The Incredible Case of Plessisville, PQ - Nurture the Youth and...

The higest rate of Millinneum Scholarships in Canada, no youth vandalism, 90% youth voter turnout - Read about a Quebec community that listened & empowered their youth

From The Nova Scotian

By Silver Donald Cameron

DARRELL DEXTER wants to keep young people here by creating a province where they can make a living, and where they will also want to live. Me, too. So I’d like to take him to Plessisville, Que.

Plessisville, pop. 9,000, is the home of La Samare, the remarkable little rural high school that has won more Millennium Excellence scholarships than any other public high school in Canada. It’s surrounded by smaller communities which provide about half the students of La Samare. And those small communities have given rise to a remarkable organization designed to "foster independence, initiative and a sense of responsibility among young people of 12-18 years."

Read the rest of the article in The Nova Scotian

Media Frenzy at CIEL

Now we know how Brad & Angelina feel. Several aspiring radio personalties from Kootenay Co-op Summer Youth Radio Camp stopped by CIEL`s Nelson, BC office to ask Mike Stolte a few questions today.

`What do you do?` had to do be the toughest question Mike said later. `Try explaining helping communities or getting communities going (from constipated) to some curious, young minds.`

Mike was also asked some other toughies:

• What`s your favourite food? chocolate (no surprise here)
• What`s your favourite animal? dogs
• What`s your favourite colour? blue - no green - no purple (Mike couldn`t decide)
• Where are you going this summer? Ontario & Alberta
• What else are you doing this summer? biking, mountain biking, kayaking, making 2 films with my kids for the film festival

CIEL`s Anna Planedin, former radio camp co-ordinator, reported the kids were impressed with Mike`s answers (whew!).

CIEL Announces Winners of Youth Artwork Competition

NELSON- This spring, the Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL) hosted a community vitality artwork competition for youth ages 8-15. The competition was part of the 100 Mile Ideas Diet series of conversation cafés taking place at Oso Negro.

“The artwork competition is part of getting the community thinking and talking about what makes it thrive,” said Mike Stolte, Executive Director of CIEL. “Through art and artwork, we were able to engage with youth in the broader community.”

In order to de-mystify the concept of community vitality, CIEL Communications Coordinator Anna Planedin visited several schools in District 8 and gave interactive presentations on the topic. After questioning youth about what they thought the words “vital,” “community,” and “thrive” mean to them, she shared the nine indicators of community vitality that CIEL considers in its community-led development work.

“When I asked youth what they thought the nine indicators were, they listed almost all of them. It was a delight to see that Nelson and area youth are highly knowledgeable about the concept of community vitality,” said Planedin.

There were a number of significant prizes to be won, thanks to community sponsors Otter Books, the Columbia Basin Trust, and the Nelson and District Credit Union. In two age categories, first place was $100 in cash and a $50 gift certificate to Otter Books, second place was $75 and third place was $50. The six youth who received a prize are Yu Jeong Kang, Daisy Morrison, Alecia Maslechko, Amanda Eady, Reece Boulanger, and Seth Clark. All of the artwork was displayed at Touchstones last month and will continue to be displayed at CIEL until the end of the summer.

Most of the designs either featured a beautiful landscape or some sort of art/cultural depiction. Six of the submissions contained the orange bridge. Everyone who is interested in viewing the prize-winning artwork can stop by CIEL’s office on 604 B Ward Street during business hours. To learn more about the last 100 Mile Ideas Diet conversation café on technological advances in grassroots social movements, contact Anna Planedin at (250) 352-9192 ext. 221

Can Small Towns be Cool?

Monday, July 6, 2009 - originally published in Dorchester Times

Can Small Towns Be Cool?

A recent posting on Small Biz Survival -- a blog dedicated to small and rural business interests -- reports on a presentation by Dave Ivan of Michigan State University Extension to the Michigan Small Town and Rural Development Conference. The question Ivan asked was "Can Small Towns Be Cool?" His answer: "You betcha!"

According to the article, Ivan showered attendees with ideas and examples gathered from community visits to more than 250 communities. The main point of his presentation (which can be viewed by clicking here) is that small towns can be cool if they are willing to follow some common success themes.

1. Strong Engagement Between Citizens, Community Organizations And Local Government. For example, in St. Joseph, Mich., approx. 8000 pop, city leaders holdneighborhood town hall gatherings in backyards all across town. They also produce a unified community calendar and hand-deliver it to residents. Coopersville, Mich., uses their town entry sign to salute a different nonprofit, business person, and teacher each quarter.

2. Local Entrepreneurial Investment. Ivan said this is often initiated by a local entrepreneurand then served as a tipping point to get others to invest. In New Carlisle, Indiana, Bill Owens expanded a floral shop into gifts, a furniture store, and transformed the community into a regional destination. This can also be a community initiative, such as economic gardening to grow entrepreneurs, where you may have village staff used to make things work for business. In Ord, Neb., they developed a wealth transfer plan to strategically fund their community economic development initiatives. By asking people to give 5% of their estate back to the community, they now have $8.5 million in hand or in pledges.

3. Willingness To Change. This may be the hardest part for many towns.These newopportunities may require changes in all sorts of local laws, including zoning. Suttons

4. Actively Pursues Cultural Elements To Economic Development. The most common cultural elements include the arts. In Three Oaks, Mich., the creatives are working to integrate with the existing parades and local celebrations. So it can work.

5. Cultural Efforts Reach Out To Community Youth. New York Mills, Minn., established a cultural center that capitalizes on the natural amenities.

6. A Deliberate Effort To Engage Youth. There is a continuum of efforts to involve youth. You can do things to youth, or do for youth, or do with youth, Ivan said. It can be tough to get a town moved along the continuum. One idea was to provide disposable cameras to young leaders. Ask them to take pictures of what they like and dislike about the town, and have them present it at a future meeting. Can you imagine the impact this could have?

7. Retaining Youth And Attracting Families. Create economic choices that are appealing to youth. Ord, Neb., for example, has a youth entrepreneurship program starting in grade schools. Brookfield gave kids a mailbox with their name on it. "Brookfield is always going to be your home town. Go out, explore, learn, but come home."

8. Conviction That, In The Long Run, You Must Do It Yourself. Cool small towns are not waiting for an outside savior. Argonia, Kan., lost their grocery store. But they built a community convenience and grocery store. They are now doing spec houses to sell at cost to new families. And if you enroll kids in the school, Argonia will even cover your closing costs. The mayor of St. Joseph, Ill., said, "We're always looking for projects we can't afford." That's a great development attitude!

According to the story, Grant Griffiths of Kansas asked about implementation. "Ideas are great and we have to have them. But how do we get them implemented in our rural towns?" Ivan's short answer on implementation was strong leadership. And don't let the CAVE people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) define the community."

The best advice for all small towns wanting to be "cool" maybe a quote from President Theodore Roosevelt: "Do what you can with what you have and where you are." (We especially liked the "20 Ideas for Small Town Businesses" also presented by the Small Biz Survival blog.)

Posted by Village Dweller at 2:55 PM