Emily Mansour-Hemlow’s Post

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Just in case you haven’t stopped by yet - here’s how to find us at ALGA to talk about customer experience and improving shared spaces!

Thrilled to be part of #teamchamber since May 2020 and to continue to have the opportunity to lead, build and enhance the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Digital Economy, Technology and Innovation portfolios in collaboration with our stakeholders across industries, sectors, jurisdictions, populations and governments. #cdnpoli #cdneconomy #digitaleconomy #technology #innovation #cybersecurity #ai #artificialintelligence #aicomlutr #compuyr #quantum #Canada #telecommunications #ict #privacy #data

12 months ago a great opportunity to begin healing as a country had a wrecking ball taken to it. "The Voice to Parliament" was that opportunity. Instead of healing, October 12, 12 months ago was such a high voltage moment, so politicised and so blown up through the politics of fear, that the gift we were all handed dissolved. We had a chance to acknowledge so much of the wrong doing against First Nations people - a chance to say in a very practical way: "We are Sorry!" It was also a chance to say "thankyou for not giving up" The raw truth of what was on the table then, was simply a meek suggestion that, maybe, just maybe, aboriginal people, the people in the centre of the experience where no gap was closing for them, might have the answers, and perhaps The Voice structure - where we listen to what they have to say - might open our ears and eyes a little. How did we manage to stuff that up?! Just under a year later, the organisation I share the custodianship of with a number of others - the Groupwork Centre - decided not to let that mistake define us completely and so joined the growing support for the Pay the Rent program where a nominal sum from an individual or organisation can be made to support our First Nations People's programs and their direct needs. Check out the website to find out more. It's amazing. We've nominated a very meek 1% of our income to this program each year. We hope we can increase that offering over time. In the meantime we hope others of you here on LinkdIn might consider to do the same. We figure "paying the rent" is the least we can do given that we are ALL living on land forcibly stolen from our First Nations people who we are so fortunate to share this incredible country with.

When it comes to Calgary municipal politics, the bottom-line question is simply this: "How much do you want Jyoti Gondek gone?" Gondek has declared her intention to run for another term next fall. If we want another four years of woke ideology, being ignored, having property taxes increased, and being accused of racism, all that's necessary is for us to do nothing. Alternatively, we can get involved. Check out the Better Calgary organization?

Capacity building of local stakeholders is key to sustaining efforts of global humanitarian actors, especially on issues such as mental health and psychosocial support which are often overlooked in developing economies

This is what Regional Councils of Governments do best: Help local governments serve our residents better. Invisible to most, the 16 regional councils of government of North Carolina address regional issues through high levels of collaboration. #localgovernmentmatters #regionalcollaboration

Very pleased to have spoken for Westminster Forum Projects last week on next steps for High Streets and Towns with lessons from Historic England's Heritage Action Zones and High Street Heritage Actions Zones programmes and the combined DCMS Arms' Length Bodies Levelling Up Places Service. Grateful to all speakers for putting heritage in the spotlight as a vital asset that towns should be looking to invest in and for support of our lessons learned about: ·      moving work with communities from 'engagement' to participation to leadership,  ·      the need for lead in time for major capital spending and the opportunities for other meaningful activity in that time to build participation and partnership and to get the long-term plan in place,  ·      the importance of a mixed portfolio of investments (large and small) to achieve area wide benefits and allow flexibility, and  ·      the opportunities for heritage to provide homes, spaces for business and opportunities for communities to come together and create. Fitting a lot in to 15 minutes and appreciated thoughtful Q&A for which answers:  ·      historic buildings aren’t inherently fuel inefficient and they can be made more efficient using means that protect their value, whilst avoiding damp – we enable pragmatic conservation (not dogmatic preservation); ·     evaluating long term investment projects requires thoughtful data collection at the outset including qualitative perception studies, but also requires reconsidering your KPIs as time and policies pass (what benefits did you deliver that didn't expect?); ·     there is great opportunity for adult skills training in heritage investment programmes. Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust's brilliant model of participation and learning is one for many to learn from. and these are skills in maintaining and bringing buildings back into use that are needed across the country in great numbers. More detail on Heritage Action Zones here: https://lnkd.in/eDyU8V_B and the Levelling Up Places Service here: https://lnkd.in/eWPzB6rm

This is an interview with economist Paul Collier about his new book : 'Left Behind: A New Economics for Neglected Places' (https://lnkd.in/gYKPbpHa). He is a good thinker and researcher and I like the topic. This is the backdrop in my view - beyond the obvious law and order issues -to what we have been seeing in the UK. People in Australia, where blue collar wealth prevails and spatial inequality is less pronounced, have little idea as to the collapsed and exhausted nature of many of the formerly prosperous towns of now de-industrialised Britain. Even some of the newer towns and certainly the seaside resorts, have been struggling, even in the South. Places where few Guardian readers now live in fact. People will focus on the politics of immigration and I understand that but I urge people - and governments - to remember that when we had inner city riots in similar places in the early 80s, there was more than a police response. Even under the vile Maggie, the government ramped up policy and investment around urban regeneration. Not sufficient ever but it did lead to some effective interventions and a greater sense of momentum and future in 'rust belt' Britain. Blair built on that momentum, certainly until the Crash. These places and these communities need new hope - and investment. Not just more effective policing (they need that too).'Levelling -up' in fact: in reality and not just in rhetoric. These 'left behind' places have been going backwards and need a new future. This is the discussion we must have after this specific crisis is over. #equality #crisis

In order to transform the way governments work with First Nations communities, public servants need to address cultural and structural impediments and change from a services mode of delivery to a ‘development modality’ that focuses on the agency and capabilities within First Nations communities. Former senior public servant Geoff Richardson PSM says that building the skills necessary to engage with communities and create partnerships that are able to focus on First Nations’ priorities is a core part of the public servant’s toolkit. He outlined his views in a session on Transforming Government Organisations, part of ANZSOG’s Working with First Nations: Delivering on the Priority Reforms program. Mr Richardson, along with Professor Catherine Althaus, is one of the two leads of the program which introduces public servants to the significance of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and its Priority Reforms, and the new skills, mindsets and capabilities they need to work effectively with First Nations communities. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/guTkCYs2