Urban Exchange

Happy Holidays to everyone who’s participated in Urban Exchange!

2008 has been a great year. Here are some of the highlights:

In January, we introduced Urban Exchange to Winnipeg’s Francophone community during a lunchtime event at the Norwood Hotel.

In February, we released Urban Reflections, a report on the social issues that are most important to Winnipeggers.

Also in early 2008 – we introduced a new questionnaire to Urban Exchange Advisory Panel members. Exploring Our Values is the beginning of a conversation about the ideas and beliefs that we care about most deeply. More than 1500 people have completed Exploring Our Values and it’s now available to the general public – if you want to join the conversation, please click here.

In the spring, we got to know some fascinating EAL students from Red River College. After a series of class discussions about Urban Exchange and Winnipeg, Natalia and Thérèse ended up joining us for their three-week work practicum. (We’ve since been back to RRC for another conversation – the result was that several new students told us what they love about Winnipeg. The smiling chap in the photo to the right is one of them!)

In June, we hosted a series of focus groups where we asked panel members to tell us about their experience with Urban Exchange so far. What we heard was encouraging. Participants have appreciated the chance to talk about what’s important to them. Their impressions of Urban Exchange are mostly positive. What they’re hoping for – more than anything – is that their contributions of ideas and time will make a positive difference in Winnipeg.

Over the summer, we sent out a new issue of Exchanges, the Urban Exchange newsletter. One thing people told us during the focus group sessions was that they’d like to hear from Urban Exchange more often – the newsletter is one way that we’re going to stay in touch.

This fall, we relaunched MyCityMySay.ca – another way for Urban Exchange to stay in touch. More importantly, it’s a way for you to stay in touch with Urban Exchange – and other panel members. Please comment on the stories we post here. There’s an RSS feed you can subscribe to so that new content comes to you when it’s available. And feel free to suggest your own story ideas.

What’s coming up in 2009?

Well . . . to some extent that depends on what you and the other panel members suggest. Some of the things that we’re working on include:

• A short questionnaire (5-7 minutes long) that focuses on people’s perceptions, attitudes, and expectations regarding youth and youth issues. Other potential questionnaire topics include poverty and neighbourhoods.
• Analyzing and reporting the findings from Exploring Our Values. More than 1500 people have completed the questionnaire so far. While the results we’ve seen are absolutely fascinating, we’d love to hear from more people before we produce a report. (If you haven’t had a chance to complete Exploring Our Values, you can get started by clicking here.)

If you’ve participated in Urban Exchange in 2008 – in any way – we want to say thank you very much.

Your contribution is essential as we work toward lasting change and better lives for everyone in our community.

We hope to hear from you in 2009!