22 April, 2013
Exciting Experiential Learning at 2013 Conference
Pathways to Education @ Regent Park: A unique experiential learning opportunity for evaluation conference delegates to contribute to an innovative education program in one of Canada’s most exciting urban revitalization projects
Every year, thousands of Canadian students in low-income communities drop out of high school, contributing to poverty and the need for social housing such as Toronto’s Regent Park community complex.
The country’s oldest and largest social housing project, Regent Park is also home to Pathways to Education, a program designed to reduce poverty by helping young people finish high school and go on to obtain post-secondary qualifications.
The community is currently undergoing a major urban revitalization, and delegates to the 2013 evaluation conference have the chance to provide input into the Pathways program. (View this video of some of the program’s education success stories.)
Guided Tours
“We’ll be taking small groups of delegates on a guided tour through the community,” says Yasser Ismail of Cathexis Consulting, Inc. who has been working with the Pathways program on behalf of the CES Conference program committee to coordinate this event.“We can take a maximum of 48 participants, and after the tours they will all get together to explore the key research questions that we need their input on.”
Delegates will get to see the social housing project, develop their understanding of the issues facing the community and the reasons why the education program is so vitally important.
Sharing and Discussion
Ismail explains that participants will be able to view a video documentary, a summary of the program results and the evaluation report before the two-hour event. Afterwards, delegates will be able to network and share ideas. Organizers plan to use a World Café process for the group meeting, to maximize creativity and innovative thinking.
Cost
You’ll have to purchase a ticket to be a part of this opportunity, but all profits go to the Regent Park Community so it’s for a worthy cause. Details of the event are:
Venue: Daniels Spectrum, Regent Park in Toronto
Date/Time: Tuesday, June 11 2013, 4.00pm—6.00pm.
Transportation: Transportation to the site will be arranged for participants. The price of transportation is included in the ticket price for the event.
Price: $CAD 35.00 + taxes per person
If you are interested in reserving your ticket, please write for the attention of Yasser Ismail at CESProgram2013@evaluationontario.ca This is a great opportunity to get to grips with a real-life issue and contribute to the future development of the program. Tickets will be issued on a first come, first served basis, so we encourage you to secure your spot now. Please note: you must be registered for the conference to participate in this special event!
For more information on this wonderful urban revitalization project, please visit http://www.pathwaystoeducation.ca/en/toronto-regent-park
Watch this space for more information on events lined up for the 2013 conference, or subscribe to our bilingual Conference Newsletter and follow us on social media. You can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.
[YI1]This is most likely true but I don’t have a 100% confirmation on what this will be, so prefer to leave it out for now.
