Can we create changemakers by design?

Climate change presents an increasingly complex global challenge. The global economic landscape is changing with lightning-fast technological progress; intolerance and social division persist. These are just a few of the immense challenges facing students today. So, what can we do as a community to encourage and allow them to become changemakers? This is one of the focal topics of Social Innovation: Creating Changemakers, the next event in College of Discovery, Creativity and Innovation’s (CDCI) Speakeasy series.

Lisa King, program manager at the CDCI, speaks to the positive potential of Speakeasy as a whole.

“Speakeasy presents a unique opportunity for the UCalgary and academic communities at large to engage with the public right here on campus,” she says. “Local thought leaders are invited as panelists to share their experiences on relevant and complex topics. All participants at these events are sharing space, exploring perspectives, and moving forward together, which is are critical strategic aims of the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning."

Designing change for the future

The upcoming event will specifically explore how students, citizens and researchers engage in the process of social innovation, and how our campus community can create changemakers who are equipped to improve the world — by design.

• Above: Harley Crowshoe believes there is potential for change in establishing a strong, trusting and respectful relationship with all Indigenous people.

Harley Crowshoe will be one of this event’s speakers. He spent more than 20 years with the RCMP, including service as detachment commander in Alberta and British Columbia divisions. He also acted as regional manager working with public safety and emergency preparedness in Canada’s Aboriginal Policing Directorate, managing the First Nations policing program for Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

He reflects on the importance of creating movements for change. “From an Indigenous perspective, we have the opportunity to effect change by establishing a strong foundational relationship built on trust and respect with all Indigenous people,” he says. “We have the opportunity to strengthen relationships and build better partnerships in working together to co-create and co-design our future.”

Continuing, he notes that “through engagement and collaboration with our First Nation, Metis and Inuit people, we can create lasting partnerships and allow for a trusting relationship in working together on opportunities that will effect change.”

Responding to the demand for change

Brittni Kerluke, a University of Calgary alumnus from the Faculty of Arts with a major in sociology, will be another one of this Speakeasy’s panelists. She completed her master’s degree in 2011, with a focus on the well-being of urban Aboriginal populations. Kerluke is now the manager of capacity building S x E for the Trico Charitable Foundation, which seeks to close gaps in society by provoking innovation and building capacity in social entrepreneurship.

She says that it is important to create movements for change because people are calling for it. “It is a really exciting time as more and more students and community members are seeking out opportunities to create change through their work. Creating change doesn’t follow a pattern or have one set action, instead there are a number of ways in which individuals can get involved in tacking social and environmental challenges whether they are pushing/evolving existing solutions or they are looking to develop a new approach,” she explains. “The key is choosing a method for change that resonates with your vision for the future.”

Register now

Social Innovation: Creating Changemakers will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Taylor Institute atrium and forum on Nov. 8. The event's full guest speaker list will be:

• Harley Crowshoe, former provincial director south, Indigenous Health Program, Alberta Health Services
• Brittni Kerluke, manager of capacity building S x E for the Trico Charitable Foundation
• James Stauch, director of the Institute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University
• Reid Henry, founding CEO for cSPACE Projects
• Ivan Savytskyy, a member of the inaugural cohort of the CDCI’s Global Challenges course 

Click here to register. Click here to learn more about the Speakeasy series.