IdeasXChange Hub: Social Sustainability Workshop (2015)
Note: From January until June 2015, our events were promoted under “Values in Perspective”. We have since changed our name to IdeasXChange.
On February 24, 2015, IdeasXChange launched its sustainability workshop series with over 30 participants and five well-respected community leaders as panelists. The theme of discussion: social sustainability.
About 30 participants including UBC students and community members gathered at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre to hear about what social sustainability means to some of Vancouver’s community leaders.
Patti Bacchus – Vancouver School Board Trustee. One of the five panelists that joined IdeasXChange’s workshop.
But what is social sustainability?
One of the most well-known definitions includes environmental, economic and social sustainability.
The concept of “social sustainability” encompasses topics such as:
Social equity – a state in which all members of a group or society have the same status in certain areas, including civil rights, freedom of speech and property rights among others.
Community development – a process where members of a community come together to take action and generate solutions to common problems.
Social capital – the expected economic or collective benefits from the preferential treatment and cooperation between people and groups.
Human rights – rights that are believed to belong justifiably to every person.
Labour rights – a group of legal rights relating to labour relations between workers and employers.
Panel Discussion: From addressing poverty to finding solutions
Five panelists addressed social sustainability from different perspectives – from working side-by-side with Vancouver’s poor population, to finding solutions through social enterprises and advocating for greater access to education and legal representation.
The panelists included:
Jeff Baergen – community and engagement director at the UGM – a charity organization in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Tara Taylor – Manager at Potluck Catering and Recipes for success – a social enterprise that provides opportunities for those who face employment barriers
Marcia Nozick – CEO of EMBERS – a social enterprise that offers economic and employment opportunities to individuals and advice for companies
Cherie Payne – a former Vancouver School Board member and advocacy lawyer
Patti Bacchus – an elected Vancouver School Board Trustee and active player in the field of local education
For information on our other workshops follow this link.