Following the model developed by Jessie Sutherland, four Belonging Matters conversations will be held over the coming year in different Grey-Bruce communities. These conversations are intended to introduce and define WCGB as the umbrella organization committed to supporting and growing the culture of belonging across the region. “There are people in every community who are already contributing to positive social change” was a comment made at the April consultation. Belonging Matters conversations acts on this assertion to create the space to attract already-members to a community conversation.
The event will focus on questions such as:
- What is your story of belonging?
- Why does belonging matter?
- Have you ever felt pushed out?
- How do you create belonging?
- How does / how can the community create belonging?
One of the first Belonging Matters conversation will be held with Indigenous Elders and First Nation community members to acknowledge and honour the unwavering contribution that Indigenous peoples have provided in caring for the land under systems of oppression and exclusion since first contact. The conversation space will allow WCGB to seek counsel on what will make Everyone Belongs meaningful for Indigenous peoples.
Activities to prepare for the Belonging Matters Conversations will include developing an information package to attract local partners and potential ambassadors. Because all municipalities have a mandate for Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB), partnerships with local governments will be sought to host the conversations. Looking to the horizon, building capacity to host Belonging Matters Conversations is a project that would allow WCGB to develop a program that would include facilitator training, a regional community of practice, Principles-Focused Evaluation plan.
Belonging Matters Conversations can be held on any social issue. The conversations are structured to create the conditions for the people who are most impacted by the topic issue to contribute their voice and leadership, and in the process, have their dignity affirmed by other participants. People who are pushed out to the margins of society have the best vantage point from which to identify barriers and they are the least invested in maintaining the status quo.
Regularly held Belonging Matters Conversations could serve as a vehicle for local governments to inform CSWB plans and to attest to meaningful activities that increase equity, diversity and inclusion.