Written by Pranav Sidhwani Pranav Sidhwani is an ELN member and works as a management consultant and sees cities as his natural habitat. Connect with Pranav. As a newcomer to Canada, I’ve been looking to build my community and meet people who share not only my concerns for the world we live in, but also […]
ELN Member Spotlight: Mike Brooks
2019 DiverseCity Fellow Mike Brooks provides expert advice to decision makers on supporting positive development for children and youth across Ontario as a Senior Policy Analyst with the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. Mike helped catalyze efforts to move the needle on education and employment outcomes for youth through the Collective Impact […]
Let’s Get Rooted
Written by Shiva Mazrouei Shiva Mazrouei is Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Doctors Without Borders Canada and is a passionate equity and inclusion advocate as well as an active ELN member. Want to know more? Connect with Shiva. — In true millennial fashion, I have moved several times between cities for work, which had me […]
ELN Member Spotlight: Janelle Hinds
2019 DiverseCity Fellow Janelle Hinds combined her experience in technology with her passion for youth civic engagement to create Helping Hands—a platform that helps youth volunteer and get civically engaged while building career skills. As someone with a passion for helping young people become more civically engaged, Janelle uses Twitter as platform of choice to […]
Here’s what in store for the ELN in 2019
We’re off and running in 2019! It’s a whole new year and our plans are bigger, bolder, and better. First off, thanks so much to all those network members who braved the weather and came out to our 2019 Snowcial at The Gladstone Hotel. The event name was way more apt than we had expected […]
NEWS: CivicAction program aims to improve diversity of Toronto-region boardrooms
By Jason MillerPublished in the Toronto Star Biju Pappachan is focused on breaking down the barriers stymieing diversity in Toronto boardrooms and government, and a civic engagement organization is bringing him together with 29 others on a mission to do just that. “This program is trying to bring those diverse voices to the decision-making and […]
NEWS: Hamiltonian chosen for DiverseCity Fellows cohort
Published in The Hamilton Spectator “Hamilton’s own Daniel Lynn is among this year’s 30 hand-picked members of the DiverseCity Fellows cohort who will be working on a unique “civic MBA” to change the shape and face of leadership, to more fairly reflect the diversity of our cities. The DiverseCity Fellows cohort is an initiative of […]
NEWS RELEASE: CivicAction Activates 30 New DiverseCity Fellows to Change the Face of Leadership
TORONTO (February 6, 2019) – Toronto’s coat of arms may say, “Diversity Our Strength,” but when comes to who sits at our regional decision-making tables, a diversity of perspectives, identities, and experiences is missing. To breathe new life into the greater Toronto region’s future, the CivicAction Leadership Foundation today welcomed a new DiverseCity Fellows cohort […]
Spotlight on 9 inspiring leaders for Black History Month
They’re bold. They’re driven. They’re talented. And they’re relentless. This Black History Month, meet 9 inspiring leaders from the ELN network who are driving real change in their communities and in our region as a whole. Brandon Hay Brandon Hay is the founder of the Black Daddies Club, where since 2007 he has engaged over […]
ELN Member Spotlight: Sean MacKay
ELN Communications Lead Sean Mackay is a digital marketing and communications professional working in Toronto’s real estate industry. Sean works as Managing Director at Livabl, an online publication covering stories that help home-buyers better understand real estate market trends. In his spare time, Sean is a mentor with the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), […]
Your year with the ELN.
When they said time flies, they forgot to mention that it flies on rocket fuel. It seems like just yesterday we met for the first time to map out our vision for 2018. Now we’re already planning out how we can make next year’s programming even bigger and better. Our amazing ELN community has made […]
ELN Member Spotlight: Sarah Wardrope
ELN executive committee member. Event management guru. Proud Hamiltonian. Sarah Wardrope is one of The Hammer’s best. When she’s not strategizing and executing key corporate and digital communication projects at Hamilton Health Sciences, Sarah is finding ways to bring together her fellow rising leaders; most recently, she served as co-chair of HIVEX, an annual conference […]
ELN Member Spotlight: Shazlin Rahman
Fresh on the heels of October as Islamic Heritage Month, our ELN spotlight for November features Shazlin Rahman, a prominent advocate in the Muslim community. As a communications professional, Shazlin approaches all of her work from an equity-based, inclusive lens. Currently she works as the Stakeholder Engagement Specialist at Inspirit Foundation, is lending a hand […]
The big three: Transit, healthcare, and safety
Written by: Yiming, Age 16, from Centre for Immigrant and Community Services Walking down the streets of downtown Toronto and watching people from every social class hurrying by each other to their fulfilled and busy life can be seen as unique and astonishing. The clear blue sky, the fresh green belt, all kinds of fancy cars […]
Working with corporate Canada to reduce poverty
Written by: Dave D’Oyen, from CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network Toronto has again been labelled the child poverty capital of Canada. Housing has become unaffordable, even for dual income families. Individuals with lower incomes are being forced out of the downtown, some even out of the city. The challenges are many. My vision of Toronto is a […]
Starting each day with a shower, coffee, and a vision for Hamilton
Written by: Dave Heidebrecht, from CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network Most mornings of my life follow the same routine. Early alarm. Quick shower. Hot coffee. Clean clothes. Off and running. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Recently, however, my morning routine changed. In September 2017, my wife and I welcomed our son into the world—he is hands down the […]
Creating paths to jobs that pursue passion and pay the bills
Written by: Renaldo Brown, from Citizen Empowerment Project In the city that we live in today, the system is sets us up for failure and every year this cycle repeats. For both parents and children who grow up in the urban areas of Toronto, life has always been difficult. A parent’s duty is to go […]
Tapping into the power of politically engaged youth
Written by: Rayne Fisher-Quann, from CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network There’s a common belief that young people don’t care about politics – that we’re uneducated, or apathetic, or lethargic. This couldn’t be further from the truth. My generation is one of the most passionate, active, revolutionary generations in history: whether you look at the Parkland activists, […]
Making Toronto the city where the world meets
Written by: Owais Lightwala, 2018 DiverseCity Fellow, from CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network If I were Mayor, I would aim to make Toronto the city where the world meets. My campaign might be called something like “One World, One Toronto”, or “We’re For One Six” (get it? It’s a pun. Okay, maybe I’ll get someone else […]
Keeping our communities safe
Written by: Oliver, Age 16, from Centre for Immigrant and Community Services Since I am already the mayor of Toronto, let me just cut right to the case. I think the main problem for Toronto right now is its security. As the largest city in Canada, it is not safe enough. Toronto ranked 17th out of […]
Prioritizing mental health awareness, after-school programs, and community safety
Written by: Nana Agyemang, from Citizen Empowerment Project My name is Nana Agyemang and I am 25 years old, born and raised in the lovely city of Toronto. Living in Toronto is great, and one of the reasons why all love Toronto is because we have all kinds of different characters in Toronto, and Toronto acknowledges […]
The roof over our heads: creating affordable housing
Written by: Imanzi Kayitare, from CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network If I were mayor of a municipality, one issue that I would seek to champion is affordable housing, with a focus on supporting residents in precarious situations. I believe that a city mayor can have a big impact on creating a caring and nurturing city that builds […]
Toronto for all: engaging citizens in the city’s decision-making
Written by: HuSainatu Barrie, from Citizen Empowerment Project Toronto is an extremely diverse and multicultural city. If I were mayor, I would acknowledge this and emphasize it in all the decisions and choices I make. The first thing I’d do is work to create many opportunities for citizens by increasing employment and producing more jobs. I […]
Food security as a fundamental right for all Torontonians
Written by: Erika Dupuis, Toronto Youth Cabinet Urban Health Lead on behalf of the Urban Health Working Group, including members Sophia DiNocolo & Mariana Villada Rivera Food insecurity is not a new issue to Toronto. Food insecurity is a continually growing problem for numerous communities across wards; it is time we start paying closer attention to its […]