Community Placemakers
We believe that when you bring community members together with intention, curiosity, and the right tools, they can dream of and bring to life great things!
Community Placemakers is a three-part place-based cohort experiential learning opportunity. It aims to engage residents to learn, develop project ideas, and create meaningful connections for their community.
How it works
Interested participants identify at least four other community members who are willing to participate in this experiential learning together over three weeks. Complete the Expression of Interest form to tell us more about you. If you’re accepted as one of the 2023 Community Placemakers cohorts, Tyson will get in touch!
Cohorts are asked to help provide logistical support and to communicate about their participation with their wider community, and ensuring they have at least 5 community members willing to participate.
Attend three 90 minute sessions across three weeks!
You can read about the Community Placemakers cohort in Hillhurst Sunnyside from September 2022 here.
Benefits of Participating
Community members create and/or strengthen meaningful connections with each other
Participants leave with an asset map of the neighbourhood that notes opportunities for the future
Deepen understanding of community development theories and practices to help community engagement efforts
Receive tools and resources that can support future ideas
What We learn Together
Session One - Neighbourhood Asset MapPing
The first 90 minute session introduces Placemakers to each other and to a core practice in community development: asset mapping. Placemakers will map their neighbourhood by using our neighbourhood asset map tool, which was designed to use while walking around your neighbourhood!
Identifying assets provides community members with a deeper appreciation of their community and the opportunities it can offer for connection, engagement and development. It acts as a way of surfacing what’s possible!
Session Two - What are Your Assets?
The second 90 minute session supports Placemakers to explore their own strengths - or individual assets. After spending time mapping our individual assets, we look for ways Placemakers can work together using their individual strengths to take action in their community. We also spend time working on what story Placemakers want to tell about their neighbourhood identity.
By the end of this session Placemakers will have identified ideas of what’s possible based on their own strengths, their collective strengths, and the strengths of their community!
Session Three - Action Planning
The final 90 minute session weaves everything together by supporting community members to design action plans for ideas that have emerged during the process of mapping neighbourhood and individual assets. Drawing on tools and resources from CDLI’s Success in Community Action training and beyond, Placemakers are supported to explore next steps for bringing newfound possibilities to life. For instance, looking into what resourcing opportunities may be well aligned to the idea, community engagement strategies that might support the effort, etc.
“ Start with what you know. Build on what you have”
Meet Your Facilitator
Tyson Bankert has been working and volunteering in supporting neighbourhood life for as long as he can remember! His interest in community comes at the intersection of justice and community development, and his work is based on equity, wellness, and agency. His personal slogan is: “Promote Justice, Edify Others, and Befriend the Lonely”.
To get in touch with Tyson, email TysonB@caryacalgary.ca.
Become a 2023 Community Placemaker!
This year CDLI is hoping to host three different cohorts of Community Placemakers in May, June, and July!
The opportunity to become a Community Placemaker for 2023 is now CLOSED. Thanks for your interest!
If you have any questions, please get in touch with Tyson at TysonB@caryacalgary.ca.