.thecis.ca. Resource Links   https://wekh.ca/ http://thecis.ca/ https://wekh.ca/research/gem-canada-report-on-womens-entrepreneurship-in-alberta-2017/ https://www.mtroyal.ca/AboutMountRoyal/MediaRoom/News/wekh-alberta-regional-hub.htm

What a hoot it was to have MelVee X and Tito Gomez on the show. They are both a part of the Artist as Changemaker (AAC) project that was created in partnership with the Trico Changemakers Studio and Calgary Arts Development. The project is an initiative to expedite the capacity of socially engaged artists to create meaningful social change. You can find more information here: https://www.tricochangemakersstudio.ca/artist-as-changemaker MelVee X  is a multidisciplinary artist and creative professional based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary AB, Canada). Her primary means of expression are spoken word poetry, burlesque performance and photography – what she dubs ‘The MelVee Trifecta.’ You can find out more about her along with her portfolio at: https://melveeyyc.wordpress.com/ and you can find more information about her business ar https://mvxstudios.com/ Tito Gomez is a filmmaker, storyteller, and stand up comedian living in Calgary AB and boy did he deliver on the stand up comedian during this episode! You can catch some of his films online with these links: The Healing (American Indian Film Festival, Indigenous Film Festival, Red Nation Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival). https://youtu.be/tQckFO7ZiR8 Love Of Two - Telus Storyhive (Mesa International Film Festival, LA Skins Film Festival, Victoria Film Festival, Canadian diversity Film Festival) https://youtu.be/BJhlcz6mzBQ Something ain't right. https://youtu.be/Sfz7xjPHs3Y

We’re shaking things up once again for this season of Pause. This time we’re chatting about social innovation techniques and the stories of how they sizzled or fizzled! If you’re interested in being a guest on the show, please reach out to Elise (elise@absiconnect.ca) with a few details about yourself and your story. You can check out our past episode on your favourite listening platform or on our website.  

In this episode, we have Meredith Perich joining us from Momentum. Momentum is a community economic development organization that uses economic approaches to alleviate poverty in Calgary. Meredith’s question is a two part question, two sides to one coin, one side being negative and the other being positive. One the one hand, the pandemic has created incredible demonstrations of collaboration and innovation, but on the other hand it's also highlighted a lot of inequity, where we’re seeing that our systems really aren't set up to support everyone.     More Into: About Momentum: https://momentum.org/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv7HE6sLf6wIVrx6tBh3gTQcjEAAYASAAEgJYUPD_BwE     This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to the students of The Virtual School Project for the land acknowledgments. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.  

Katie Robertson is the Founder and Lead Program Administrator at Crisis Communications Institute. She is also one of the organizers of a Mutual Aid Group in Edmonton that was created in response to gaps made apparent from COVID-19. In this episode we cover the topics of what is a mutual aid group, how have they had to pivot during COVID-19, what are the challenges they’ve faced, and where do they see themselves moving forward. More Into: YEG COVID - 19 Mutual Aid Group: https://www.facebook.com/YEGMAG/ Crisis Communications Institute https://www.crisiscommunicationsinstitute.com/   This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to the students of The Virtual School Project for the land acknowledgments. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.

Andrea van Vugt is the president of Disability Pride Alberta Foundation. In this episode, she shares her story that started with a painting and ended in the creation of Disability Pride, an organization with the mission “to celebrate and empower the disability community. Sharing stories and hosting community events provides an opportunity for people with & without disabilities to celebrate diversity, inclusion and pride.” Also in this episode, Andrea talks about her big question of “How can we, as an organization, connect the disability communities throughout the year?” Tempered Temporal Lobe. Andrea painted this image of her brain (you’ll hear us talk about it during the episode!) Quotes Shared At The Beginning Of The Episode From Al Etmanski’s Book Impact: Humans ingenuity and creativity in the face of adversity defines us as a species. Social innovation spreads through sharing, not selfishness. It is only through generous respectful interactions across sectors, expertise, and roles, that innovation achieves lasting impact. A movement is composed of a million small acts. Movements provide a vehicle for collaborating and cooperating across sectors, organizational, social, and economic strata, origins, backgrounds and jurisdiction.     More Information: You can read Andrea’s story on the Disability Pride website: http://disabilitypridealberta.com/2020/05/19/disability-story-marginal/ Find more information on Disability Pride: http://disabilitypridealberta.com/ Read more stories on the Disability Pride website at: http://disabilitypridealberta.com/disabilitystories/ This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to the students of The Virtual School Project for the land acknowledgments. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.  

Dr. Katharine McGowan sits at the intersection of professor of social innovation at Mount Royal University and historian extraordinaire! You’ll find most social innovation discussions with her to be framed through a history lens, and more often than not, you leave with a newfound fact about a past monarch. This unique lens of learning about social innovation through history allows her to educate students not just on how transformation and change happens, but also pulling from history to help our understanding of the present social innovation conditions. The big question she is sitting with is “Would you know if the world were collapsing around you?” She shares her perspective on this question through the lens and example of the Black Death.     This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to the students of The Virtual School Project for the land acknowledgments. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.

Kayla Blackadar and Nicoll Schreiner are two of ABSI Connect’s Community Catalyst Program participants both working for Strathcona County. Kayla works as the Coalition Assistant for the Strathcona County Child and Youth Coalition and Nicoll works for the Recreation Parks and Culture as the Guest Services Supervisor. Kayla and Nicoll both saw a need to drive change for a more inclusive and welcoming response towards youth in their community which spurred their project for the Catalyst Program. In this episode, Kayla and Nicoll share the journey that has led them to the question they are sitting with today, which is, “How do we meaningfully engage youth, or anyone in our community for that matter, during this time?” Along with sharing their journey, they chat about the steps they’ve taken to address this big question.     This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to the students of The Virtual School Project for the land acknowledgments. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.

Jerome Morgan is a social innovator and member of ABSI’s Community Catalyst Program working in central Alberta on a project to work with the B-I-P-O-C community - Black, indigenous and people of colour - to encourage and grow their capacity to harness social innovation and design thinking to solve stuck problems in their community. In the process, they’ve been growing his capacity as well. Our host, Elise Martinoski, spoke with both Jerome and his co-designer separately. Moréniké Ọláòṣebìkan started Ribbon Rouge to use art for social change. In particular her work focuses on health equity for people of African descent. More information on Ribbon Rouge: https://www.ribbonrouge.com/   This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to Abigail Toledo for the land acknowledgment through the Virtual School Project. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor, Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.  

Annand Ollivierre, former ABSI Connect Fellow and current ABSI advisory team member works in planning and forecasting with the City of Edmonton. He sat down with Elise Martinoski to talk about the big shifts happening right now due to the pandemic. The big questions on his mind are: What good things do we take into the future, post-pandemic? What do we want to leave in the past, post-pandemic?     This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to Violet Smith for the land acknowledgment through the Virtual School Project. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor, Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, series producer Naomi Mahaffy, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.

Eily Aurora is an artist based in Calgary who has a strong interest in the correlation between art and mental health. She has been participating in ABSI’s Community Catalyst Program, which connects a cohort of emerging changemakers from across Alberta with an intent to help foster innovative system change for their communities.  Eily’s questions she is sitting with for her project are How might we engage with art and creativity now as a method of ensuring we keep our spirits up? What does it mean to be an artist in 2020 who is looking to both focus on mental health and change the platforms and media in which they present their work? Find more information on Eily at http://eilyaurora.com/ Check out her harp page on instagram @theharpfaery How to Recreate the Magic of In-person Events Online: Jan Keck’s 7 Steps Physiological safety Developing a sense of place Stretch, move, dance and play Facilitate Deep Conversations Give the gift of presence Amplify Emotions with Music Co-create the experience Learn more about Jan Keck and his work here: https://www.jankeck.com/     This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to Noshin Atiah for the land acknowledgment through the Virtual School Project. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor, Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, series producer Naomi Mahaffy, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.  

As the way we engage with each other shifts, the way we volunteer is changing, too. What does volunteer engagement look like right now? How is Covid-19 bringing people together in new ways? What does this mean about our shifting priorities and the way volunteerism fills even small social needs? In this episode, Elise Martinoski sits down with Daniela Seiferling, Graeme Dearden, and Eunice Doroni, three of Volunteer Alberta’s fabulous employees to discuss these burning questions. Volunteer Alberta is an association that connects volunteer centres and agencies who rely on volunteers throughout the province. Find more information on Volunteer Alberta at https://volunteeralberta.ab.ca/   This episode was produced by Alberta Social Innovation Connect. You can learn more about our network, find our newsletter, get inspired by and connected to other Albertan changemakers by visiting our website: www.absiconnect.ca. We’d also love to feature your big question on a future episode! Find us at absiconnect.ca/get-involved for more information on how to be a guest. Thank you to Nancy Yong for the land acknowledgment through the Virtual School Project. For more information on the Virtual School Project you can contact Julia Dalman at julia.dalman@epsb.ca. We’d like to thank our funding partner the Suncor Energy Foundation, producer and editor, Elise Martinoski of ABSI Connect, series producer Naomi Mahaffy, and theme music creator Eily Aurora.  

We chat with Margaret Taylor and Philippe Choinière about the challenges and opportunities of creating and sustaining a zero waste business in Canada. We’re chatting with these two in April because it’s Earth Month, and we thought there’s no better time to talk about the role of businesses, suppliers, and consumers in helping our society make the shift towards zero waste solutions. Margaret’s business, Nudemarket, started with delicious peanut butters she makes from scratch, which can be purchased from grocery stores across Alberta. Nudemarket’s mission is to create a less wasteful lifestyle without sacrificing convenience. To do this Margaret introduced a new side to the business, a refilery that focuses on offering alternatives to single use products, so you can continue to stay focused on what matters to you and not be worried about wasting product and packaging. Philippe’s business, Oneka Elements, is one of the suppliers for Margaret’s refillery. Oneka’s all natural personal care products were created out of a respect for our water sources and the many organisms that help clean and purify it along its way. More information: Oneka: https://www.onekaelements.com/Nudemarket: https://nudemarket.ca/

In this episode of Pause, we chat with Rob Ironside and Leslie Steeves about the evolution of Fresh Routes, a community-driven grocery store on wheels that is increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables in underserved neighbourhoods and communities. Fresh Routes is a “not-for-profit social enterprise that is focused on creating new, innovative ways of providing healthy and affordable food to as many Canadians as possible — especially those who need it most.” This organization empowers people to make healthier choices without breaking the bank, by meeting them where they are with fresh, affordable, and nutritious food. They take their mobile grocery store to a variety of locations such as universities, under-served neighbourhoods, and Indigenous communities, always working alongside a community partner to build relationships and sell their produce. Rob and Leslie reflect together on the factors contributing to the rapid growth of Fresh Routes, what that journey has been like, and the impact they are seeing in the community. More information: Fresh Routes website: https://freshroutes.ca/ Blog post on ABSI Connect’s website from one year ago: https://www.absiconnect.ca/news/2019/1/22/fresh-routes-story Contact fresh routes at info@freshroutes.ca