Written by: Stephen Mensah, from For Youth Initiative My vision for the city of Toronto is one of love and not hate; it is one of life and not death, one of prosperity and not poverty. I believe there is no such thing as a perfect city, but I do believe in a growing city […]
What's New
Interested in knowing what we’ve been up to? You’ve come to the right place! Below, you’ll find updates of our recent events, see what our members have been up to, and discover what others are saying about us and our programs.
Event Recaps | Program Updates | Our Stories | Faces of ELN | Leadership Spotlight | News Releases | In the News | Fellows in Focus
No non-profit left behind: Funding the programs that serve our communities
Written by: Sharifa Makhseem, from For Youth Initiative There are so many challenges that non-profit organizations face and go through, such as the increasing need for unique, free and easily accessible services in the community. If I were mayor I would make sure that the non-profit organizations are getting proper funding to run programs, to […]
Providing for the future of our cities: Our youth
Written by: Daniel Bonilla, from For Youth Initiative Toronto is one of the most important cities in Canada, which means it requires a lot of work. For years there have been problems that instead of finding a way to fix them, we have avoided them. If I were mayor, I would indeed start with the youth community, […]
Keeping democracy healthy through investing in youth engagement
Written by: Anjum Sultana, from Young Women’s Leadership Network Youth Civic Engagement – Before, During and After Elections 2018 has been a big year for politicos and voters alike! With a municipal election around the corner and a provincial election behind us, the importance of participating in our democracy has never been more salient. For […]
Button design contest winner announced
Congratulations to Cassandra, winner of the ELN’s “I’m Voting” button design contest. Distilling the complexity of a community into a single image isn’t easy, but it’s a challenge Cassandra D’Ambrosio decided to tackle. When creating her button design, she paired sketch style illustrations and bright colours to represent the vibrancy of the GTHA’s communities. […]
Municipal elections: Coming soon to a community near you
Municipal government shapes our cities. Municipal elections are an important part of shaping where we live. Our cities and towns are where we work, go to school, shop for groceries, raise families, and build communities. City council’s decisions and policies impact all of these areas. Council controls zoning for residential housing and rent controls, is […]
Calling all graphic designers, artists, doodlers, Microsoft Paint-ers, and civically engaged citizens!
Contest is now closed. Contestants who submitted button designs can expect to hear back about the winning design by Monday, September 10. Close your eyes. Picture what makes your community unique. Is it a landmark? The people? The culture? Your favourite restaurant? An annual festival? Now that you’ve conjured up this image in your head, […]
Top 5 lessons we learned from our mentors
As our 2018 DiverseCity Fellows receive their carefully curated mentorship matches and eagerly prepare for their first meeting with their new mentors, we asked some of our former Fellows what they considered to be the most important lessons they learned from their mentorship experience. Here’s what they told us… 1. It’s ok to feel […]
Oh the Places You’ll Go
Written by Crystal Kyabaggu Crystal Kyabaggu is a CPA and graduate of the Richard Ivey Business School at Western University. Crystal has a deep love for music and works as an Accountant and Business Manager within the Entertainment industry. Want to know more? Connect with her! – I’ve been to my fair share of career […]
Prepare for the Ontario election in 8 easy steps!
The provincial election is the most important time to speak up and influence Ontario’s priorities for the next 4 years. Your vote on June 7th will influence decisions on how the government addresses the affordable housing crisis, supports job growth, prioritizes transit strategies, and other important issues. But sometimes with all the information out there […]
You don’t find passion. It finds you.
Written by Jelena Lazarević. Jelena is the Senior Communications Advisor on our CivicAction Team. She is always looking for ways to contribute her strong digital media and graphic design skills to a variety of causes. When she’s not tweeting away, you’ll find her traveling, behind the camera, or indulging in good food. Find out more […]
“Walk It Talk It”? Provincial party leaders court youth vote at Laidlaw Foundation Youth Town Hall
Written by Seher Shafiq. Seher is the DiverseCity Fellows Program Manager at our CivicAction Leadership Foundation. She is extremely passionate about civic engagement and was heavily involved in get-out-the-vote efforts during the 2015 federal election, so expect to see her tweeting and sharing information and thoughts on the upcoming elections! Find out more about her here. […]
Flexing your mentorship muscles
Written by Alyssa Lai. Alyssa is a 2018-2019 ELN Communications Lead, 2017 DiverseCity Fellow and Digital Marketing Coordinator at Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation. Find out more about her here. — In my ten years in Canada, I’ve had many mentors, both formal and informal. I’ve benefited tremendously from mentorship in many different ways. From helping me understand cultural […]
Black on Bay Street author Hadiya Roderique joins ELN for some vital and mind-expanding Real Talk
Written by Sean MacKay. Sean is a 2018-2019 ELN Communications Lead and Managing Editor at BuzzBuzzHome. Find out more about him here. — Like so many of those who read Hadiya Roderique’s Black on Bay Street essay in The Globe and Mail, I was blown away by her powerful story of representation, exclusion, and oppression, at […]
Introducing the 2018-19 ELN Executive Committee!
After a comprehensive recruitment last fall, we’re pleased to FINALLY introduce the group of civic rock stars who will be serving on the 2018-2019 ELN executive committee! Each brings a diverse range of talents, expertise and experiences and a shared passion for amplifying this network and making our region stronger and more inclusive. It’s music […]
Hip-hip-hooray! Three Chairs for ELN!
Earlier this fall, we put out the call for applications for our ELN co-chair positions and the response was incredible – thank you to all those who expressed interest and made the decision-making process so difficult! On behalf of our outgoing ELN Co-Chairs and the CivicAction Leadership Foundation team, we’re thrilled to announce our incoming […]
Were you there for the big moment? A rising leader perspective on #ELNstudio3D
Post written by Erika Martinez – University of Toronto Student, current CivicAction Leadership Foundation Intern, and ELN member. A great opportunity to learn and connect with leaders from different backgrounds and professions around the GTHA – that’s what I first saw at ELNstudio3D. But I also realized that the day was packed with others also […]
Message from the Managing Director: The power of volunteerism.
By Jodie Rawn For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been that girl. You know the one – on student council, coordinator of any and all school events, active in campus life (go WLU!), member of every employee engagement committee I could find…yep, THAT girl. I was a joiner in every sense of the […]
ELNers Bridge the Know-Do Gap
Post written by Nima Ranawana. Nima Ranawana is a current ELN Executive Committee Member and Consultant of Corporate and Financial Practice at Environics Communications. Nima also serves as a Volunteer Advisor to the non-profit organization Sri Lankans Without Borders. A food enthusiast who is curious about anything cultural, Nima loves discovering new restaurants in Toronto. […]
ELN Talks Mental Health: Reversing Three Layers of Stigma
Post written by Abhishek Sarathy. Abhishek is a current ELN Executive Committee Member and Senior Manager of Creative Services at Sun Life Financial Canada. He is also a member of United Way Toronto & York Region’s GenNext Cabinet and a CultureLink mentor for newcomer volunteers at Luminato Festival. He often reflects on his Indian heritage and time […]
CivicSpark Public Policy Case Competition: University Students tackle Affordable Housing
Post written by Nataliya Pekar. Nataliya is a fourth year Civil Engineering student at the University of Toronto, and is currently in the process of completing a 16-month work term with the City of Toronto’s Pedestrian Projects Unit. When she’s not studying, she spends her time contributing to the U of T community as […]
ELN Art-Works: My three takeaways
Post written by Arjun Lombardi-Singh. Arjun is a current ELN Executive Committee Member and Communications Manager at RBC. Working and living in the heart of Toronto, he is always on the lookout for the people, places and organizations that contribute to the vitality of urban life and showcase the diversity of our region. Alongside his professional career, […]
Message from the CEO: Great Leaders Build Great Cities
It’s no secret that our region is proud of its diversity. Home to over 200 ethnicities and 140 languages, half of our population was born under another flag. Diversity sets us apart from other cities, especially at a time when many people around the world are currently being seized with the reality that some cities […]
ELN Rings in 2017 with a “Snowcial”
On January 26th, the ELN gathered at Facebook Canada’s new office to celebrate the network’s accomplishments in 2016 (including its 10 year anniversary!) and to ring in the new year! ELNers had the opportunity to connect and reconnect with members of the network while enjoying some refreshments, great music and great company. Check out pictures from the […]