Blog Post Title

(Insert Date Here)

The purpose of the initial Grassroots Gathering was to reinvigorate the momentum with community stakeholders that had previously participated in past gatherings, as well as invite new members of the community, agencies, and organizations of Calgary to participate. There were a total of 42 participants, including five Elders, seven new community organization partners, and multiple volunteers.

Half the day was dedicated to revisiting the Community Goals, Activities, and Timelines for the Strategic Community Areas of Focus (CIRCLES) that had been established in 2018. Time was spent validating that work and introducing new perspectives to continue the work forward. 

The Gathering was co-hosted by the Human Rights and Discrimination Circle, who took the opportunity to announce their Anti-Racism Community Grant. They led an afternoon brainstorm session to receive feedback from community stakeholders in order to identify themes emerging in our city in relation to experiences of systemic and individual racism and discrimination. The afternoon included an experiential exercise using Theatre of Oppression practices to demonstrate real-life scenarios and how to approach or intervene.

The Community Action Plan was updated for the next two years of focus by the Community Circles to include: Justice, Healing & Resiliency, Culture & Language, Elders & Youth, and  Careers & Resources. As the co-host of the event, the Human Rights & Discrimination Circle provided new connections to take root and strengthened existing collaborative efforts in development.

In the afternoon brainstorm session the Human Rights Circle sought to gain community input to inform their project areas of focus, timelines and milestones. The targeted discussions included the following summary from community members: