The 2003 People's Summit was held in early October. Thanks to all who attended and helped out.

A report will follow shortly. 

The following workshops were held: 

Issues of Alternative Planning, Diversity & Equity in the context of the Social Movement: Organized by members of the Alternative planning group.                       

City Services for Sale – Keeping City Services Public: This workshop will examine current privatization proposals from the city including water, cleaners, building inspections and childcare. Public education campaigns and strategies will be discussed.       Presented by CUPE         

Immigrants & Refugees without STATUS: A look at the issues and challenges of attempting to gain legal status for immigrants and refuges in Canada. Current community-based initiatives to regularize status and recent challenges will be discussed. Presented by the STATUS Coalition

Effective Lobbying using Housing and Homelessness Advocacy as a Model: A discussion on keeping in touch with elected officials: includes tip sheets, scenarios and small groups. Presented by TDRC and the Advocacy Centre for Tenants in Ontario

Because We CAN: Creative, Community-Based Strategies for Social Change – Fun, Participatory and Effective. An interactive workshop on tackling community issues in a way that exercises Martin Luther King’s concepts of radical love and truly powerful non-violence.  Presented by Toronto Action for Social Change/Homes Not Bombs          

Producing a Neighbourhood Paper: Developing a neighbourhood newsletter as a first step in community development. Includes issues of fostering local democracy through the paper and moving from information sharing to collective action. Presented by The Pocket community newspaper.

Taking Back our Public Transit: Organize!:  A discussion of people’s experiences with the TTC. Strategies to discuss the issues raised, and positive examples of success will be used in a discussion that leads to means of using the TTC as an election issue.    Presented by the Toronto Environmental Alliance  

Making New Voices Heard – How Newcomer Communities Can Influence Our Schools: Using success stories from the Somali, Eritrean and Chinese communities this seminar asks: How can we effectively organize to support our children? How can we make necessary change happen? Presented by the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto and immigrant education groups.

Social Policy’s “Second Hand Smoke”: Targeting your public education towards an audience who do not experience or recognize the importance of a strong social infrastructure to their quality of life. Presented by St. Christopher House.

Interactive Action Theatre Forum: Health Action Theatre by Seniors as a Civic Participation Tool: People of diverse cultures, languages and literacy levels engage in the exploration of critical issues, share their knowledge and experience the power of shared problem solving, through theatre. Presented by St. Christopher House.

Building Inclusive Communities for Ethnoracial People with Disabilities (ASL Interpretation Provided): Interactive discussion of barriers, gaps in services, strategies to ensure inclusion including collaboration and networking. Presented by Women's Health in Women's Hands.

This is what happened last year!

The 2002 People's Summit: 
Shaping Our Civic Future

The People’s Summit: Shaping Our Civic Future

Summary of Discussions and Recommendations

 The People’s Summit: Shaping Our Civic Future was held on the morning of June 24^th 2002. This event, organized by the Toronto Civic Action Network (TorontoCAN), saw over 230 community leaders and residents from across Toronto gather to discuss issues and make recommendations as to what would make Toronto a more liveable city. From the homeless to academics; from community activists to business leaders; from labour leaders to everyday residents - all were united in the need to put an emphasis on the social and community infrastructure issues of Toronto.  

The full results of the discussion were captured on a beautiful poster by David Hasbury. This poster was presented to the City Summit delegates and displayed on a wall during the Mayor's City Summit.

Tricia Lewis transcribed the proceedings including highlights of the recommendations and the discussions. A summary of the recommendations is available, as well as a full report.

SUMMARY

Go to: Overview (HTML)

or open: Peoples Summit Overview (in Word)

FULL REPORT

Go to: People's Summit General Notes (HTML)

Or open: People's Summit General Notes (in Word)

VIDEO

Toronto CAN commissioned award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Connolly to produce a video for the Summit. This video asked people across the City two questions - what makes Toronto a liveable city now, and what would make it a more liveable city.  

After a screening at the People's Summit, the video was added to the agenda of the Mayor's City Summit where it was shown during a plenary session and was well received.

Watch the "Liveable City" video commissioned by TorontoCAN

RESEARCH

In conjunction with the People's Summit a research paper by Peter Clutterbuck was published by the University of Toronto, Centre for Urban Studies.

View it in WORD Research Word

Or in PDF Research PDF