“The power of this network is in its membership and what emerging leaders can do—together.” Those are the words that Brad Lepp, ELNstudio co-chair, told a crowded room as he kicked off a night of collaboration and brainstorming about how to get our region moving. “You are all here because at some point in your life, someone – a colleague, a friend, a mentor – identified you as a leader. It might have been when you where young or in your career, it could have been something big or something small. But you stepped up and took ownership of that responsibility, and that is not something to be undervalued.”

Building off the momentum generated at ELNstudio, emerging civic leaders came together on Wednesday, February 6, to develop ideas for addressing our region’s congestion crisis.

Breaking off into smaller groups, participants discussed the three most popular  ELNstudio themes—‘Why not here?’ ‘Flexibility and the emerging worker,’ and ‘Want better transit? Go Local!’ The groups were facilitated by ELN members Nicole Beayni, Sean Hertel, and Howard Tam.

Everyone left excited and ready to start moving their ideas forward. We can’t wait to see their ideas put into action in the coming year.

Incubating Action

ELN offers a peer-supported platform for rising city-builders to support them in their ambition to create impact on a range of social, economic and environmental issues.  By collaborating, ELN members strengthen their ability to take an idea from concept to implementation. The project supports platform is designed by ELN co-chair Salima Rawji , Mathew Bertin, and James Chan, with support from CivicAction.

What a year it’s been for CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network (ELN).

Below is a graphic snapshot of how we, as rising leaders, worked together to improve our city-region.

Click here or on the image to see the full-size version.

Photo taken by Kieran Meyn

The Toronto region stands to gain valuable perspective on tough issues when we bring together the opinions and experiences of both emerging and experienced civic leaders.

CivicAction and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship are co-presenting Order! Order!, a new dinner series with support from grano and NATIONAL Public Relations. Order! Order! provides a forum for rising civic leaders, new Canadian citizens and members of the Order of Ontario and Order of Canada to make new connections.

On September 28, 16 rising civic leaders participated in the inaugural dinner. Everyone shared ideas on how to better recognize and leverage the skills and talents of newcomers in Canada.

One ELN member, an urban planner and active community leader in the Church & Wellesley neighbourhood, described how Order! Order! enriched his understanding of our shared social and economic [...]