Partners & Organizational Affiliates

Why C2D2 is excited to join with Toronto Community Housing to put on the 2009 conference

For the first time, C2D2 is partnering with a community-based organization and in one of Canada’s largest cities.Our first conference was put on by a gathering of passionate research practitioners with a policy bent interested in talking and thinking through issues together as means of making our communities and country better – it was held in Ottawa; for the second conference, in Vancouver, we partnered with a university – Simon Fraser University’s Dialogue Programs and the Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

Toronto Community Housing (TCH), our 2009 partner, is the largest social landlord in Canada and second largest in North America, operating with the principle of collaborative governance – a principle upon which C2D2 is based. With over 165,000 tenants, the opportunity for sharing best practices and learning is huge – this time research practitioners and policy people will see the effective application of dialogue and deliberation at the community level.

Having the conference in Toronto is exciting –a city with a hugely diverse population and a good record of engaging its citizens in municipal policy making and program development and delivery – diversity being the key engagement principle – getting all voices at the table. First conference in Ottawa, second one in Vancouver, third one in the middle of the country…

We're headed toward our third conference.  For a relatively new organization on the Canadian scene, this is exciting as well as challenging.  Responses to the conferences to date have been enthusiastic and inspiring - there is clearly an interest and desire across the country in learning about ways that bring people together to address complex issues, that allow people to talk together (not be talked at), to think things through, to listen and be heard, and to make a difference. We observe that all over the world, in these challenging times, people increasingly want to exercise their democratic responsibilities as citizens to have their say to make their collective lives better. Canada is no different – auto workers, journalists, teachers, employed and unemployed, political and community leaders, our Prime Minister with his G8 colleagues or our Minister of Finance with his G20 counterparts – all of us are increasingly talking through these challenges with others to come to solutions which make our lives better.  You can add to this list.

We are excited about our partnership with TCH, our shared commitment to public involvement and to building capacity for decision-making.  Both organizations are fundamentally about strengthening the voices of citizens in decision making and in so doing, strengthening democracy.

We're planning for/hoping that this conference will push lots of boundaries.  It will take place in a number of locations around the city.  The opening event will be at the vibrant heritage site, the Wychwood Art Barns, the University of Toronto’s Conference Centre in the heart of downtown Toronto, and break out sessions will also be hosted in community locations and will bring conference participants into community experiences and challenges.

There is also growing list organizations and agencies with whom C2D2 has a working relationship:

• National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation
• Simon Fraser University, Wosk Centre for Dialogue
• Library of Parliament
• Deliberative Democracy Consortium
• Tamarack: An Institute for Community Engagement
• Canadian Council on Learning
• University of Toronto (OISE)
• International Association for Public Participation
• Ascentum
• Intersol
• Government of Canada