Monthly newsletter – November 12 edition
on Nov 12 in Latest Publications by admin
A message from the Executive Director
Dear friends of the Societe Macdonald-Cartier Society,
Since the last edition of our newsletter on October 16, several great things have happened. We have had two new volunteers join our organization, I participated in the Roadmap: 2030 conference in Toronto, and we have welcomed four advisors to our team. More on each of these items below. Our plans until the end of 2011 include the publication of our strategic plan, the launch of our consultation process on the plan, an announcement about membership in the Society, and more volunteers and advisors joining our team.
In the previous edition of our newsletter, we included a copy of all our latest statements and press releases. Since we have done several of these in the last month, and for spacing reasons, we have decided to only include a summary of our last few statements, with links to our website should you choose to read further.
As we complete our preparations for the launch of our strategic plan, our volunteer staff is looking to expand. We are looking for young Canadians who are passionate about history and civics, and who want to contribute to our growth as an organization. So please, consider joining our volunteer team. You will find details about our call for volunteers at the end of this newsletter.
Best Regards,
Immanuel Giulea
Founder and Executive Director / Fondateur et Directeur Général
http://www.macdonaldcartier.org
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New volunteers
On October 19, 2011, the organization was pleased to officially announce the addition of our two latest volunteer staff members to the organization last month: Theresa Lubowitz and Thomas Warwick. Since joining, they have become a valuable part of our team. Immanuel had the pleasure of meeting Theresa while visiting Toronto for the Roadmap: 2030 conference, and Thomas met Immanuel in Montreal during the first week of November.
Read our press release here: http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/10/19/the-societe-macdonald-cartier-society-welcomes-staffing-additions/
Roadmap 2030
Last month, our Executive Director, Immanuel Giulea, participated in the Roadmap: 2030 conference on diversity and democratic engagement, which was held October 25-26 at the Toronto Library. Immanuel joined three other young leaders on the “2030′s Leaders” panel, where the discussion was about the factors that lead to active citizenship and involvement by young Canadians as well as what measures, once implemented, may bolster youth engagement.
Immanuel was very excited prior to his participation at the Roadmap: 2030 conference, saying the event would “be an excellent forum for supporters of democratic engagement, youth or otherwise, to come together and discuss the real issues surrounding participatory democracy in Canadian society today.” He added, “It is the goal of our organization to help deepen the level of civic engagement in Canadian youth and this conference offers an opportunity to spread the word about the work we are doing. It also provides a space to openly discuss the roadblocks youth may face in attempting to become more engaged, as well as possible roadmaps toward getting around those issues now and in the future.”
After the event, Immanuel was very pleased about his experience, saying, “I had a great time, and I had the pleasure of meeting with young leaders from Toronto, and dozens of people from different sectors that were all concerned about diversity and civic engagement in Canadian society. In discussing the mission of our Society with other attendees, I have received great feedback and I look forward to keeping in touch with all those I have met and working to build partnerships with them.”
Immanuel received some very positive feedback about his participation at Roadmap: 2030 from Jeff Good, moderator of the “2030′s Leaders” panel, and Nikisha Reyes-Grange, event co-organizer. Good had this to say: “Immanuel was energetic and insightful, providing well thought out and innovative ideas with respect to engaging and developing young leaders.” Reyes-Grange added that, “We were thrilled to have Immanuel Giulea speak at this year’s Roadmap: 2030 event. His passion and knowledge of civic engagement and youth leadership are inspiring, and his enthusiasm shone through during his presentation and the entire time he spent at the event. From participating in all sessions, to asking thoughtful questions, to connecting with attendees and speakers, Immanuel helped to make Roadmap: 2030 a success. “
Advisors to the Society
Over the course of October 31 and November 1, the Macdonald-Cartier Society was honored to announce that four new advisors will be joining the organization. Alastair Sweeny and Nick Brune have already been informally providing us with advice for over a year, and they are joined by Dave Meslin and Joseph Quesnel. Each one of our advisors strengthens the organization by virtue of their specializatized fields ( Alastair and Nick in Canadian history, Dave in civic engagement, and Joseph in aboriginal issues ). All four bring valuable insight, leadership and experience.
Read our press releases here: http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/10/31/sweeny-brune-join-smcs/ and http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/11/01/meslin-quesnel-join-smcs/
Two-year anniversary
On November 2, the Societe Macdonald-Cartier Society marked its two-year anniversary. It was an opportunity to celebrate our mission of encouraging greater civic literacy amongst our youth and of promoting the education of our country’s young leaders about history, heritage and culture. To mark the occasion, our own Immanuel Giulea and Thomas Warwick traveled to Ottawa on November 3 to meet with the Society’s Deputy Executive Director, James McLean, and held a small get-together with other local youth.
Read the statement here: http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/11/02/2-year-anniversary/
***
In the past month, the organization has issued several statements in reaction to current events:
Statement on the Canadian Council on Learning’s final report
After reviewing the Canadian Council on Learning’s final report, which was issued this October, our organization addresses some of the report’s concerns about the amount of emphasis on citizenship and civic duty in K-12 classrooms.
Read the statement here: http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/10/19/report-on-learning/
Statement on Canada’s two new Supreme Court justices
The Macdonald-Cartier Society welcomes the appointments of Justice Michael J. Moldaver and Madam Justice Andromache Karakatsanis to the Supreme Court of Canada. Their respective nominations and appointments were announced this October.
Read our statement on their nominations here: http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/10/20/nomination-two-new-judges-supreme-court-of-canada/
Read our statement on their appointments here: http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/10/30/oct-30-statements/
Statement on the nomination of Canada’s next Auditor General
The Macdonald-Cartier Society welcomed the nomination of Michael Ferguson as Canada’s next Auditor General. The announcement of his nomination was made late last month by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Read the statement here: http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/10/30/oct-30-statements/
Statement on the Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine House in Montreal
We were quite pleased to hear that Kheng Ly, the new owner of the Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine House in Montreal, QC, is “open to exploring ways to preserve the mansion and part of its grounds.”
Read the statement here: http://macdonaldcartier.org/2011/10/30/oct-30-statements/
***
“The Art of Democracy” National Youth Challenge
Launched during Canada’s first-ever Democracy Week (September 12-16, 2011), the Challenge is a new Elections Canada civic education initiative that encourages young Canadians, aged 14-30, to celebrate and learn about democracy.
The Challenge, which is run by Elections Canada in collaboration with Apathy is Boring, asks youth to submit an image, video, blog post or Tweet in response to the question, “What does your democracy mean to you?”
A five-member panel of notable Canadians will judge the entries, and contestants will win prizes for the best submissions in each category. Details on the National Youth Challenge and the submission form are available at www.democracy-democratie.ca. The submission deadline is November 30, 2011.
***
Call out for volunteers
Positions we’re look to fill:
- Volunteer and membership recruitment;
- Our partnership program;
- Our regular programs (history/heritage, civics/government and “The National Conversation”)
- Fund-raising/grant-writing;
- Our monthly newsletter;
- Ah hoc research and writing of policy briefs and position papers.
- Regional coordinators in cities across Canada (Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, etc.)
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Stay in touch!
We’d love to hear your feedback about anything at all on SMCS. You can reach Immanuel, the Executive Director at immanuel@macdonaldcartier.org
Warm regards,
James, Walker, Theresa, Thomas and Immanuel at SMCS
***
Next newsletter date: Dec. 10th.
PDF Version: SMCS Newsletter – 12 Nov 2011
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